Today, the Washington State Legislature held hearings on badly-needed legislation that would bring the activities of our underground signature gathering industry into the light by adding new reporting and compliance requirements to our public disclosure laws. Read our founder’s testimony in support of these bills.
Monthly Archives: January 2018
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
Victory! Breakfast After The Bell just sailed out of the Washington State Senate
Help is on the way for young Washingtonians who aren’t getting enough to eat before the start of their school day. 2ESHB 1508, which would direct high-needs schools to offer Breakfast After The Bell programs to students, has just sailed out of the Washington State Senate with overwhelming support.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
Transparency matters: States like Washington need to adopt a tax expenditure budget
It’s no secret that Washington has an upside down tax code, but what is largely a secret is who benefits from all the tax exemptions currently on our books. Other states keep a list of their tax breaks and how much they cost, but Washington doesn’t. Learn why it’s imperative we start doing so by reading this post.
Posted inCivil Liberties, Policy Topics, Public Planning
Victory for gun responsibility! Washington State Senate passes bill banning bump stocks
The good news out of Olympia just keeps on coming! By a vote of twenty-nine to twenty, the Washington State Senate tonight voted to ban bump stocks, the now-infamous devices that were used in the horrific Las Vegas massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in American history.
Posted inElections
Landslide victory for Measure 101: Oregon voters protect state’s Medicaid funding
A right wing assault on healthcare funding in the Pacific Northwest fittingly ended in failure tonight with the conclusion of Oregon’s January 23rd special election, in which voters were asked to decide whether new revenue needed to secure Medicaid matching funds should be retained or repealed.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
U.S. Congress votes to reopen the federal government, reauthorize CHIP for six years
Today, majorities in each house of the United States Congress voted to reopen and fund the federal government through February 8th, 2018, as well as reauthorize CHIP for another six years, after Senate Democrats reached understanding with Senate Republicans regarding the fate of DACA.
Posted inMedia & Culture
Book Review: The airing of grievances in Donna Brazile’s “Hacks” comes at her true crime memoir’s expense
Read NPI’s review of Donna Brazile’s Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House. The book has been portrayed in the mass media as a juicy tell-all, but a good chunk of it is actually a cybersecurity clinic that’s worth reading.
Posted inParty Politics
Washington State Republicans elect Caleb Heimlich as successor to Susan Hutchison
At a meeting in Moses Lake, the Washington State Republican Party’s Central Committee tapped Executive Director Caleb Heimlich to take over from Susan Hutchison as its next Chair, the WSRP announced in a tweet earlier today.
Posted inOur Environment
Documentary Review: “Awake: A Dream From Standing Rock” is a sobering, crucial film
Read NPI’s review of “Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock”, a documentary in three parts about the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
For the first time, the federal government has shut down under one party (Republican!) rule
Proving once again that they are utterly incapable of governing, the Trump regime and congressional Republicans collectively failed tonight to keep the federal government funded and open for business, resulting in the first government shutdown in the history of the United States under one party rule.
Posted inPolicy Topics
VICTORY! Washington Voting Rights Act wins approval in the state Senate for the first time
After having passed the DISCLOSE Act, same-day voter registration, and the capital budget earlier this week, our Senate today voted for the first time to adopt the Washington Voting Rights Act (SSB 6002), liberating a bill that had been stuck in the Senate Republicans’ graveyard of progress for years.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
All systems go! Legislature *finally* sends capital budget to Governor Inslee’s desk
We have a capital budget!
After many months and weeks of Four Corner negotiations, the Washington State Legislature has voted almost unanimously to authorize billions of dollars’ worth of important, necessary projects that will strengthen our communities.
Posted inElections
Hurrah! Same-day voter registration passes out of the Washington State Senate
Washington is one step closer to eliminating another barrier to voting tonight thanks to the state Senate’s approval of a bill that allows in-person voter registration until 8 PM on Election Night as well as moving the deadline for registering online or by mail much closer to the deadline for returning ballots.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Washington State State passes DISCLOSE Act to expose dark money in politics — at last!
Washington State’s newly minted Democratic Senate majority notched its first signature legislative win tonight, bringing Andy Billig’s DISCLOSE Act to the floor for a vote and easily passing the legislation with the support of several Republicans.