Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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OLYMPIA – A bipartisan bill to enable public utility districts to sell and distribute hydrogen fuel and sponsored by 33 senators — well over half the state Senate — unanimously passed the chamber and is now in the House of Representatives for consideration. Senate Bill 5588 would authorize public utility districts to sell renewable hydrogen to consumers via pipeline or shippable pressurized containers. “If you take H2O and you separate the ‘O,’ you end up with H2, which is hydrogen,” said Sen. Brad Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee, prime sponsor...
OLYMPIA (March 1, 2019) — Gov. Jay Inslee announced he is seeking the presidency of the United States in a video focused on climate change posted on his Facebook page early Friday. Inslee joins 14 other Democrats and one Republican, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, who will challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Inslee is the only Democrat with gubernatorial experience to enter the race so far. “We’re the first generation to feel the sting of climate change. And we’re the last that can do something about it.” he said i...
For years, state and federal civil rights law has prohibited the targeting of individuals by law enforcement based on their look and appearance. But motorcyclists are not afforded any legal avenues under those anti-profiling laws. On Friday, bikers from across the state rolled into Olympia hoping to change that. They expressed support for House Bill 1152, which would prohibit a law enforcement officer or agency from engaging in motorcycle profiling and give bikers legal recourse if they are the brunt of profiling. Of the 34 people who signed...
• Small businesses sales would be taxed Jan. 17, 2019--People representing small business owners and low income workers had plenty to say at a public hearing Jan. 16 on Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposal to impose a state capital gains tax. Thirty-three individuals testified before the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Those in favor of the tax noted that Washington’s current state tax system unfairly and disproportionately strains the budgets of low-income wage earners. Others were concerned that taxing proceeds from selling off a small business to fu...
(Olympia) Jan. 16, 2019--Gov. Jay Inslee introduced an executive order last year establishing the Southern Resident Orca Task Force, directing state agencies to develop a long-term plan for recovering the species. After months of deliberation and input from the public, the task force developed 36 recommendations aimed at increasing the local population from 74 to 84 orcas over the next decade. Also included in the proposal is $1.1 billion to fund orca and Chinook conservation in the state budgets. Resident orcas are one of three main types of...
[Editor: The first posting of this story had an incorrect byline. Sean Harding actually wrote the article.] OLYMPIA — A bill intended to enhance the safety of hikers, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts would establish designated target shooting areas on some Department of Natural Resources-managed lands. Senate Bill 5099 was introduced Jan. 8 by Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Mason County. “Target shooting is not getting the same recognition as other forms of recreation,” Sheldon said in a telephone interview. Because of a lack of designated targe...
• High-capacity magazine legislation • 3-D printed firearms covered for 1st time • DV,and extreme risk protection By Sean Harding WNPA Olympia News Bureau, Jan. 22, 2019 OLYMPIA — More than 2,000 people signed into the Senate Law and Justice Committee on Monday for hearings on 3-D printed guns, high-capacity magazines, domestic violence, as well as proposed training requirements for legally obtaining a pistol. Outside of the Legislative Building, a silver Toyota blaring music and displaying a sign bearing words from the Second Amendme...
• Would impose 9% tax on capital gains starting at $25,000 • Projected revenue: $975 million • Homes, farms, retirement accounts exempt Gov. Jay Inslee has proposed a $54.4 billion state budget that would introduce a capital gains tax on stocks, bonds and other assets. The proposal would tax capital gains of over $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for joint filers at a rate of 9 percent. The tax would raise $975 million in revenue during fiscal year 2021, according to an Office of Financial Management estimate. Homes, farms, and retir...
OLYMPIA (Feb. 1, 2019) A bipartisan bill introduced in the Rural Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee would reduce the business and occupation tax for manufacturers and publishers of printed materials and periodicals, excluding newspapers. It would also extend the preferential B&O tax rate for timber and woods products. The B&O tax is Washington state’s major business tax, according to committee documents. The tax is imposed against a company’s gross income and does not deduct the cost of doing business. “As folks know … the...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 29, 2019) A proposed bill would double the fine for motorists caught using a cellphone in a school, playground or crosswalk speed zone to up to $234 per infraction, or up to $468 for repeat offenders. Washington’s first law to address texting-while-driving went into effect two years ago, which also prohibited eating and applying makeup. “One of the primary crosswalks I sit at is Mill Creek Elementary,” said Christine White, a patrol officer with the Mill Creek Police Department. “I have seen people on their cell phones talking...
OLYMPIA (Feb. 4, 2019) A proposal by Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Beacon Hill, would create a Washington state revenue reform task force to review the state tax system and make recommendations to the Legislature on how it can “better serve” state residents. The bill would also seek funding mechanisms that would be, according to the bill, undisturbed by economic fluctuation, equitably spread among citizens, transparent and administratively simple. The task force would include a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the Senate and the House, as well as rep...
WNPA Olympia News Bureau. Jan. 24, 2019 A proposal prompted by the 2015 “Ride the Ducks” accident on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle came one step closer to becoming law on Wednesday as people voiced their views on changes to Washington’s wrongful death and injury statutes that would expand the beneficiaries entitled to claim damages. “The law currently does not allow a nonresident parent to seek justice,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sharon Santos, D-Seattle. “It was a law that was established more than 100 years ago.” Santos said the changes we...
