Legislative News – Feb. 7, 2013
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers:
Analysis: Obama, GOP disagree, again, on spending – Aiken Standard
Rep. Doc Hastings:
Obama picks REI exec for Interior post– Yakima Herald
Yakima residents seem unfazed by postal cuts – Yakima Herald
Rep. Dave Reichert:
Reichert opens new office in Auburn – Auburn Reporter (more…)
The Battle of Athens: Restoring the Rule of Law
Bipartisan coalition forms majority in Washington State Senate -Coalition focused on jobs, education and budget with shared committee structure
Posted 12/10/2012
OLYMPIA…Democrat and Republican senators announced today that they have formed a Majority Coalition Caucus to lead the Senate during the 2013 legislative session. Twenty-five state senators have committed themselves to a set of principles that will guide the work of the new caucus, including:
- promoting job growth and a vibrant economy;
- creating a sustainable budget and living within the state’s means;
- providing a world-class education system through reforms and enhancements;
- governing collaboratively to protect the most vulnerable while prioritizing the needs of middle-class Washingtonians; and
- setting priorities for state government and holding it accountable. (more…)
Definition of a state budget – actual cuts, or cuts in “proposed” spending?
By RACHEL LA CORTE
Business Week
Posted 11/11/2012
OLYMPIA, Wash.
Revenue, reform and, of course, cuts. Those are the options Washington state lawmakers will weigh this month as they try to balance a budget deficit projected to be about a billion dollars through the middle of 2013.
But what, exactly, is a budget cut? It depends on whom you ask.
For some, a cut is a removal of something that currently exists: A prison that is shuttered. A state employee who is laid off. A person who received subsidized health care from the state who now doesn’t. (more…)