In The News

With federal voting rights legislation stalled in Congress, majority Democrats in the Washington Legislature are contemplating an expansion of a 2018 state-level voting rights law aimed at increasing minority representation. Democrats are also advancing an automatic voter registration bill modeled after similar laws in states like Oregon and Colorado that have been credited with ...

Lawmakers in the Senate Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs Committee recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday by hearing several bills that are intended to support Washington workers. Senate Bill 5835 relates to worker’s compensation benefits and is sponsored by Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle. Currently, unmarried workers who file workers’ compensation claims make on average 5 percent less than their ...

In the past few years, our recycling system has been challenged by changing recycled material markets, lack of investment in infrastructure and public education and a patchwork of different policies and processes regarding how we deal with recyclable waste across different communities. This legislative session, Washington lawmakers are proposing legislation that would make the producers and sellers of products and waste ...

OLYMPIA — Hypothetical scenario: A candidate for county executive loses an election, then claims there’s been fraud in the county’s election office and announces that something needs to be done about it. “And supporters hear that and they decide, ‘Well, I’m going to go and firebomb the place,'” said Sen. David Frockt, D-Seattle. “And they go and firebomb the place.” “That’s not ...

By State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, Sam Cho, Port of Seattle Commissioner, and Rich Stolz, Executive Director of OneAmerica

Our 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 ...

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 ...

(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 ...

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.

We 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 ...

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.