By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist On Jan. 11, 2021, the Washington State Legislature will be back in session, but operating very differently from past years due to the pandemic. For the first time in the state’s history, the session will be mostly conducted in a virtual format, and come January, the typically bustling capitol campus will be noticeably quiet and ... Read More »
From q13fox.com The Washington state House on Friday released its plan for the upcoming legislative session, with opening ceremonies held at a nearby private university in order to abide by coronavirus restrictions, but with the rest of the work done remotely. Their plan comes more than a month after the Senate released its own plan to do the work of ... Read More »
From the Seattle Times Washington Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler, who had a hand in guiding Republicans through several years in the majority, will step down from his leadership post, a spokesperson confirmed on Monday. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From Crosscut.com Tuesday’s election wasn’t a blowout victory for Democrats in Washington state. Yet it looks as if Democrats may gain a few seats in the state Legislature — and even those modest gains could help propel some progressive priorities over the finish line, lawmakers said Wednesday. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Today, the Washington State Supreme Court issued its decision concerning the constitutionality of RCW 49.46.130(2)(g), the statute exempting agricultural workers from the overtime pay requirement set out in the Washington Minimum Wage Act, ch. 49.46 RCW. In a 5-4 decision, the Washington State Supreme Court sided with the class of affected agricultural workers and held ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist While ballots are still being counted, early results from the Nov. 3, 2020, election suggest that a combination of wins for both Republicans and Democrats even out to Democrats slightly increasing majorities in the both the state Senate and House of Representatives. However, the final election results will determine whether the legislature is more progressive. ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen WAWG lobbyist In recent weeks, some political commentators and editorials predicted a blue wave in Washington state, but that failed to materialize. The purpose of the Aug. 4 primary election is to narrow down the number of candidates that qualify for the November general election. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary election ... Read More »
From the Capital Press Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has vetoed new spending totaling $235 million from the budget passed by lawmakers last month, including money for Washington State University to study soil health and to help farmers find alternatives to the pesticide chlorpyrifos. See the rest of the article here. Read More »
By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Last Friday, Governor Inslee signed the supplemental operating and capital budgets. While he signed the supplemental capital budget in full, he used his line-item veto authority to trim the supplemental operating budget stating that circumstances have changed dramatically since the 2020 supplemental operating budget was approved by the Legislature last month due to COVID-19. In ... Read More »
Download the report here. The 2020 Legislative session has come to a close, concluding its intense 60-day session on time. The session began focusing on homelessness, housing and transportation in light of voter-approved $30 car tabs. However, the final days of the session were dominated by fears about the potential economic fallout from COVID-19. These fears led lawmakers to cut ... Read More »
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