In December, as regular readers of this blog likely know, Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed leaving $1.2 billion in state savings this year to help stave off major budget cuts in future lean years. After a bleak revenue forecast and months of hearings, House and Senate…
In a proposal that House Transportation Committee chairwoman Judy Clibborn said was "dead on arrival," House Republicans today rolled out a proposal that they said would free up $6 billion over the coming decade.If they were in charge, GOP lawmakers said, they would then steer…
A year after launching domestic partnerships for same-sex couples (and senior citizen heterosexual couples), the state Senate this afternoon voted 29-20 to broaden the rights and responsibilities for such couples. Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, called House Bill 3104 "an important step in giving financial equality…
Senate Majority Lisa Brown this afternoon weighed in on her Supreme Court case challenging I-601's and I-960's requirement for a two-thirds supermajority to pass a tax increase. Some notes from that:Brown said she and many other lawmakers have long felt that the two-thirds rule was…
Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown plans to file a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court today to overturn part of Tim Eyman's anti-tax Initiative 960, approved by voters in November.The lawsuit is in response to Senate President Brad Owen's ruling last week upholding I-960. During…