Capital budget
Crime, taxes and artificial intelligence on tap as WA lawmakers prep for session
Rising costs of transportation projects. Using artificial intelligence in Washington classrooms. Preserving affordable housing. Spending proceeds from the state’s new capital gains tax and recent cap-and-trade auctions. Those are a few topics state lawmakers will delve into when they return to Olympia for committee days, an annual fete in which they get schooled on issues […]
State hauls in nearly $900M from first year of capital gains tax
Washington’s new capital gains tax brought in $890 million in its first year, state officials said Wednesday. Those proceeds, garnered from the state’s wealthiest residents, will be funneled into early learning and child care programs, and to school districts in need of dollars for construction and renovation projects. “The new funds could not come at […]
At State Parks, revenue is up and staffing levels are down
Washington State Parks took in more money than expected during the past two years as the pandemic drove a boom in outdoor recreation. State Parks collected almost $123 million between July 2021 and April of this year, $12 million more than anticipated. That’s according to a financial report delivered at a State Parks and Recreation […]
Lawmakers tried to regain Capitol dome access. Inslee said ‘no’
Mark Schoesler has been to the top of the state Capitol dome. Most of the longtime senator’s legislative colleagues have not. And they won’t likely get there any time soon. Schoesler, a Republican, authored a provision in the state capital budget to make access possible but Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed it before signing the […]