OLYMPIA -- Friday's debate over the Senate capital budget amendments prompted a brief but interesting bit of parliamentary drama in the ongoing maneuvering between minority Democrats and the predominantly Republican coalition that controls the chamber. Democrats first objected to a fairly minor amendment to add…
Republican activists in Spokane, and those who might be thinking of becoming more active, will be gathering Saturday morning for precinct caucuses. No, there isn't a presidential election this year that's sneaking up on you. Although caucuses get the most attention when they occur during…
OLYMPIA – With strong bipartisan support, the Senate passed a budget plan that was described by supporters and opponents more for what it doesn't do than what it does. It doesn't put state spending out of balance, doesn't raise taxes or college tuition, supporters said.…
OLYMPIA -- On a unanimous vote, a House committee approved a plan to build some 2,000 new classrooms at schools around the state by tapping lottery funds. The House Capital Budget Committee voted 13-0 this morning in favor of a proposal to sell $700 million…
OLYMPIA – A proposal to make power from the West Plains garbage incinerator worth more money, one of the city of Spokane’s top legislative priorities, died a quiet death Wednesday in a House committee. A proposal to reclassify power from the city's Waste-to-Energy facility as…
OLYMPIA -- House Democrats will unveil their operating budget at noon, and their capital budget at 12:45 p.m.,at back-to-back press conferences, in a day filled with committee hearings and media events. Also around the Capitol, Sen. Janea Holmquist Newbry talks about studying lower taxes for…
OLYMPIA -- A day after some of their members showed support for a no new taxes budget "update" with few changes to existing state spending plans, Senate Democrats unveiled a more ambitious, and politically difficult -- proposal to end four tax breaks and raise $100…
Last night's revelation that an assistant secretary of the Air Force believed the proposed casino from the Spokane Tribe of Indians would create "insignificant disruption" to Fairchild puts a major damper on the efforts of the project's opponents to label the casino a threat to…
OLYMPIA – Public schools would get more money for math and science supplies and state colleges would keep tuition from going up in a proposal released by the Senate budget writers. But there would be no major new expenses, no cost-of-living raises for teachers, no…
OLYMPIA -- Members of the Senate from both parties will unveil their proposal for a supplemental budget this afternoon, a day before they hold a hearing on it in the Ways and Means Committee. Not much time, government watchdog Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy…
OLYMPIA – A vote in the Senate last week brought a result about as rare as a sunny day in the state capital, and much harder to explain. A bill to require statewide student tests as part of teacher evaluations – a requirement designed to…
The Museum of Arts and Culture will be a busy place this weekend for Spokane residents who want to ask their legislators what’s happening in Olympia. As the 2014 session nears the two-thirds mark, legislators from the 3rd and 6th Districts have town hall meetings…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee said he wants a public conversation about raising the state's minimum wage but acknowledged today the chance an increase will pass the 2014 Legislature are not good. "I can't be optimistic it's going to pass the state Senate this year,"…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature hits the two-thirds mark in its 60-day session today with a relatively light work, fairly typical for Friday, work schedule. Some hearings in the morning and early afternoon, nothing late in the day to get in the way of legislators heading…
OLYMPIA – Doctors and licensed therapists in Washington could soon be barred from trying to turn gay teens straight through techniques known as “conversion therapy.” A bill labels such practices, also known as sexual orientation change efforts or reparative therapy, as unprofessional conduct if used…
OLYMPIA -- Procrastinating voters who delay registering as the election approaches would have a little more time to sign up on-line before an election under a bill moving through the Legislature. But those who would prefer to go to the elections office and fill out…
OLYMPIA -- Each chamber's committees continue looking at the other chamber's surviving bills now that legislation has been winnowed by this week's cut off. The Senate Health Committee holds a hearing on a bill restricting sexual orientation change efforts. Senate Government Operations has several bills…
UPDATE: OLYMPIA — Faced with far more people wanting to grow legal marijuana than state rules would allow, the Liquor Control Board upped the amount of land that can be planted to the drug by more than five-fold. But it also put some new restrictions…
OLYMPIA -- Some large companies would have to reveal how much their tax preferences are worth under a bill the House approved Tuesday. On a mostly partisan 52-45 vote, the House approved and sent to the Senate a bill requiring publicly traded companies in 32…
OLYMPIA -- Four small Eastern Washington counties could opt out of many requirements of the Growth Management Act under a bill approved unanimously by the Senate. SB 6194 allows counties with fewer than 20,000 people that voluntarily agreed to join the GMA in the past…
OLYMPIA -- Owners of former contract liquor stores struggling with the new law on liquor sales would get some help from fees under a bill approved Tuesday by the Senate. After voters approved a ballot measure getting the state out of the wholesale and retail…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate gave strong support for tougher penalties for assaults stemming from the so-called knockout game, despite a warning from some Democrats state laws already are adequate to handle what's may be a criminal "fad." Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, sponsored SB 6011…
OLYMPIA -- The hopes of many interest groups, lobbyists and citizens with hopes for key pieces of legislation hang in the balance today, a major "cut-off" day for bills. If a bill doesn't have some fiscal aspect to it, it must have passed the chamber…
As a member of Congress gains stature in Washington, D.C., opponents often have more trouble defeating them in elections back home. Eastern Washington Democrats are hoping the reverse is true this year as Joe Pakootas prepares to run against Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. He’s…
OLYMPIA – The Finch Arboretum would get a share of the money raised by a new license plate the features the state tree under a bill approved Monday by the House. The plate with the Western hemlock would be added to the dozens of specialty…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
| Feb. 2014 | ||||
| 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 |
| 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| 11 | 10 | 08 | 07 | 06 |
| 05 | 04 | 03 | 01 |
