The state of Washington narrowly averted the need to mail out up to $160 million in refund checks on Thursday when the state Senate just minutes before midnight passed an estate tax “fix” that could ultimately be declared unconstitutional. The first round of checks, totaling $40 million, were due to be mailed at 8...
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A day before the state was supposed to mail out $160 million in refund checks most lawmakers would prefer to spend elsewhere, the Washington State House of Representatives on Thursday approved an estate tax “fix” that keeps the money in Olympia until it can be diverted to the education trust fund. The bill, Engrossed...
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With the special session down to its final hours and both houses of the Washington State Legislature still deadlocked over a two-year operating budget, Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday announced a third session would convene at 9 a.m. tomorrow and laid the blame for that action squarely at the feet of the Republican-led Majority...
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The Washington State Senate’s Republican-led Majority Caucus on Saturday passed a $33.4 billion operating budget for the 2013-14 biennium and promised to approve a handful of revenue measures to help pay for them — but not unless it can also pass a slate of reforms designed to make state operations more efficient, too. “I’m...
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Washington’s revenue picture improved modestly in the past quarter, with the state now expected to generate $86 million — or 4.1 percent — more than projected in the March forecast. Most of the difference — $48 million — came through a one-time audit payment, meaning has little bearing on the state’s long-term economic prognosis. Still,...
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House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday unveiled what they characterized as a budget compromise that makes increased investments in education without shredding the safety net. “We’ve been meeting every day and working hard, in good faith,” said Majority Leader Pat Sullivan (D-Covington). “To finish our work and avoid a Washington, D.C.-style shutdown of state...
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Responding to comments earlier in the day from Gov. Jay Inslee suggesting the Republican-led Majority Coalition in the Senate has been an impediment during ongoing budget negotiations, Coalition leaders on Tuesday afternoon signaled they are open to revenue increases — so long as they are tied to serious governmental reform measures. “The coalition has...
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The Pierce County Council on Tuesday afternoon named 28th District Rep. Steve O’Ban to fill the seat of Lakewood Sen. Mike Carrell. O’Ban, serving his first term in the House, was not the first choice of the county party leaders. When 28th District precinct committee officers met in emergency session on Thursday — a...
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Democrats on Monday initially resisted the temptation to seize control of the Washington State Senate, preferring instead to spend an hour remembering the man who’s death gave them the opportunity. “I’m going to miss (Sen.) Mike Carrell a lot,” said Sen. Jim Hargrove (D-Hoquiam). “I saw him as someone who came here to get...
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Members of the Pierce County Council’s Rules Committee agreed on Monday morning to schedule an emergency meeting for Tuesday during which the council will consider a resolution to appoint an interim senator to fill the seat of Lakewood Republican Mike Carrell, who died last week. State and local GOP leaders have been pressuring the...
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