For The Olympia Report Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane) on Wednesday announced a strategy that would help Washington retain and grow thousands of Boeing aerospace jobs by introducing legislation to make Washington a right-to-work state if worker’s compensation insurance rates continue to increase. Baumgartner, who serves on the Senate Trade and Economic Development Committee, said...
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Washington State Lt. Gov. Brad Owen said on Thursday one possible solution for the difference of opinion over the budget that’s made necessary a 30-special session would be for Democrats to stop extending the courtesy of a proxy vote to ailing GOP Sen. Mike Carrell. “At some point … you might have to say...
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Twenty-sixth District Rep. Jan Angel wasted no time transitioning from governing to campaign mode on Monday, launching her active bid to claim the Senate seat left vacant in November when Gig Harbor Democrat Derek Kilmer was elected to Congress, succeeding longtime U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks. Incumbent candidates are banned from raising money while the...
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Gov. Jay Inslee was forced to order a special session of the Washington State Legislature when lawmakers adjourned on Sunday far short of an agreement on a two-year budget. Republicans had urged the governor to start the extra session on Monday to underscore the urgency of completing the task as soon as possible. Democrats...
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Even as the Washington State Legislature races to reconcile diametrically opposing views in the House and Senate regarding education, transportation and the operating budget in time to adjourn by Sunday, Gov. Jay Inslee signaled on Wednesday he still hasn’t given up on several pieces of social legislation that had been presumed dead. Asked if...
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A day after the House Transportation Committee endorsed a laundry list of tax increases to fund new road projects, the House Finance Committee on Tuesday approved an additional $900 million in tax hikes, ostensibly to fund education. Republicans on the committee, however, refused to concede either that the increases were necessary or that they...
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Washington State’s House Transportation Committee last week passed what its supporters called a bare-bones, no-frills budget. On Monday, the frills were added — as was a funding package to pay for them. At the heart of the $8.4 billion package was a proposed 10-cent gas tax, along with a proposal to increase various weight...
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Initiative activist Tim Eyman’s newest ballot measure follows a familiar theme. Like numerous Eyman initiatives in the past, the latest effort, announced on Monday morning, seeks to impose a two-majority requirement on the Legislature for all tax increases. The difference is, this time the standard would be included in the state constitution. “Five times,...
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For The Olympia Report A bipartisan agreement regarding the Columbia River Crossing project allowed the Senate Transportation Committee to move forward today with its proposed budget. With 10 days to go in the 2013 legislative session, the budget was being held up by concerns about some $80 million that is designated for the CRC...
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The Washington State House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to approve an $8.4 billion transportation package its supporters insist is a bare-bones, maintenance-only proposal that includes no new major construction projects. The package is $1.6 billion less than the plan unveiled by Democrats in February, but still relies heavily on a 10-cent-per-gallon increase in...
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