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Come Monday, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire will begin to write the final chapter of her biography as the state's chief executive.

Lawmakers will start a 60-day session that will be the last opportunity for Gregoire to leave her political fingerprints on how…

Lawmakers face an all-too-familiar problem when they convene Monday for a 60-day legislative session: balancing a state budget that's way out of whack.

This year's different, though. Lawmakers will also confront a volatile mix of other issues that could…

When legislators representing Whatcom County head to Olympia, one problem will occupy their minds: the state budget.
Legislators representing the 40th and 42nd districts will introduce bills reflecting their various interest and specialties, but they'll be forced to make tough budget…

State Rep. Chris Reykdal and Sen. David Frockt are proposing a 1 percent state tax on corporate and personal incomes in exchange for killing off the state business and occupation tax and reducing the state sales tax.

The bill language is still being finalized, but Reykdal, a Tumwater…

Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday she plans to bypass the state Attorney General's Office and seek court guidance on the constitutionality of a law limiting tax increases.

Gregoire, who is technically listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, said she is working…

THERE is a paradox in Washington around education and jobs. The state ranks among the highest in the proportion of the population with a college degree (14th), but among the lowest in the proportion of state high-school graduates who go to college (46th). The reason, of course, is that…

As our legislators return to Olympia, they must feel like the Bill Murray character in the movie “Groundhog Day.” Each year they show up at Olympia and find that – once again – revenue falls far short of expenditures. Let’s hope this year they find a way to awaken from this bad dream.

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Revenue, reform and, of course, cuts. Those are the options lawmakers will weigh this month as they try to balance a budget deficit projected to be about a billion dollars through the middle of 2013.

But what, exactly, is a budget cut? It depends on whom you ask.…

The Legislature adjourned a 17-day special session Wednesday after voting to close $480 million of the state’s $2 billion budget gap.
The action, which passed by lopsided and bipartisan votes in the House and Senate, left the tougher budget decisions until lawmakers return Jan. 9 for a…

Washington lawmakers have adjourned their special session without re-balancing the state budget -– as the governor had demanded. Instead, majority Democrats took a modest bite out of the $1.4 billion shortfall.

But they left the tough decisions for January. That…