Stories by Laurel Demkovich for the Spokesman-Review

News > Agriculture

Farmers in Washington see fuel costs rise despite cap-and-trade carveout

UPDATED: Wed., July 5, 2023

Farmers in Washington are supposed to be exempt from the new cap-and-trade program but, six months in, some say they are still getting hit with added fuel costs.

News > Health

Washington lawmakers try to expand access to abortion with multiple bills this session

UPDATED: Thu., April 13, 2023

A number of proposals have already passed the Legislature and are awaiting final signature from Gov. Jay Inslee. A number of others could be on his desk soon.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Washington House passes latest bill to fix state’s drug possession law after debate stretches into wee hours

UPDATED: Wed., April 12, 2023

The proposal that passed the House 54-41 is different from what passed the state Senate earlier this year, which upped the penalty for possession to a gross misdemeanor, a charge with more jail time and a higher fine.

News > Washington

Duplex influx? Middle housing passes hurdle in Washington Senate

UPDATED: Tue., April 11, 2023

Under the proposal, most cities across the state would be required to allow denser types of housing on their lots — an attempt to shift zoning laws away from decades of only allowing single-family homes.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Change to Washington’s police pursuits law one step closer to reality with House approval

UPDATED: Tue., April 11, 2023

The bill must receive a final approval from the Senate before going to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for his signature.

News > Health

Pair of bills aiming to reduce nursing shortages in Washington pass Legislature on Thursday

UPDATED: Thu., April 6, 2023

A bill that will require hospitals to adopt staffing standards, including staff-patient ratios, and follow them 80% of the time passed the state House of Representatives 92-6. Another bill that would allow Washington enter into a multistate nurse licensure compact and allow nurses to get licenses that would be accepted in multiple states passed 94-4.

News > Health

Washington purchases three-year supply of abortion medication ahead of Texas ruling

UPDATED: Tue., April 4, 2023

Gov. Jay Inslee and Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday announced the purchase along with legislation that would allow the Department of Corrections to distribute the 30,000 doses to health providers.

News > Washington

Getting There: Funding for Liberty Park land bridge included in state budget proposals, but design still likely years away

Mon., April 3, 2023

In 2021, the state set aside $4 million for the design of the bridge, which community members say will help right some of the historical damage done when Interstate 90 was built. That funding is still included in proposed House and Senate Democrat budget proposals released this week.

News > Health

Hospitals keep losing money, but lawmakers may soon pass a plan to help

UPDATED: Wed., April 5, 2023

The program, known as the hospital safety net assessment in Washington, would allow the state to draw down more federal funds.

News > Washington

North Spokane Corridor funding appears safe in proposed transportation budgets

UPDATED: Wed., March 29, 2023

Both proposed transportation budgets from House and Senate Democrats keep funding construction on the North Spokane Corridor without any significant pause, despite concerns of a six-year delay following Gov. Jay Inslee's proposed budget in December.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Latest proposed fix for Washington’s drug possession law aims for compromise between treatment and jail

UPDATED: Wed., March 29, 2023

A new version of the bill to address the state's drug possession law would make possession a misdemeanor, punishable by 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both. The proposal would still give some jail time to people found possessing drugs, but it also would give offenders with substance use disorder opportunities to get treatment instead.

News > Washington

Washington House Democrats release $69 billion budget proposal that factors in Inslee’s housing referendum

UPDATED: Mon., March 27, 2023

In addition to the $69.5 billion of state funds, the budget uses more than $300 million in funding from the state's new cap-and-trade program and additional remaining federal COVID-19 relief funds. Much of the new funding goes toward K-12 education, special education, early learning and child care, salary increases for state employees, human services and behavioral health needs.

News > Washington

Avista Stadium, WSU, local projects could all get funding in proposed capital budget

Sat., March 25, 2023

The $7.9 billion capital budget funds construction and infrastructure across the state.

News > Washington

Inslee’s housing referendum faces pushback from lawmakers as budgets are released

UPDATED: Fri., March 24, 2023

Every two years, the state Legislature must pass a capital budget, which funds infrastructure and construction projects across the state. The state Senate released a $7.9 billion budget proposal on Monday that focuses its funds on affordable housing, school construction and environmental protection projects across the state.

News > Washington

Capital gains tax is legal in Washington, Supreme Court rules

UPDATED: Fri., March 24, 2023

OLYMPIA – Washington can tax the sale of stocks and other investments, freeing the state to collect more than $500 million a year to pay for child care programs, the state Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

News > Washington

Washington state Senate Democrats release $69 billion budget proposal with focus on education, behavioral health

UPDATED: Thu., March 23, 2023

Education, behavioral health and housing are the focus of a new state Senate budget proposal released Thursday.

News > Washington

Washington’s revenue projections are slowing thanks to inflation and an uncertain economy, new forecast says

UPDATED: Mon., March 20, 2023

Compared to the last revenue forecast in November, the state's projected revenue for the budget cycle ending in June is up by $194 million but the projected revenue for the budget cycle ending in 2025 has decreased by $483 million, according to the state's Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

News > Washington

Washington’s DNR wants to take part in carbon-credit markets

Sun., March 19, 2023

The state House of Representatives last week passed a bill that would authorize the department to use state lands for carbon sequestration or habitat restoration, such as reforesting land post-wildfire, planting forests on lands without trees or aquatic projects in the state's kelp forests. Those projects could then generate carbon credits, which the department could sell in carbon markets, such as Washington's cap-and-trade program.

News > Washington

A number of bills are dead in the Legislature. Here’s a look at what likely won’t make it through this year:

Sun., March 12, 2023

Every year, lawmakers introduce hundreds of bills — only for most of them to die about halfway through the session, following the first major deadline for bills to pass.

News > Washington

Some $300 million could be coming back to Washington after its first pollution auction

Thu., March 9, 2023

The state's largest polluters took part in their first quarterly auction last week as part of Washington's new cap-and-trade program, possibly bringing in nearly $300 million for the state to use on projects to fight climate change.

News > Crime/Public Safety

State House passes bills to ban assault weapons and require background checks, safety training for gun purchases

UPDATED: Thu., March 9, 2023

The types of firearms someone can purchase and the ways someone purchases them could soon be limited in Washington, if two bills making their way through the Legislature this week become law.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Washington Senate passes police pursuit bill, increasing when law enforcement can chase

UPDATED: Wed., March 8, 2023

The controversial bill that passed the state Senate 26-23 on Wednesday would allow law enforcement officers to pursue if they have reasonable suspicion that a person in the crime has committed or is committing a violent offense, a sex offense, a vehicle assault offense, a domestic violence assault, an escape or a driving under the influence offense.

News > Health

State Senate passes safe staffing standard, in compromise between hospitals, unions

Wed., March 8, 2023

The bill reflects a compromise between hospitals and nurse unions across the state who have long disagreed over the best way to address workforce shortages. Nurses have pushed for staff-to-patient ratios while hospitals have said they don't have staff to follow the ratios.

News > Washington

Bill to limit single-family housing in Washington picks up steam with House passage

UPDATED: Tue., March 7, 2023

Legalizing middle housing, such as duplexes or triplexes, across the state may soon become a reality with a bill that passed the state House of Representatives late Monday.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Washington Senate passes bill making drug possession a gross misdemeanor

UPDATED: Mon., March 6, 2023

In an emotional debate on the floor, supporters of the bill said it was a compromise that would provide a balance between compassion and accountability. Opponents, on the other hand, said the bill does not do enough to help those suffering with substance abuse and that criminalizing the illness is not the answer.

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