Good news out of the Capitol Campus this afternoon: Washington’s House of Representatives has just approved a bill sponsored by Representative Andy Billig that makes it easier for voters to find out who’s trying to influence them to vote in favor of (or in opposition to) ballot measures. I testified in favor of this bill […]
Category: Open Government
Posted inOpen Government
Congressional insider trading bill being considered in the U.S. Senate today
Last week in his State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama renewed the call to end the little-known unethical practice that helps members of Congress increase their wealth through insider trading. Today the Senate will consider S. 2038, sponsored by Senator Joe Lieberman (Party of One — Connecticut) which will prohibit members from trading […]
Posted inOpen Government, Policy Topics
Bill to require more transparency in ballot measure advertising moves forward
Earlier today, along with NPI board member Steve Zemke and NPI contributor Steve Breaux, I participated in a public hearing in support of House Bill 2499, prime sponsored by Representative Andy Billig. HB 2499 would require advertising for or against ballot measures in Washington to include the name and address of the entity paying for […]
Posted inOpen Government, Policy Topics
Senate Republicans propose constitutional amendment to prohibit unfunded mandates
A group of Republicans in Washington’s state Senate, including Minority Leader Mike Hewitt and Republican floor leader Mark Schoesler, have teamed up with two Democratic senators (Nick Harper, Debbie Regala) to propose a constitutional amendment that would prohibit unfunded mandates. (An unfunded mandate is an initiative that creates a new service or requires a service […]
Posted inElections, Open Government, Policy Topics
Bank of America joins Keep Washington Rolling, donates $10,000 to beat I‑1125
A year and a half after donating $10,000 to help Tim Eyman get I‑1053 on the November 2010 ballot, Bank of America (which we like to call Bank of Greed) has donated an identical amount to beat Eyman’s I‑1125, new PDC data shows. Keep Washington Rolling has been bolstered by some $1 million in fresh contributions […]
Posted inAnnouncements, Elections, Open Government, Policy Topics
Permanent Defense launches Eye on Money
This morning, we’re proud to announce we have added a new tool to Permanent Defense’s website called Eye on Money, which can be found under Research & Reports. Eye on Money uses StopGreed-style charts to visually break down contributions to Tim Eyman’s initiative factory. As the chart for Tim Eyman’s current measure shows, the vast […]
Posted inOpen Government, Policy Topics, Public Planning
Tim Eyman reveals that his old buddy Kemper Freeman Jr. is bankrolling I‑1125
When Tim Eyman announced a few weeks ago that he would be attempting to qualify a measure for this year’s ballot, we were immediately sure that he had convinced somebody to put up a lot of cash to hire mercenary petitioners (because Tim doesn’t do volunteer signature drives). On May 1st, I wrote the following: […]
Posted inMedia & Culture, Open Government, Policy Topics
Alaska begins releasing Sarah Palin emails
Today, many emails from Sarah Palin’s partially-completed term as Alaska governor were released. So far, nothing too embarrassing has come out, though the State of Alaska is still holding back many documents. According to The Guardian, approximately 2,358 pages are being withheld out of the 26,553 pages of emails that were identified in December. The […]
Posted inOpen Government, Party Politics
Republican state legislator skipped special session to go on a European cruise
According to a story in The Kitsap Sun, State Representative Jan Angel (R – Port Orchard) was absent for almost the entire special session of the Legislature – because she was on a European cruise. Angel won the European cruise at a Port Orchard event in November and claims to have consulted with Republican leaders […]
Posted inOpen Government, Policy Topics
How do we change Congress and put an end to rampant corruption?
When our founding fathers put together our plan of government at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, they spent a great deal more time hammering out the details that concern the legislative branch (Congress) than the details that describe how the other two branches are supposed to work. This was not accidental — our founding fathers believed […]