According to a source, here are some of the cuts being discussed by House lawmakers sketching out what a no-new-taxes budget might look like:-Eliminate the state's Basic Health Plan, which offers subsidized health coverage for the working poor.-Eliminate adult dental-, vision- and hearing benefits for…
From today's paper:OLYMPIA – In Cheney, college administrators are going back into the classroom and teaching without extra pay. At the Crosswalk teen homeless shelter in Spokane, staffers wonder if they’ll have to shut down for part of the year. A few miles away, Jim…
More on the e-mail that caused angry lawmakers to kill the Worker Privacy Act:"We regret the incident. It was a result of frustration with the legislature's failure to protect workers' rights in the workplace. Our job is to always protect workers' rights," Washington State Labor…
The biggest tussle between business and organized labor this year has been over SB 5446/HB 1528, which would bar employers from holding mandatory meetings with employees to discuss things like unionization, religion, or charitable giving. The companies could still hold such meetings, but they could…
Two years after Washington launched a controversial domestic partners registry for same-sex couples, the state Senate late Tuesday voted to grant the partners virtually all the rights of spouses -- except marriage.“You have denied us that right,” Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, who is gay, told…
Props to the TNT's Joe Turner, who has a very interesting put-the-puzzle-together post this afternoon on some of the budget ripples coming out of the statehouse. The upshot: Turner thinks that lawmakers (and the governor) may be setting their sights on pulling money out of…
Former state Rep. John Ahern was famous for floor speeches trotting out the specter of unhappy Washington businesses decamping en masse for Idaho. “That great sucking sound you hear,” he'd warn, as Democrats rolled their eyes, “is business heading for Idaho.” Ahern's now gone, ousted…
In a sign of the times, Washington's House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would ban cities and counties from barring recreational vehicles from mobile home parks."Mobile home parks are often a last refuge for these people to live," Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, said…
Susan Fagan, whose work for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories means she's not a stranger in Olympia, has raised more than $20,000 in her run for the state House seat now held by Rep. Don Cox, R-Colfax. The district covers a large swath of southeastern Washington, including…
Going through an inch-thick stack of stuff at my office while I watch the Senate (and wait for the House) on Monday night...Let's see....--The state Department of Ecology is trying to take stock of nearly 150 small dams and similar structures "built without pre-approved plans"…
With 38 of Washington's 39 counties voting almost entirely by mail, Washington's House of Representatives voted tonight to make it 39.The House passed HB 1572, to make Pierce County vote by mail as well.It's an emotional issue, with proponents saying that it's expensive and complicated…
The House tonight passed SB 5500, which takes aim at a multiple-drug-resistant "superbug," in the words of one lawmaker, that has public health officials nervous."Probably about a third of us on this floor probably have a colony of MRSA on us right at this moment,"…
Prompted by the case of a high school football player paralyzed by two concussions, Washington's state Senate on Monday approved a bill that would require a medical check before such players are allowed back in the game.“This bill would protect children. That's really what it's…
After six months of knocking on doors, police across the state say they've verified the addresses of more than 13,000 of the state's 18,000 registered sex offenders.They've also arrested more than 200 for lying about where they lived.At Gov. Chris Gregoire's request, the state last…
Washington's annual legislative session isn't just a boon to restaurants and caterers. It's also a source of great business for florists. Groups and lobbyists like to shower lawmakers with strategically timed big bouquets to grace their House and Senate desks.But sometimes, apparently, it's all a…
Looks like we may still have Joel Connelly to kick around, even as most of his colleagues go down with the print edition of the P-I.Hearst is reportedly offering jobs, tentatively, to some current news staffers. But here's the description of the offer from a…
The House and Senate have been nose-to-the-grindstone for much of this week, passing a flurry of bills before a looming cutoff. Yesterday, the Senate touched on a hot-button issue: abstinence-based sex education.Sen Pam Roach had a long story about her pre-political days, when she offered…
The state Supreme Court has just ruled against state Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, who filed suit last year to try to overturn a requirement that tax increases be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.That voter-approved law is nowhere to be found in…
Back in December, Gov. Chris Gregoire called on the state Parks and Recreation Commission to come up with 10 percent in budget savings over the next two years. Lawmakers have now asked to see what a 23 percent budget cut would look like. Neither is…
Josh Feit, at Publicola, has an excellent story on Sen. Chris Marr's efforts to modify 2006's Initiative 937, a voter-approved measure which mandated certain levels of renewable power for utility companies. Marr wants to count some hydro power as renewable -- which the original ballot…
And that -- really -- is the longtime Associated Press wire shorthand for the Supreme Court of Washington.The conservative Evergreen Freedom Foundation, which tends to watch the court pretty closely anyway, has launched a blog to showcase what the state's highest court is doing.The new…
(This has nothing to do with politics or the legislature, but Smith is a well-known civic figure in Spokane. I suspect this will be of interest.)Wow. The staff of the University of Oregon's student newspaper, the Daily Emerald, went on strike four hours ago at…
Washington's House of Representatives today passed House Bill 1138, which would require retailers to let customers with certain medical conditions use the store's restroom, even if it's not a public restroom.Patterned after an Illinois law, the bill is aimed at people with inflammatory bowel disease…
Washington's House of Representatives today approved House Bill 1956, which would give churches and other religious organizations broad authority to shelter homeless people. Local governments couldn't “unreasonably interfere” with tent cities or other homeless housing at churches.Prime Sponsor Rep. Brendan Williams, D-Olympia, said a few…
Washington's state House of Representatives today approved House Bill 1596, which would declare that a mother's right to breastfeed in public places is a civil right protected by the state's anti-discrimination law. Mothers would be free to breastfeed in any public place, including restaurants, stores,…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
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