Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Olympia archive for April 2009

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009

Winners and losers this session...

From my weekly print column:It always astounds me how quickly the state capital becomes a ghost town when a legislative session ends.On Sunday, lobbyists were still swarming the Senate and House doors. Lawmakers rushed toward midnight in a mad scramble of last-minute deals, deadlocks and…

Continue reading this post »

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009



TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2009

Special session: details being ironed out...

From this morning's paper:OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire said Monday she intends to call Washington lawmakers back into a special session to finish budget-related bills left undone when midnight struck Sunday night, ending the 105-day legislative session.But the governor said she first wants wrung-out lawmakers…

Continue reading this post »

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009

Special session: yes, says governor...

Gov. Chris Gregoire said she intends to call a special session, but wants to talk to lawmakers first.She said she hopes the session is soon -- not waiting for the June revenue forecast, for example -- short, and limited in scope. She wants to hash…

Continue reading this post »



Special session: Make that "Maybe"....

Gov. Gregoire’s statement on legislative session OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire released the following statement tonight on calling a special session of the 2009 Washington Legislature: “The 2009 legislative session completed the most difficult regular session in a generation with a balanced budget, very significant…

Continue reading this post »


SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2009


Logjam breaking?

Maybe. From lawmakers: "I think the stakes go up for everybody in the next few few hours, particularly for leadership, which does not want to be embarassed" and forced into a special legislative session. -Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane "There is the glimmering of a deal."…

Continue reading this post »


SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009

FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009



House passes budget, 54-42... 

Just 10 hours after unveiling the details, House lawmakers on Friday night approved a $35 billion state budget that includes about $4 billion in cuts.The budget, which now goes to the Senate for approval, passed on a largely party-line vote, 54 to 42. It includes…

Continue reading this post »


THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2009

 (The Spokesman-Review)

The budget: details...

Total budget (two years): $31.4 billion.-Ending fund balance: $830 million.K-12 schools: total spending: $13.4 billion-net cut after federal stimulus dollars are included: $794 million-I-732 suspended for two years-I-728 reduced by $600 million-K-4 class-size reduction fully funded-Average per school district cut : $2.6 percent-one learning improvement…

Continue reading this post »



Sales tax proposal collapses...

Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle, confirms that his plan for a third-of-a-cent sales tax hike to offset deep budget cuts has collapsed. Proponents, including House Speaker Frank Chopp, have been unable to round up enough votes. "We looked at the vote count, and it didn't look…

Continue reading this post »


How much would you get?

This is an idea that legislative advocates should have had weeks ago: The folks at the private Washington State Budget and Policy Center have put together a handy online calculator to estimate how much a person would receive if the state working families tax rebate…

Continue reading this post »



Income tax press conference soon...

"Sens. Lisa Brown, Joe McDermott, Adam Kline, Jeanne Kohl-Welles and other member of the Senate Democratic Caucus with hold a press conference today at 12:15 p.m. in the majority caucus room about the need for a continued dialogue with the public about our unfair tax…

Continue reading this post »


Lawmaker has heart attack... 

Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-Wenatchee, suffered what's being described as a "mild heart attack" last night at the state capitol. He's been hospitalized, and doctors have scheduled an angioplasty this afternoon to clear a blockage in some of his heart blood vessels.Armstrong, on his way to…

Continue reading this post »

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2009

More on the budget...

After days of last-minute, late-night negotiations, Democratic budget writers in Olympia agreed Wednesday on a state budget with about $4 billion in cuts to schools, higher education, social services, health care and other state services.Lawmakers, facing a $9 billion budget shortfall, avoided much deeper cuts…

Continue reading this post »

Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.



Blog Archives

April 2009
30 29 28 27 26
25 24 23 22 21
20 17 16 15 14
13 10 09 08 07
06 04 03 02 01