State agency leaders received a dire warning from Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office on June 5 that they’re headed toward “what will likely be the most challenging budget any of us has yet faced.” 

It took over 24 hours of grinding floor debate, but Democrats in the Washington House approved an income tax Tuesday on households earning over $1 million a year.

Democrats have the votes to push through their proposed 9.9% income tax on household earnings over $1 million a year. For Republicans at this point, the main way to oppose the policy, which they despise, is to saddle the bill with many amendments. 

Democrats in the Washington Legislature on Feb. 22 proposed tapping the state’s rainy day savings account and slashing hundreds of millions of dollars for a child care program for low-income families to balance the state’s budget into next year.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and Democrats in the state Legislature are divided over how to use the expected revenue from a newly proposed income tax on higher earners. Lead lawmakers in the House and Senate unveiled the legislation Feb. 3. 

Five awardees, including Energy Northwest, are on track to receive a combined $12.1 million in federal funding to build and operate electric vehicle charging stations at 14 locations along highways in Washington state.

Washington state lawmakers begin a 60-day session Jan. 12, in which a fiscal reckoning, flood recovery, and their own reelections loom large.

Gov. Bob Ferguson warned Dec. 2 that the budget proposal he’ll release this month will rely solely on spending cuts and not higher taxes to overcome what he says is a multi-billion dollar shortfall.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Oct. 29 indicated that he’s reluctant to support major new tax increases in the legislative session that begins in January.

A lack of transparency and inclination to tightly control the flow of information seem to be deeply ingrained in today’s politics and reflected frequently in the governor’s administration.