Washington in Focus

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Bob Ferguson Sworn in as Washington Governor, Delivers Inaugural Address Jan 16, 2025

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(The Center Square) – A day after outgoing three-term Gov. Jay Inslee delivered his final State of the State address, Bob Ferguson was sworn in as the state’s 24th governor on Wednesday. Ferguson has served as the state attorney general since 2013 and was a member of the King County Council before that. Following the swearing-in of other statewide executives, Ferguson took the oath of office administered by Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Stephens. He began his midday speech before a joint legislative session in the House of Representatives.

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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_3a79b374-d396-11ef-a460-733ce65663c7.html

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Spokane Split Over Siting Homeless Services as More Prepare to Open Next Month Jan 15, 2025

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(The Center Square) – Spokane opened a new medical respite facility on Monday as part of its scattered-site homeless model, sparking support and criticisms from the city council around its sudden arrival. The Lilac City started leveraging the model in October as it decommissioned the Trent Resource and Assistance Center. The Trent Shelter once housed hundreds of individuals, but its closure left many without a roof overhead as temperatures dropped and the new model lagged.

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Seattle City Council Member Proposes Limits to Blast Ball Use for Crowd Control Jan 15, 2025

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(The Center Square) – Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore has announced proposed reforms to limit the Seattle Police Department’s use of blast balls for crowd control. Blast balls are rubber devices that create a loud sound and bright flash, and can also contain tear gas. Moore’s reforms would be in the form of amendments for proposed Council Bill 120916, which is currently sitting in the Public Safety Committee. The bill would help the Seattle Police Department be in full compliance with a preliminary injunction regarding the department’s crowd control measures.

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Critic: Washington Dept. Of Ecology Releasing ‘Out of Date’ Emissions Data on Climate Goals Jan 10, 2025

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(The Center Square) – Newly released emissions data from the Washington State Department of Ecology shows the state is behind on climate goals set by the administration of outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee. According to a Monday news release from the Department of Ecology, “total state greenhouse gas emissions dipped 13.8% in 2020, falling below the legal limit for that year. Emissions rose 8.8% in 2021 but stayed below 2019 levels.” However, according to state law, “By December 31st of each even-numbered year beginning in 2010, the department [Ecology] and the department of commerce shall report … greenhouse gases for the preceding two years.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Washington Democrats Leak $15 Billion Tax Increase Plans Jan 03, 2025

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(The Center Square) – Senate Democrats are asking their peers to help “spread that tax policy love around” as they hope to close a $16 billion shortfall with new taxes in a leaked email on Friday. Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, sent the message just days after Gov. Jay Inslee announced a budget shortfall of upwards of $16 billion over the next four years. While he proposed billions in tax increases of his own last Tuesday, Frame’s email included several others on Friday. Inslee’s solution included a new wealth tax, which he estimates could generate over $10 billion over four years and a temporary 20% surcharge for businesses marking over $1 million annually until increasing all business and occupation, or B&O, tax rates by 10% in 2027. Frame’s email included seven other “revenue options,” or taxes, to keep the Legislature afloat at the expense of the taxpayer. The message also included slides from Democrats on what to avoid when talking about taxes to avoid upsetting their constituency. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Washington 2024 Year in Review: AG's Office Accusations, Budget Deficits, & More Dec 26, 2024

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The Center Square's Washington 2024 Year in Review including accusations of the AG's office using unethical practices, citizen led election initiatives, growing budget deficits, & more. Keep up with all of the Washington news in 2025 at The Center Square: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Inslee Proposes Billions in New Taxes on Way Out of Office Dec 20, 2024

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(The Center Square) – When Gov. Jay Inslee took office in 2013 after stating in the 2012 election race that new taxes weren’t “the right direction," the state Legislature approved a $38.4 billion budget for the biennium. With less than a month before stepping down from office, Inslee is proposing a $78.8 billion operating budget that comes with $4 billion in new taxes to fund it, including a wealth tax. The approach is in contrast with how the Legislature responded to a massive budget deficit during the Great Recession, when lawmakers reduced spending by $11 billion in response to a significant loss of revenue. At Tuesday morning's budget news conference, Inslee said that “they did things that leaders sometimes would do in difficult times, particularly during the recession,” and though his budget involves $2 billion in delayed spending, he said the Great Recession-era cuts to services such as mental health has created “a problem we've been trying to dig ourselves out of for 12 years now.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

King County Executive Doubles Down on Housing-First Approach to Homelessness Dec 13, 2024

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(The Center Square) – Exiting King County Executive Dow Constantine is doubling down on a housing-first approach to addressing the homelessness crisis in a recent interview with ChangeWA. ChangeWA, a non-partisan organization, released an interview it had with Constantine on Wednesday. In the interview, Constantine showed continued support for the region’s continued housing-first approach, despite statistics showing no signs of improvements to the crisis. In 2015 Constantine and then-Seattle Mayor Ed Murray declared homelessness an emergency facing the region. That year, the county’s federally mandated Point-in-Time Count tallied 10,047 homeless people across the county. That has increased 63% to an all-time high of 16,385 unhoused people this year. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gov. Inslee Imposes Spending Freeze to Deal With $10B-$12B Operating Budget Gap Dec 06, 2024

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(The Center Square) – Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee is calling for a freeze on hiring, services contracts, goods and equipment purchases, and travel to deal with a projected operating budget shortfall between $10 billion and $12 billion over the next four years. The shortfall exists despite the state's record $72 billion budget. “Effective December 2, 2024, for all agencies under my direction and control, I am directing a freeze on the following: (1) hiring not related to public safety or other non-discretionary activities as listed below, (2) execution of non-essential services contracts, (3) discretionary purchasing of goods and equipment, and (4) travel,” Inslee wrote in a directive to his executive and small cabinet agency directors. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Driver Behind Washington State’s Budget Shortfall Nov 26, 2024

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Earlier this month, state officials reported that the operating budget faces a $10-12 billion deficit over the next four years. Unlike during the Great Recession, the budget deficit isn’t due to a decline in revenue, as many of the state’s tax collections are at record levels while other new taxes have been imposed. Although the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council recently lowered expected revenue for the current and next biennium by $270 million, the state Department of Revenue reports that all state taxes generated $35.4 billion for the fiscal year 2023, a 5.8% increase from the 2022 fiscal year. In that timeframe, the state sales tax revenue increased by 6.2%, while revenue from that has doubled since 2014, from $8 billion to almost $16 billion. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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