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Conservative Latino leaders wary of how disputed legislative district lines will be redrawn
Latino civic leaders on Thursday warned the redrawing of a Yakima Valley legislative district could do more harm than good for communities they represent in south-central Washington. They said they worry that when a federal judge finishes redoing the disputed map for the 15th Legislative District, it will cost Sen. Nikki Torres of Pasco, Washington’s […]
New state budget forecast offers $1B worth of good news for Washington leaders
Lawmakers will have nearly $1 billion more to spend in the current budget, according to the latest analysis from the state’s chief economist. A new forecast released Tuesday projects state revenues will reach $66.7 billion for the two-year budget cycle that began July 1, an increase of $663 million from what chief economist Steve Lerch […]
Washington Lands commissioner race gets even more crowded as Dave Upthegrove jumps in
King County Council Member Dave Upthegrove entered the race for Washington Commissioner of Public Lands on Monday, becoming the fifth Democratic candidate vying for the job of managing state public lands and forests. Upthegrove, a former state lawmaker who ran unsuccessfully for the lands chief job in 2016, created a campaign committee in May but […]
New GOP contender complicates Republican attempt to win back WA congressional seat
CAMAS, Wash. — Republicans are desperate to recapture the southwest Washington congressional seat they lost in 2022. But first they must settle who will carry the GOP torch into battle against Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez next year. Joe Kent, a conservative adherent of former president Donald Trump, who Gluesenkamp Perez defeated in the […]
Judge upholds Washington’s $17B transportation package
An effort to derail a sweeping state transportation package failed Friday, with a Thurston County judge upholding the law. But opponents hinted that the legal fight may not be over. They’d sued asserting the legislation contains multiple unrelated topics in violation of a state constitutional requirement that bills cover no more than one subject. Thurston […]
Washington Senate’s budget-writing panel gets a new leader
Sen. June Robinson, an Everett Democrat, was named Thursday as the new chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee, the budget-writing panel responsible for developing tax policies and deciding how the state spends billions of dollars each year. Robinson, the committee vice chair for the operating budget and revenue the last three sessions, was […]
As paid family leave claims rise in Washington, the wait for benefits gets longer
Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program wants to hire 49 more employees to deal with steadily rising demand that has some people waiting over a month to receive benefits. The state Employment Security Department asked for authority to hire the workers in a 2024 supplemental budget request submitted to Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this […]
Washington’s reworked heat pump rules get a cool reception from critics
Washington regulators on Friday veered away from requiring builders to install electric heat pumps rather than natural gas furnaces in new homes, apartments and commercial buildings they construct. Instead, in an expected move, the Washington State Building Code Council settled on an overhaul of energy regulations aimed at beefing up incentives for choosing heat pumps […]
WA lawmakers push for greater access to fertility services for service members and veterans
New legislation introduced in Congress would ease access to infertility treatments for military service members.
Democratic leaders will leave court to redraw disputed map for WA legislative district
Washington’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission will not be reconvened and a federal judge should redraw the disputed map for a Yakima Valley legislative district, the Democratic leaders of the state Legislature said Wednesday. House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, and Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane issued a joint statement that there would not be a special […]
More Democrats lining up to be Washington’s next public lands commissioner
The job of managing Washington’s public lands and forests is opening up next year and the number of Democrats who want it is growing. Democratic state Sen. Rebecca Saldana of Seattle announced her candidacy for commissioner of public lands on Wednesday and said in an interview she wants to ensure the benefits of state policies […]
Inslee won’t call special session to deal with controversy over legislative district map
Gov. Jay Inslee will not bring lawmakers back to Olympia to reconvene the state’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission, making it almost certain that a federal judge will draw a new map for a Yakima Valley legislative district. “The governor is not going to call a special session,” Inslee Press Secretary Mike Faulk said Monday. Lawmakers can […]