Former governor and senator modernized state government, promoted higher education, advocated for the environment and defined what it means to be a Republican OLYMPIA – Dan Evans left such a deep stamp on the state of Washington that people today might have trouble...
The Washington Senate is poised to approve a measure that allows growth rate to triple, flouts will of voters. OLYMPIA – The Washington Senate is poised to approve a bill Thursday that would allow the annual growth in property taxes to triple, flouting the will of...
Sens. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, John Braun, R-Centralia, and Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley. OLYMPIA – Lawmakers need to expand protections for initiative campaigns, say Senate Republicans, following an effort to intimidate signature gatherers promoted by the Washington...
Will fill seat held by Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, who died Dec. 17 OLYMPIA – Simon Sefzik of Ferndale, who worked as an intern in Congress and was employed at the White House, has been named to replace the late Sen. Doug Ericksen in the Washington State Senate,...
A new tax plan from the Seattle City Council is getting all the attention these days – a “head tax” that might best be described as a tax on jobs created by Seattle’s largest employers. But the city’s crusade for an income tax is alive and well and is working its way...
Once again, Democrats in the state Legislature attempted to pass an income tax during the 2018 legislative session. Just as in 2015 and 2017, majority Democrats in the House built their budget proposal on the assumption that the Legislature would pass a new income tax...
The governor's budget proposal for 2018 breaks with tradition -- for the first time since taking office, Inslee has failed to propose an income tax. For those who follow the utterances of political leaders, the situation may be confusing. Inslee has said he opposes an...
In November 2017, a King County Superior Court judge ruled Seattle's effort to impose an income tax violates state law. The decision was a major blow for those who hope the courts will use the case to overturn the Supreme Court's 1933 ruling that a graduated-rate...
OLYMPIA – A bill prompted by deadly prisoner releases by the state Department of Corrections is set for a vote Thursday in the Senate Law and Justice Committee, a year after the agency revealed it had turned loose some 3,000 violent and dangerous prisoners ahead of...
This guest column was published by The Weekly Standard Online, June 27, 2016. By Steve O'Ban, R-Pierce County In 2002, the Washington State Department of Corrections made a software programming error that wasn't caught for a decade. Over this period, the error allowed...
This guest column was published in The Spokesman-Review, June 11, 2016. By Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley One of the most disturbing things about the deadly prison-release scandal at the Department of Corrections is the way top state officials keep telling us it...
This guest column was published in the Eatonville Dispatch, June 8, 2016. By Sen. Randi Becker, R-Eatonville The state Legislature adjourned its 2016 session on March 29. Since that time, I’ve had a number of local school officials and constituents ask me about...
