Listen
If Washington lawmakers don’t pass a state budget by June 30, the state will go into a partial government shutdown. And the impacts would be significant.
So what would that look like?
It would look like is about 30,000 state employees being furloughed or temporarily laid off. It would look like state parks closing just in time for the Fourth of July holiday.
If Washington State Parks were to close during the first week of July, it would affect an estimated 1.4 million park goers.
In addition, many state services would be curtailed or limited. For instance, prisons would still operate but community corrections where they supervise former inmates in the community would cease to happen.
We’ve been here before—in 2015 and 2013 the state went right up to the edge, preparing for a government shutdown. It didn’t happen, but some government insiders have said that this is the point at which they start to get nervous.
Copyright 2017 Northwest News Network. To see more, visit Northwest News Network.
Related Stories:
Killing Wolves Might Protect One Farm’s Livestock At Expense Of Others
A new study claims government killing of wolves can increase the risk to nearby farms, providing further evidence for the ineffectiveness of the so-called “lethal control” policy approach. The report also casts doubt on an earlier research paper, which government agencies often use to support the practice. Read More » Tony Schick January 12, 2018
Federal Agency Will Stop Killing Beaver State’s Beavers To Help Salmon
It took the threat of a lawsuit, but a federal agency is no longer killing the Beaver State’s beavers. Environmental groups had challenged the practice in Oregon because, they said, it’s a threat to more than just the state animal. Like much in the Northwest, it touches on salmon. Read More » Courtney Flatt January 12, 2018
WSU Student Journalists Say They’ll Keep Fighting Amid Proposed Cuts
Washington State University’s student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen, is facing a big budget deficit, and cuts to its print days. NWPB host Thom Kokegne sat down with Evergreen editor-in-chief Madison Jackson to talk about the proposed cuts, and how they’ll keep doing their work as a watchdog on the university administration. Read More » Scott Leadingham January 12, 2018