By State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, Sam Cho, Port of Seattle Commissioner, and Rich Stolz, Executive Director of OneAmerica
For Northwest Asian WeeklyOur country is in the midst of a long overdue reckoning with racial injustices and systemic inequality. While those issues have finally moved to the front of our collective focus, environmental justice and impacts of pollution and climate change on ...
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A bill sponsored by Sen. Rebecca Saldaña aims to reduce environmental and health disparities and improve the health of Washington state residents by implementing the recommendations of the environmental justice task force.
The HEAL Act, SB 5141, would establish environmental justice plan implementation, equitable community engagement and public participation, tribal consultation, assessment and budget and funding obligation requirements for various ...
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(This article originally appeared on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.)
For the first time in Washington state history, state legislators had a floor vote on a long-proposed capital gains tax. Even more novel: They passed it.
On Saturday, March 6, the Senate Democrats, led by Sen. June Robinson (D-38, Everett) pushed SB 5096 through the senate. The bill passed ...
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By Tom Banse
Washington state senators have teed up a mileage-based tax for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as the first step toward changing how the state pays for road maintenance and other transportation needs. Policymakers expect gas tax revenue to decline long term. Oregon has been experimenting with a per-mile charge for years.
Right now, Washingtonians who own ...Read MoreWe still have time to act for climate protection. This means supporting renewable energy by all levels of government while taking personal actions too.
Don’t believe anyone who tells you the battle is lost. Remember, we need both government incentives and penalties, not just one or the other. Never let anyone drive a wedge between these two.
Do tax carbon now and ...
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by Cara Wietstock
The Washington State Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis has called for the state to prioritize race over location for equity applicants and to let funds reserved for equity applicants go to current licensees who would meet the program’s requirements.
Washington state’s Task Force on Social Equity made two motions in their latest meeting on January 26. In ...Read More
by Jack Russillo
Washington State’s 2021 legislative session kicked off on January 11 and it will go for 105 days, until April 25.
Between now and then, State senators and representatives will introduce bills to the legislature, refer them to their applicable committees, and consider the bills multiple times and at various stages before a bill is potentially passed into law. This ...
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by Lilly Fowler
Ramón Núñez had been making ends meet by driving for Uber. Then COVID-19 cases spiked and, with his wife in treatment for endometrial cancer, the 54-year-old immigrant from Venezuela decided to do what he could to lessen his potential exposure to the coronavirus. He started delivering food instead.
Núñez is making less money now but has to make ...Read More
by Jack Russillo
During the 2019 legislative session, two state senators from South King County sponsored a bill that aimed to improve environmental justice for all of Washington’s residents, but only some of the policy actually became a reality.
This year’s new legislative session, which opened last week, has already seen numerous senators co-sponsor the same policy — including one of the ...Read More
by Lilly Fowler
Undocumented workers who lost income because of the coronavirus pandemic, but were passed over for federal assistance, will finally be getting some help in Washington state, thanks to a new $40 million relief fund.
Gov. Jay Inlsee is setting up the new financial assistance program with cooperation from ...
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