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,…
Whoops -- forgot to post this earlier. From the print paper:With state child care subsidies well below the actual cost of caring for enrolled kids, some Spokane-area workers and lawmakers say it’s time to give the industry more clout.How? By unionizing the child care workers…
From the Senate floor this a.m.:"I recall my younger days on an old tractor with only AM radio...Every day at noon, I could hear Paul Harvey," said Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville.Harvey, 90, died Saturday in Arizona."When there weren't a lot of other choices on talk…
The state Senate this morning passed what is probably one of the most misunderstood bills of 2009: eliminating a 1929 law that required sheriffs and dog owners to gun down dogs that attack livestock or are wandering around without a license.In the blogosphere -- with…
-The Olympian's Adam Wilson has a humorous introduction to the legislature. It's particularly welcome given the mid-session tenor of the capitol campus right now. (Mid-point: Thursday.)-And our own Becky Kramer has a long profile of Simon ffitch, with the attorney general's Public Counsel office. It's…
The TNT's Joe Turner today blasted House and Senate leaders for their continued radio silence on major cuts and tax increases under consideration. Both House Speaker Frank Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown seem unhappy that reporters haven't paid more attention to recent legislation…
Nonprofit groups walk a bit of a tightrope when lobbying for or against something, which is why press releases from them often come with a peculiar caveat like this one: "Nothing in this publication should be construed as an attempt to aid or hinder the…
Worried about "fly-by-night roofers, unlicensed movers and fake mortgage brokers," among others, the state Department of Revenue has set up a website where you can quickly check to see if a business is licensed, has paid its taxes, and find out where to get help…
Gov. Chris Gregoire is sick today, her office says. That meant missing a scheduled appearance this morning before the state Labor Council, where Gregoire planned to talk about the federal and state stimulus efforts and to field questions from the crowd.She sent her labor advisor,…
Today was a critical deadline for many bills to clear their first committees in the Senate. If they didn't, they're probably dead. (A similar deadline fell Friday in the House.)So what great legislative ideas fell to the cutting room floor this evening? Here -- with…
Lawmakers have been hinting heavily -- or in a few cases simply saying outright -- that they're likely to ask voters to approve tax increases to offset budget cuts. From an Olympia luncheon with Spokane child-advocates earlier this week:It’s “more than likely,” Senate Majority Leader…
Here's an audio excerpt from the Senate Ways and Means Committee earlier today. The bill being discussed is SB 6051, which extends a state law steering part of King County's hotel/motel tax to museums and other arts and heritage programs.Committee chairwoman Margarita Prentice's advice to…
Yes, golden parachutes on state boards are nice, Sen. Darlene Fairley says, but there's serious budget cutting to do.At issue was Senate Bill 6065, which would save $728,000 over the next two years by replacing the three-person, paid Liquor Control Board with part-time volunteers. The…
But I reckon they all would like to see "all options on the table," which has come to mean "raise taxes" in much the same way "tax reform" means "pass an income tax." -Richard Davis, in a blog post about a spat over the economist…
Managers at the state Department of Fish and Wildlife have been telling more than 100 workers this week that their jobs may be axed, a victim of the state's $8 billion budget shortfall.On the chopping block: biologists, administrative staff, fish hatchery workers, computer technicians, budget…
Top House and Senate lawmakers this afternoon unveiled their plan for spending $341 million in federal transportation money that's coming to the state from President Obama's economic stimulus plan.Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen described the plan as a back-to-basics, fill-the-potholes approach. Rather than building new road,…
Lawmakers must speak well of Olympia to their family members.Yesterday, the state House of Representatives welcomed new Rep. Laura Grant-Herriot, D-Walla Walla, who was appointed to the seat recently vacated by her late father, Rep. Bill Grant.Now Pat Hailey, wife of former state Rep. Steve…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
