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| Higher education is an investment we can’t afford to neglect | A recent easing of the budget crisis facing Washington state is presenting legislators with an unexpected opportunity to both right a wrong and to invest in our state’s long-term economic health. |
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| Special session looking likely for lawmakers to finish budget | State lawmakers, for the third year in a row, appear headed into special session to negotiate a state budget. |
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| Sine die? House Democrats offer ‘Hail Mary’ budget ploy | With time running out on the clock in the Washington Legislature’s session, House Democrats offered a last-minute budget amendment late last night. Links to relevant documents are here. … It spends the most of any budget to date, $30.9 billion over two years and leaves the least in reserves. |
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| State budget conversation must move back to the center | Rodney Tom and Jim Kastama, state senators from Puget Sound suburbs, both insist they are still Democrats. But they felt they had to do something to stop fellow Democrats from writing a budget strong on gimmicks and weak on reform and sustainability. |
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| Can you spell s-p-e-c-i-a-l s-e-s-s-i-o-n? | Gov. Chris Gregoire hadn’t thrown in the towel on cutting a budget deal tonight after shuttle diplomacy between Republicans and Democrats at the Capitol. But hope is fading – barring some midnight breakthrough – that a deal can be struck in time to avoid going past Thursday's scheduled end… |
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| Lawmakers, use your imagination and compromise | Friday's Senate revolt, which resulted in a Republican budget passing the Democratically controlled Senate, have blown the minds of Democratic leaders used to getting their way in Olympia. |
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| Battle over merger of state pension funds unresolved | A political tug-of-war over a potential $1.2 billion surplus in one of the state’s oldest, richest pensions is unsettled as the Washington Legislature enters the final 48 hours of an unpredictable session in search of any loose money. |
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| Special session if no budget deal is reached by Thursday deadline | The Legislature teetered on the edge of going into special session as Democratic and Republican leaders started tentative budget negotiations Monday. |
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| Capital gains tax could help to solve state budget problems | The state of Washington could benefit on several fronts from a tax on capital gains. The tax already in place in 42 states would bring some stability and equity to the current tax system, which has the 20 percent of families with the lowest income paying 17 percent of what they earn on… |
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| GOP grabs reins of budget in Olympia | Republicans pulled a coup early Saturday, seizing control of the state Senate to pass a budget radically different from one proposed by the Democratic majority. |