The Washington Post today has a great read about a new federal rule so broad that it requires a Missouri magician who pulls a rabbit out of a hat to write a disaster management plan to explain how he will protect his rabbit in case…
OLYMPIA — Washington voters will be asked in November what they think about five tax increases. What legislators do with that knowledge is pretty much up to them, because the taxes are already law, and the election itself won’t change that. . . To read…
OLYMPIA – Whether you are for or against stricter background checks on gun sales, you'll have a chance in the coming months to support your position by signing an initiative to next year's Legislature. If both Initiative 591 and Initiative 594 get the required signatures,…
U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and her husband Brian Rodgers are expecting their third baby in December. A reader called to ask if that will make the Eastern Washington Republican the first member of Congress to have a third child while in office. We suspected…
Transparency in government is a great ideal, but like so many things it can be somewhat less than ideal in practice. Take, for example, the edict of Initiative 960 that the Office of Financial Management let the public know the cost of legislation that could…
From this morning's paper: The next time you change the ring tone on your cellphone, consider choosing the sound of a cash register ringing. Or maybe The Beatles’ song “Taxman.” Washington cellphone users have the dubious distinction of paying the second-highest taxes in the country.…
A hearing on proposed state rules for growing, processing and selling legal marijuana will be held Aug. 8 at the Spokane Convention Center. The Washington State Liquor Control Board scheduled four hearings from Aug. 6 through Aug. 8 around the state to get reaction to…
Tom Foley, in 1989, just before being elected speaker of the House. File photo. Spokane’s longest-serving congressman, Tom Foley, will be the subject of a “living tribute” organized by a pair of local businessmen later this month. . . To read the rest of this…
Washington residents who want to vote in the Aug. 6 primary but aren't registered have until Monday to sign up online or by mail. Want to register? Click here. That's the first big deadline for voter registration for the primary. If you miss that, you…
OLYMPIA – Friday was a rare day in Washington state politics, although it went mostly unnoticed because it was rare for what didn’t happen rather than what did. It was the deadline to turn in signatures for an initiative to the people to put on…
The Washington State Liquor Control Board will hold a hearing next month in Spokane on its new proposed regulations governing the production, processing and sale of recreational marijuana. The hearing, the last of four the board will hold on regulations that got a tentative approval…
So you think you’re a good patriot. You wear a flag pin on your pajamas, know that the last two words to "The Star Spangled Banner" are not "Play ball," and bleed red, white and blue. On July 4th, we all feel that way. But…
Proposed logo scrapped, another one being developed OLYMPIA -- Washington will allow legal marijuana to be grown outside if it has adequate security, under new rules receiving preliminary approval today by a state board. It might have an unlimited number of marijuana growers and processors,…
OLYMPIA – Washington’s new state budget signed into law this week relies on the expansion of Medicaid, both to provide health insurance to hundreds of thousands of people and to help balance its bottom line. But state residents will have to wait until October to…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee's recent press conferences have been a mix of the good and the bad from the late legislative session. Yay for the billion added to public schools, the tuition freeze for colleges, expanded health care, the social service programs included in…
OLYMPIA – The state started its new fiscal year Monday with lower taxes on some beers and services, more than a dozen new tax breaks for businesses, and a little protection for a worker’s social media account. It also started without a partial government shutdown,…
Inslee says there's no money for the CRC, and no plans right now to get any. OLYMPIA -- The office planning for a new bridge to cross the Columbia River from Vancouver to Portland will be shut down, with no plans to replace the structure,…
At some point, you've probably seen "I'm Just a Bill", a video that tries to explain to kids how a bill becomes law. U.S. Senate Democrats have a new take on the old theme called "I'm Just a Budget" that tries to skewer Republicans for…
OLYMPIA -- Pot users, could you put down that joint for a few minutes and take a survey? Growers, could you stop tending the buds and hook up with the state's consultants for a little Q and A? That's what the marijuana consultant for the…
There are things one learns after 153 days watching the Legislature. Well, technically not 153 days of watching, because there were big stretches of time in the 105-day regular session, the 30-day first special session and the 18-day second special session that there really was…
OLYMPIA – After 153 days, the Washington Legislature decided Saturday it had had enough, even though Gov. Jay Inslee wanted it to do more. In quick succession, the House and Senate passed a $3.6 billion spending plan for large capital construction projects with large majorities…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature passed a $3.6 billion capital projects budget this evening as its last action of its protracted session. In quick succession, the House and Senate both passed the list of projects and gave the state the authority to sell bonds to build…
OLYMPIA -- Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, holds Henry Schlicher while his father, Sen. Nathan Schlicher, D-Gig Harbor, handles a motion on the Senate floor. The extended special session prompted Schlicher to bring his son to the Legislature Saturday.
OLYMPIA -- That sound you heard was the last gasp death rattle of a $10 billion plan to raise gasoline taxes to pay for new road projects, fix existing roads and bridges and boost mass transit. Despite a plea from Gov. Jay INslee earlier in…
OLYMPIA — With strong bipartisan majorities in both houses, the Legislature passed a $33.6 billion operating budget, staving off a threatened shutdown of some state government services. After nearly six months which included a 105-day regular session, a first special session of 30 days and…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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