Opponents of a bill that would add photos to Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards in Washington State say the move is either too expensive, unnecessary or both. The cards, which are nearly indistinguishable from a regular bank card, are distributed to low-income individuals for use like food stamps at grocery stores and other food...
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Citing continued declines in the state’s revenue projections, three of the world’s most influential  credit rating agencies this week downgraded Washington’s status from “stable” to “negative” until the Legislature can get a handle on the current budget shortfall. Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Moody’s Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings all preserved  Washington’s current AA+ rating...
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As seems to happen in every session, a bill — two, in fact — intended to “improve” the initiative process in Washington state is making the rounds in Olympia. House Bills 2499 and 2500, debated on Monday in the House Government Affairs, Elections and Tribal Relations Committee, would impose the same financial and public...
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A plan to consolidate the healthcare benefits packages of nearly 200,000 public school employees into the existing state plan pitted labor union against labor union on Thursday. On one side are the unions representing employees other than teachers, who enthusiastically support Senate Bill 6442, which would roll education employees currently ineligible for  healthcare coverage...
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A bill introduced in the Washington State Legislature on Thursday could empower individuals to challenge — and potentially overturn — the results of virtually any local election by convincing a judge the outcome disenfranchised a “protected class” of voters within the affected district. House Bill 2612, dubbed the “Voting Rights Act of 2012,” specifically...
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During more than an hour of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee over a bill to abolish the death penalty in Washington state, pretty much the only dissenting voice belonged Sen. Pam Roach, herself a member of the committee. She gave as good as she got, though. With not a single death penalty supporter...
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A week after a bipartsan group of Washington state lawmakers proposed a laundry list of bills intended to thwart human trafficking and prostitution, the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee on Wednesday heard debate on the first bill, which would bring the practice reflexology under control of the state Department of Health. Reflexology, the...
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Less than a week after an independent accountant advised Washington lawmakers that the Columbia River Crossing’s finances were so muddled the project should either be postponed or scrapped altogether, a bill was introduced in the state Legislature authorize the collection of tolls to help fund it. Sen. Craig Pridemore (D-Vancouver) on Tuesday told the...
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Same-day voter registration got another hearing in Olympia on Tuesday, with opponents of the concept citing yet another reason it would be a mistake in Washington and vocal support coming only from college students eager to recruit on campus right up until election day. Senate Bill 6127 would require elections officials to register new...
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The authors of a bill whose purpose is to make Washington state ballot initiatives more difficult to file are borrowing the fiscally responsible language of several recent initiative successes to press their point. “We’re in the midst of a severe recession that forces us to consider the cost of virtually everything we do,” Rep....
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