OLYMPIA -- With the session days in triple digits, the Legislature is expected to spend most of the day -- and perhaps part of the night -- in debates and votes. The 105th and final day of the regular session will be Sunday, and leaders…
OLYMPIA – Some businesses and their customers could see higher taxes starting this summer as the state tries to increase the money it spends on public schools, but beer makers and the folks who consume their product aren’t likely to be among them. A key…
OLYMPIA – Spokane County’s medical examiners may soon have no legal barrier that stops them from talking about the results of investigations into deaths that involve actions by law enforcement officers. A unanimous Senate Tuesday passed a bill allowing them to discuss the results of…
OLYMPIA -- Democrats on the House Finance Committee approved a $900 million package of tax increases this morning designed to pay for increases in public school programs. Republicans voted no, saying the state should increase money for schools without raising taxes. On an 8-5 vote,…
Signatures on petitions in support of two proposed citizens’ initiatives in Spokane will be counted and verified. But council members hinted Monday that they may block the proposals from the ballot even if activists collected enough support. The Spokane City Council voted 6-0 on Monday…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate voted to tap a trust fund set up for school construction to help pay for other education programs and make its budget proposal balance, despite warnings it was full of "gimmicks." Minority Democrats tried unsuccessfully to block some of the accounting…
OLYMPIA -- A proposal to allow the state and local school districts to have their part-time workers get medical insurance through "Obamacare" barely cleared the Senate today. Senate Bill 5905, which allows the state and school districts to bargain with their part-timers to be switched…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature moves into its last regularly scheduled week with budgets to reconcile, taxes to raise or not raise and other bills to pass. Sunday is Day 105, and if there's no budget deal by then, we're looking at a special session, either…
So the big question as each cutoff approaches is what will be the last bill to slip through, under the wire. This is sometimes known as the 4:59 bill, because cutoff was set years ago at 5 p.m., allegedly so legislators of yore were not…
OLYMPIA – The Legislature has a variety of deadlines designed to winnow down the thousands of bills introduced in any given session to a few hundred that actually require everyone to cast a vote. These deadlines, known as cutoffs, generally require a bill to prove…
Joe Korbuszewski addresses the group protesting a new tax on microbreweries Friday on the Capitol steps. OLYMPIA – The Legislature looked at raising a wide array of taxes Friday -- on beer, gasoline or bottled water, on doctors, lawyers or janitors or on nonresidents who…
The Rainier bottles "graze" in front of the Capitol during a protest against the extension of the state's temporary beer surcharge. OLYMPIA -- There's never a giant opener around when I need one. A pair of the Rainier bottles made famous in the beer's off-beat…
Sens. Mike Baumgartner, left and Doug Ericksen hold beer steins while addressing a demonstration against the a new tax on microbreweries. The mugs were empty.
OLYMPIA -- The House omnibus tax bill gets a hearing this morning in the Finance Committee, playing to a full room of folks explaining why a tax increase on their particular industry is a bad idea, and folks explaining why more taxes in general is…
OLYMPIA – Efforts to fast-track a crackdown on repeat drunk drivers, announced with bipartisan fanfare Tuesday, hit some go slow warnings Thursday from prosecutors, judges and cops. They're raising so many questions that a key committee chairman all but acknowledged Thursday the Legislature might not…
Virginia Graham watches as Gov. Jay Inslee signs a bill extending the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases. OLYMPIA – Virginia Graham’s journey to get justice for victims of child sex abuse isn’t over, but after nearly 10 years of pleading and prodding…
OLYMPIA -- Senate Democrats tried a new way to bring the Reproductive Parity Act to the floor through a parliamentary procedure. After failing Tuesday in an attempt with one manuever -- known as the 9th Order -- on a 23-25 vote, they moved this morning…
OLYMPIA -- Citing health concerns, Rep. Richard DeBolt said today he is stepping down as House Republican leader. DeBolt, a Chehalis resident first elected in 1996, suffered an unspecified health emergency on the evening of April 10 at his home, a statement from the House…
OLYMPIA -- The House and Senate are expected to vote on a boatload of bills today on a wide variety of topics. That's because any bill not connected to the budget, that has passed one chamber must pass the other chamber by 5 p.m. Otherwise,…
OLYMPIA – Some day soon, small children could have trouble reaching the dining room table. Doors will blow shut with the breeze. Well-muscled men will search in vain for something to tear in half to prove their strength. Navin Johnson will not jump for joy…
OLYMPIA -- Be careful about giving money to groups that claim to be helping victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, state officials warned today. In what some would consider a disturbing sign of the times, Attorney General Rob Ferguson and Secretary of State Kim Wyman…
OLYMPIA -- House Democrats passed a two-year spending plan for the state's transportation system today, overcoming Republican objections about a controversial bridge over the Columbia River and the way tolls are set on roads and bridges. Included in the bill is some $79 million for…
OLYMPIA -- The House is planning to vote on the 2013-15 Transportation Budget this morning. OK, so maybe you've heard that before. Like as recently as yesterday. They didn't get to that or the Capital Budget on Monday, but we're assured they will do the…
OLYMPIA -- Minority Democrats say they are ready to use a parliamentary maneuver to bring two bills that are trapped in committee to a vote in the Senate. Senate Democratic Leader Ed Murray of Seattle said today they will use a tactic known as the…
Your federal income tax forms are due today. If you haven't started and you need to file something harder than the 1040EZ, you may want to think about filing for an extension. If you're done with taxes and want a diversion -- and you're old…
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