Washington Supreme Court Rules State Lawmakers Are Subject To Public Disclosure Law

By Austin Jenkins
File photo of the Washington Senate gallery. CREDIT: WASHINGTON LEGISLATURE
In a 7-to-2 decision, the Washington Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that individual state lawmakers are subject to the state’s Public Records Act (PRA) and therefore must disclose records such as emails and calendars. In doing so, the high court upheld a lower court ruling and delivered a significant victory to media outlets that sued over access to lawmaker records. Read More

Road Ahead May Charge Drivers By The Mile, But Change Rolls Out Slowly On Northwest Roads

By Tom Banse
The Washington State Transportation Commission recommended implementing a pay-per-mile road charge at a meeting Tuesday, Dec. 17. CREDIT: WSDOT
The panel that sets highway and bridge tolls in Washington is recommending the state follow Oregon's lead and phase in a pay-by-the-mile road tax to make up for expected declines in gas tax revenue. The nonbinding recommendation to the Washington Legislature from the state Transportation Commission drew flak from skeptical taxpayers and faces a bumpy road ahead in the 2020 Read More

Washington State Racks Up Contempt Orders, Fines As Developmentally Disabled Patients Languish

By Austin Jenkins
Dawn Akerman and her brother Fred pose while having lunch together before he returned to the hospital in June. Courtesy of Dawn Akerman
In recent months, court commissioners on both sides of the Cascades have found the state of Washington in contempt, and even imposed fines, over access to state psychiatric care for people with severe developmental disabilities. The cases involve people who’ve been found to pose an imminent risk to themselves or others, but are languishing in local hospitals. Read More

Washington Senate Democrats Propose New Taxes On Capital Gains, Support For Wildfire Funding

By Austin Jenkins
Washington State Sen. Manka Dhingra speaks to reporters during a briefing on the Senate Democratic budget on Friday. AUSTIN JENKINS / N3
Washington Senate Democrats on Friday proposed a capital gains tax that would fund a suite of tax reductions for low-income families, small businesses and senior citizen homeowners. The tax proposal was rolled out in conjunction with the Senate Democrats' unveiling of a $52 billion two-year state spending plan, which followed a House Democratic budget presentation earlier Read More

Washington Lawmakers Seek Smoother Path To Redemption For Formerly Incarcerated Residents

By Max Wasserman
Carolina Landa hugs her son, Zach, in their living room before he leaves for school on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The two have been living together in the same home in Olympia since 2015. CREDIT: SHAUNA SOWERSBY / THE TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
The stain of a criminal record complicates life’s basics when people are released back into their communities: from finding a place to live to buying insurance. Thousands in Washington state continue to face barriers even after they’ve turned their lives around. Some can tap into a process to clear their records, giving them a fresh start. But the process is complicated, Read More

Some State Lawmakers Want To Remove Seattle’s Lenin Statue. But It’s On Private Property

By Marcie Sillman
The statue of Vladimir Lenin in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. CREDIT: FLICKR PHOTO/MARTIN DEUTSCH
While some art lovers look down their noses at the monument to children’s television icon J. P. Patches, the replica of a rocket and other sculptures, Fremont’s public art has a bevy of defenders. But a group of state lawmakers is not among them. If they have their way, one of Fremont’s signature artworks, the 16-foot-tall statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, Read More
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