OLYMPIA -- Having killed many bills on Tuesday, the Legislature returns to committee hearings today for the bills that made it out of one chamber, and now must be considered by another chamber.The House didn't vote on a proposal to suspend parts of Initiative 960…
OLYMPIA -- The state House of Representatives is settling in for a late night on their version of the bill to suspend tax-raising restrictions in Initiative 960.House Democrats have made some changes to ESSB 6130, which means if it passes in its present form it…
OLYMPIA -- A proposed charge on court filings to help pay for publicly financed state Supreme Court races is more like a fee than a tax, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen just ruled.That is likely to make it difficult to pass a Senate bill that would…
OLYMPIA -- The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 28 whether the names on ballot measure petitions are public records.The Washington Secretary of State's office announced this afternoon that the date has been set on a case that is getting national attention because…
OLYMPIA -- The House approved a bill that gives local governments more authority to impose a one-tenth of a cent local sales taxes through 2014, primarily for public safety concerns, without submitting them to a public vote.It also allows counties to levy a utility tax,…
It's always nice when other parts of the country notice us in the Inland Northwest, right?OK, not always. The New York Times has a large story on the Tea Party Movement that prominently features folks from North Idaho and Eastern Washington. And by prominently, we…
OLYMPIA -- Spin Control took a three-day weekend to celebrate President's Day (our favorite is Millard Fillmore). The Legislature did not. In fact, they've been busy moving bills through the two houses in advance of today's cutoff, so a fair amount if action took place…
OLYMPIA -- At 5 p.m. today, some legislative coaches will turn into pumpkins -- or some other type of vegetation that will be thrown on the compost heap.That's because today is one of several "cut off" days. A bill must be out of its house…
OLYMPIA – Is it better to be incompetent or duplicitous?That’s the choice being set up for Senate Democrats by initiative entrepreneur Tim Eyman after last week’s double vote on suspending portions of a ballot measure requiring supermajorities for tax increases.The proposed suspension wasn’t a surprise.…
OLYMPIA -- Ben Cabildo's appointment to the Spokane and Spokane Falls Community Colleges Board of Trustees was confirmed today by the Senate.Cabildo, a director of AHANA/Community Minded Enterprises and chairman of the Unity in the Community celebration, was cited for "commitment to communities of color…
OLYMPIA -- While the Legislature has a busy schedule of votes over (mostly) noncontroversial bills, the real attention today is on the revenue forecast.It's out, and it's a good news, bad news kind of thing: Bad news that it's down, good news that it's only…
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner has opted not to make another change in the leadership of the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department. After firing one director in 2007 and forcing the resignation of another late year, Verner has nominated interim Park Director Leroy Eadie to take…
OLYMPIA – A proposal to raise the state sales tax by 1 cent on the dollar, and tie it to high levels of unemployment, was introduced Thursday in the state House of Representatives.Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane and one of the House Bill 3183’s 15 co-sponsors,…
Vice President Joe Biden makes a stop in Seattle Friday morning to help raise money for Sen. Patty Murray's re-election campaign.Normally Spin Control wouldn't care because a) it's closed to the press except for a pool reporter which ain't us; 2) it's in Seattle, which…
OLYMPIA -- After a late night Wednesday on I-960 changes, the Senate is scheduled to debate a package of education reforms today. Both house could take floor action into the evening, but probably not as 11:15 p.m., which is when the Senate adjourned Wednesday.United Way…
OLYMPIA – Senate Democrats were forced to hit the replay button Wednesday night and hold another debate on a bill to suspend voter imposed limits on tax increases. That gave Republicans a chance to once again complain that they were thwarting the “will of the…
OLYMPIA -- Senate Democrats were able to bring their proposed fix to the suspension of Initaitve 960 to the floor at about 9:40 p.m., which is more than two hours earlier than expected. Debate began with amendments by Republicans to put things back into law…
OLYMPIA -- Senate Democrats apparently have a bill to do suspend Initiative 960 the way they want. Now they need Senate Republicans to go along if they have any chance of doing it before midnight.It all has to do with the "bump" as explained by…
OLYMPIA -- Senate Democrats are due to return for an evening session to address the big "oops" moment so far this session.They reportedly are working on a bill that will do what they said they intended to do Tuesday: Suspend all aspects of Initiative 960…
OLYMPIA -- Patients at state mental hospitals who have been judged criminally insane would be severely restricted from taking trips away from their facilities under a bill passed unanimously by the House of Representatives.HB 2717, inspired by the escape of Phillip Paul during an Eastern…
If you're sweetie is a red-blooded Republican, you probably lie awake nights thinking of the appropriate greetings for Valentine's Day. Now you can get some sleep, thanks to the Republican National Committee, who is happy to provide a series of e-cards making fun of their…
OLYMPIA -- A proposal to give judges more flexibility in dealing with disputes on the boards of nonprofit corporations sailed through the House of Representatives today.HB 3046 essentially gives a Superior Court judge the same options in dealing with a deadlocked nonprofit as with a…
OLYMPIA -- The initiative process, which when it plays out to the passage of a proposal by the voters is apparently sacrosanct, is a messy process at the beginning.For $5 and some words typed into a word processor, almost anyone can file an initiative petition…
Colleague Betsy Russell at Eye on Boise tells of an election-related savings in Idaho that isn't available in Washington. But even if it was, Washington Republicans would probably be more than happy to put the money in the budget.As reported here, it seems that Gov.…
OLYMPIA -- Senate Democrats will be looking for a way to fix Tuesday's faux pas of passing a bill they didn't intend to pass.The changes to Initiative 960 that they approved Tuesday afternoon in a 26-23 were limited to suspending the two-thirds majority through July…
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