OLYMPIA -- Expect a flurry of activity today because it is one of the big "cut off" days. Most bills that started in one house (and passed) have to get out of the other house by 5 p.m. today.That doesn't apply to budget bills and…
Funny or Die got some of Saturday Night Live's best spoofers of presidents together to give Barack Obama some advice.Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell
OLYMPIA -- Two bills sparked by an Eastern State Hospital patient's escape during a Spokane County Fair field trip last September moved easily through the Senate Thursday.Philip Paul was part of an Eastern State group visiting the fair when he slipped away from the other…
OLYMPIA -- Washington voters would be given a chance in November to change the constitution in a way that would allow more suspects to be held without bail before they go to trial.A resolution passed Thursday by the Senate calls for a vote on a…
OLYMPIA -- Senate Democrats may offer voters a choice of which tax they like better: a higher sales tax or an income tax on people making more than $200,000 a year.With very short notice, the Senate Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a hearing this…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire led a group of seven governors Thursday patting The Boeing Co. on the back for joining the competition over the new Air Force tanker.Not that there's any surprise that Boeing would get into the competition. After all, it has been…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature is scheduled to wrap up a week from today, although some legislators are saying they wouldn't bet the rent or the budget on that happening. Tax and spending proposals still have to be reconciled, and many people mention "25 and 50".It's…
OLYMPIA -- Churches would be able to hold occasional farmer's markets on their property without losing their tax exempt status under a bill passed overwhelmingly Wednesday by the Senate.The Senate gave 46-1 approval to a bill that allows churches and other public meeting places owned…
OLYMPIA -- Dry Fly Distillery and any other "craft" maker of distilled liquor will be able to grow three times larger than the current limits under a bill that passed the House Wednesday.Small or craft distilleries were unknown in Washington two years ago when the…
A group calling itself One Term President (because that's what it wants Obama to be) has a music video making the rounds on YouTube and other sites.After watching it, please talk among yourselves to decide:1) The words aren't much but it's got a good beat,…
OLYMPIA -- The House and Senate both start early today, with plans to vote on bills this afternoon and into the evening. They're trying to clear out the bills that are relatively non-controversial before an upcoming cutoff deadline.Senate Ways and Means, meanwhile, is dealing with…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature came closer to stepping between two feuding hospital organizations in Spokane by changing laws that govern what happens when the board of a non-profit corporation deadlocks.House Bill 3046 allows a superior court judge more lattitude in solving an impasse on a…
OLYMPIA -- The state's top "numbers guy," Office of Financial Management Director Victor Moore, will be leaving that job to take over as top operator at the State Investment Board.Moore has served as head of OFM for five years, since Gov. Chris Gregoire first took…
OLYMPIA -- A new tax proposal would place unfair burdens on janitors, cigar sellers, plastic surgeons, candy makers and lawyers, opponents of a House plan said today.They'd also save vital services for schools, colleges, the poor and the sick, supporters of the proposal said.They're a…
OLYMPIA -- The House tax package gets a public hearing this morning to an overflow crowd at teh Finance Committee hearing.Both chambers have day time sessions, and are warning about night time sessions. Hmmm. Must be getting pretty close to the end of the 60th…
OLYMPIA – People who smoke, chew gum, drink bottled water or get a face lift would pay more taxes this year under a plan by the House Democrats to find extra money to balance the state’s budget. Lawyers, accountants and marketing specialists would see their…
Capitol Steps do a great take-off on the the Don McLean classic.(sorry the embed code was messed up earlier)
OLYMPIA -- House Democrats will get a chance to help the state's budget woes by putting a sales tax on bottled water, candy and gum and cosmetic surgery. Upping the business taxes on lawyers, accountants and marketing consultants. Repealing or reducing an array of tax…
OLYMPIA -- House Democrats have not yet released a budget, but early word is that it doesn't call for an increase in a sales tax. More likely, it's a menu of smaller taxes to get to the target in extra revenue.This comes from a well…
OLYMPIA -- House Democrats say they will release their tax package today that is part of their overall plan to fill the state's $2.8 billion budget hole.Really. Seriously. We have it in writing this morning. Finance Committee Chairman Ross Hunter's going to release it at…
OLYMPIA – Three weeks of debate over suspending Initiative 960, can be boiled down to this: If you change an initiative, you are crushing the will of the people. Not if it’s something that really needs doing, in which case you are exercising the leadership…
OLYMPIA – With the bare minimum votes needed and debate over taxes yet to come, Senate Democrats passed a general fund budget Saturday designed to close the state’s $2.8 billion budget gap.Even without a firm decision on which taxes to add or alter to raise…
OLYMPIA -- Washington teachers should be able to tap into a union trust fund to reduce their health insurance costs, Senate Republicans argued in the debate over the state's budget.Republican Sen. Dale Brandland proposed an amendment that allows teachers to tap into the Washington Education…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate is beginning its debate on its budget proposal to fill the $2.8 billion gap in the state's operating budget.First up is an amendment on home health care workers, sponsored by Republican. It goes down 26-16.Next is an amendment by Sen. Mark…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate passed a multi-million dollar transportation budget this afternoon on a vote of 41-3.The proposal was described as a jobs bill, a way to improve government and a guide for the more contentious operating budget, which comes up next.Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane,…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
