Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Gregoire reading fine print

  April 13, 2012 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – Some state spending that legislators approved shortly before dawn Wednesday as part of a package deal to end the session may not survive the veto pen. Gov. Chris … 1

• Search for budget deal continues on last day

  April 10, 2012 in News OLYMPIA — Legislative leaders and the top budget writers huddled with Gov. Chris Gregoire on the last day of the special session, continuing the search for an agreement on the …

• Budget impasse testing tempers

  April 7, 2012 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – With no budget agreement and time running out in an extended session, tensions boiled over Friday evening as Senate leaders of both parties accused the other side of …

• House Democrats pass budget proposal

  April 6, 2012 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – Admitting it’s not the final solution to the state’s fiscal problem but a way to “move the process forward,” House Democrats passed and sent to the Senate a …

• Deal on state budget remains elusive

  April 5, 2012 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – With less than a week remaining in a special session designed to solve a billion-dollar budget problem, House Democrats pushed out a new state spending proposal and a … 2

• First public action in weeks on Washington budget

  April 4, 2012 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – With barely a week left in the special session, most legislators return to the Capitol today for the first public budget action since the special session started March … 1

• Special food aid on state cutting block

  March 22, 2012 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – For 15 years, Washington has helped thousands of people the federal government wouldn’t, providing food assistance to legal immigrants struggling to survive in America. That includes residents of … 3

• Spin Control: ‘Media’ negotiations are only problem when they don’t work

  March 18, 2012 in City on Page B3 OLYMPIA – “I’m not going to negotiate in the news media.” Politicians at all levels love to utter that sentence – when it’s to their advantage.

• Senate GOP unveils new budget plan

  March 16, 2012 in City on Page A6 OLYMPIA – For the first three days of Washington’s special session, everything involving the state’s troubled budget was done behind closed doors. That went by the wayside Thursday. Senate Republicans …

• Special session gets going

  March 13, 2012 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – With no fanfare and few lawmakers present, the Washington Legislature began its special session Monday to find a way to fill a hole of about $1.5 billion in …

• Brown: Budget goals out of reach

  December 10, 2011 in City on Page B1 OLYMPIA – Legislators will try to fill some of Washington’s looming budget gap next week but won’t come close to the $2 billion in cuts Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed last … 2

• State budget deal elusive

  December 9, 2011 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire acknowledged legislators are unlikely to pass some $2 billion in budget cuts she proposed in this special session. The governor also sees no chance … 3

• School officials object to proposed state cuts

  December 8, 2011 in News on Page A1 OLYMPIA – School officials from across Washington urged legislators to reject plans to cut four days out of the school year or reduce payments designed to help poor districts keep … 9

• Washington budget director urges state cuts

  December 6, 2011 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – Washington state can’t wait until next year to cut its budget, the state’s budget director told legislators Monday. In the wake of recent comments by legislators that cast … 9

• Budget chief to Legislature: Time’s a-wasting, pass a budget

  December 5, 2011 in News OLYMPIA — The state can’t wait until next year to make changes to its budget that will reduce spending, the state’s budget director told legislators today. 10

• Spin Control: Revenues rise, parties will capitalize

  September 25, 2011 in City on Page B3 OLYMPIA – With almost all the news about Washington’s financial state hovering between dismal and abysmal over the past two weeks, it was good to catch one silver lining in … 2

• Special session planned to cut $2 billion from state budget

  September 23, 2011 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – The Washington legislature may spend the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas playing Scrooge to state agencies and programs. That’s when they’ll be called into a special session to … 13

• Gregoire calls special session for Nov. 28

  September 22, 2011 in News, City OLYMPIA— Gov. Chris Gregoire will call the Legislature back for a special session on Nov. 28 to deal with a budget shortfall. 2

• Economic recovery likened to mirage

  September 16, 2011 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – With economic recovery described as “a mirage in the desert” and a projected gap between income and spending growing to $1.4 billion, state officials began setting the stage … 5

• Editorial: Lawmakers must adjust to worsening forecasts

  August 12, 2011 in Opinion on Page A11 Washington’s ongoing budget challenges threaten to take the “special” out of special session. Although Gov. Chris Gregoire has not yet decided whether to summon lawmakers back to Olympia, she has …

• More to session than budget

  May 28, 2011 in City on Page B1 OLYMPIA – At times, it may have seemed that the only issues the Washington Legislature worked on during the past session were budgets and medical marijuana. Those things did take …

• Budget passes Senate with bipartisan support

  May 25, 2011 in Region OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Senate has easily approved a new budget plan for Washington state, passing the measure in the final hours of the 30-day special session.

• All departments take hits in lawmakers’ budget deal

  May 25, 2011 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – Legislative leaders unveiled their latest – and likely final – version of the 2011-’13 operating budget they described as painful but sustainable and moved quickly to pass it … 27

• Money for Spokane medical school in budget

  May 25, 2011 in City on Page A14 OLYMPIA – The state’s $2.8 billion capital budget will include $35 million to start construction on a new medical school in Spokane. Legislative leaders announced Tuesday afternoon they have reached …

• Deal cinches workers’ comp changes

  May 24, 2011 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – After tying the Legislature in knots for much of the last three months, changes to the state’s century-old workers’ compensation sped through both houses Monday with comfortable margins. …

• Workers’ comp gets an overhaul

  May 23, 2011 in City on Page A6 OLYMPIA – An agreement on offering settlements to injured workers could remove one of the main obstacles to the Legislature passing a budget for the next two years. Gov. Chris …

• Spin Control: Film industry tax breaks fine, but tie them to reviews

  May 22, 2011 in City on Page B7 OLYMPIA – The Senate agreed last week to extend tax breaks for film companies that shoot movies and TV shows in Washington. That makes good economic sense, considering a movie …

• Workers’ comp deal reported near to break legislative logjam

  May 22, 2011 in City on Page B7 OLYMPIA – Legislators may reach a deal sometime today on one of the key stumbling blocks to passing a budget and adjourning, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Gregoire said Saturday …

• Legislature grinds toward compromise

  May 21, 2011 in City OLYMPIA – Legislators may reach a deal sometime Sunday on one of the key stumbling blocks to passing a budget and adjourning, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Gregoire said this …

• Senate extends tax incentive for film companies

  May 20, 2011 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – With signs emerging the Washington Legislature might at least make an effort to finish work by next Wednesday’s deadline, the Senate Thursday extended a tax break for movies …

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