Tagged: Government and Politics

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The three Washington Senate Democrats who broke from their caucus last month to vote with Republicans face renewed criticism from their fellow Democrats. At issue is whether to link a series of government reforms to a plan to rebalance the state budget.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington House Democrats have a new plan to rebalance the state budget and go home. The proposed spending blueprint unveiled Wednesday abandons a controversial delayed payment to school districts. But it would also leave less cash-on-hand in case of an emergency. Majority Leader Pat Sullivan says the House hopes to use the budget to kick start stalled negotiations.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – A Republican takeover of the Washington state senate last month could prove costly. A longtime lawyer for the Senate Republican caucus is now demanding $1.75 million in damages. He says to muster enough votes to control the senate, Republicans lifted sanctions against a senator who created a hostile work environment.

A controversial federal immigration program is now in effect across all of Washington State, as of today . The statewide rollout came earlier than some anticipated.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire’s deadline for a bipartisan budget deal has come and gone. Lawmakers Tuesday failed to agree on a plan to rebalance the state budget and implement so called government reforms.

Now, House Democrats say they will pass their own budget in hopes of breaking the logjam.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington Governor Chris Gregoire says she has put a compromise budget balancing proposal on the table in hopes of breaking the stalemate at the state capital. Speaking to reporters Friday, she indicated bipartisan negotiations are making some progress, but calls the talks "tenuous." Gregoire declined to reveal any details about what is included in her spending blueprint.

Washington State took another step Thursday to protect minors from sexual exploitation through online ads. Overall a dozen anti-human trafficking bills were signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire.

One of the laws is aimed directly at sex ad publishers, like backpage.com, which has so far refused to verify age in its escort ads.