Gov. Ferguson rejects ‘untested’ wealth tax, sends state budget writers back to drawing board
The News Tribune — State Rep. Travis Couture, the House Republican budget lead, told McClatchy that he agrees with Ferguson’s five budget points. The Republican caucus has espoused many of the same aims, Couture said. “It’s good to hear the governor come out and kind of lay down a line in the sand for some of those things,” the Allyn Republican said. “But it also feels like a reset button has been pushed on the session.” Couture likened House lawmakers’ current budget to a house of cards: Without the wealth tax, it would topple. And now that lawmakers are two-thirds of the way through the 2025 session, questions remain about whether a special session will need to be called. Couture pointed out that there’s a multi-billion-dollar chasm between what Ferguson wants and what lawmakers produced. “I don’t see a path at the moment where this doesn’t land us in a special session,” Couture said. “I just don’t think you have a lot of runway left to close the gap.” $
EDITORIAL: Lawmakers, heed the warnings of Puget Sound-area mayors on taxes
The Seattle Times — Mayors of a dozen cities around the Puget Sound region are sounding the alarm that some tax hikes, proposed by majority Democrats in the Legislature, could lead to job losses in the state. At a news conference Friday, some of the mayors said tax increases on businesses and employees “pose a great danger” to their cities and Washington’s overall prosperity, in the words of Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson. Lawmakers should listen carefully to what these local leaders say. The warning within their words: Raising taxes on innovative employers risks pushing their operations out of Washington — a move that could diminish the very revenue Democrats are attempting to raise. $
HOUSE & SENATE REPUBLICAN MEDIA AVAILABILITY
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Trump is set to announce ‘reciprocal’ tariffs in a risky move that could reshape the economy (AP)
- Higher minimum wage levels help many workers, but there are tradeoffs (KUOW Radio)
- New study reveals you need $169K to be financially happy in Seattle (FOX 13)
- Boeing CEO’s message to Senate: We made mistakes and learned our lesson (The Seattle Times) $
- OPINION: While Washington attacks its economic engine, other states are ready to roll out the red carpet (Sebastian Griffin, lead researcher for the Junkermier Center for Technology and Innovation at Mountain States Policy Center/The Center Square)
CAPITAL BUDGET
- WA lawmakers unveil ‘basic needs’ bipartisan capital budget proposals (The Seattle Times) $
- WA lawmakers unveil capital budget ideas. Here are some local projects that would get funding (The Olympian) $
CONGRESS
- Senate Democrats are forcing a vote to reverse Trump’s tariffs on Canada (AP)
- Speaker Johnson suffers a defeat in his push to block parents in the U.S. House from proxy voting (AP)
- Washington State Rep. Kim Schrier champions rural health access with new grant extension bill (KNDO/KNDU)
- EDITORIAL: Signalgate calls for strict scrutiny from Congress (The Columbian) $
CORRECTIONS & JAILS
COURTS (FEDERAL)
- WA co-leads lawsuit against DHHS, RFK Jr. to reverse cuts to public-health grants (The News Tribune) $
EARLY LEARNING
- After layoffs and funding problems, Head Start leaders fear what comes next (AP)
- WA Head Start staff locked out and let go due to Trump cuts (The Seattle Times) $
EDUCATION
ENERGY & UTILITIES
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
- Federal health office in Seattle closing, Washington lawmakers say (KUOW Radio)
- These WA health programs and jobs just got cut by the feds (The Seattle Times) $
- Federal funding cuts threaten King County’s public health and disaster preparedness (The Center Square)
HANFORD
HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS
HIGHER EDUCATION
- WSU medical school celebrates 10th birthday, marking nearly 250 medical doctors graduated (The Spokesman-Review) $
- CWU ‘triage’ team reviews executive orders from Trump administration (Daily Record) $
HOMELESSNESS
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Will WA see $100M in police hiring grants promised by Gov. Ferguson? (The Seattle Times) $
- King Co. Sheriff’s Office deploys ‘StarChase’ program aimed at avoiding vehicle pursuits (KOMO TV)
- Off-duty WSP trooper allegedly spent 4 hours at bar before fatal Tri-Cities crash (Tri-City Herald) $
LEGISLATURE
- Washington’s recycling system could get a major makeover (Axios – Seattle)
- Eid moves one step closer to becoming a Washington state holiday (KUOW Radio)
MEDIA
OPERATING BUDGET
- Gov. Ferguson rejects Democrats’ budget proposals with new taxes (Cascade PBS)
- Washington governor rejects use of wealth tax to balance budget (Washington State Standard)
- ‘No budget gimmicks’: Gov. Ferguson won’t support legislative Democrats’ wealth tax plans (KNKX/KUOW/NW News Network)
- Gov. Ferguson opposed to wealth tax proposals from legislative Democrats (FOX 13)
- Gov. Ferguson comes out against Democrats’ budget proposals with new taxes (The Center Square)
- Gov. Ferguson rejects proposed budget reliant on new ‘wealth tax’ (The Spokesman-Review) $
- Gov. Ferguson says he won’t sign a WA budget with a new ‘wealth tax’ (The Seattle Times) $
- Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson rejects state budget proposals citing concern over wealth tax, federal cuts (KING TV)
- Ferguson says a wealth tax will be vetoed, urges new discussions to close $16B deficit (KOMO TV)
- Debate over taxes to balance budget (KIRO TV)
- Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson rejects state budget proposals citing concern over wealth tax, federal cuts (KREM TV)
- Not an April Fool’s Joke: Gov. Bob Ferguson won’t sign Washington Democrats’ insane budget (KVI Radio)
- OPINION: An assault on affordability: what state budget proposals mean for you (Rep. John Ley/The Reflector) $
OTHER STATES
- An Oregon bill would allow more voters to participate in primary elections. Here’s why lawmakers won’t support it (The Oregonian) $
- California lawmakers reject bills to ban trans athletes’ participation in girls sports (AP)
POLITICS
BALLOT MEASURES
LOCAL
SCHOOL SAFETY
SECURITY
SPORTS
- WIAA says vote to ban transgender athletes would violate state law (The Seattle Times) $
- Renton parent pleads not guilty to assaulting youth hockey referees at Kraken Iceplex (KOMO TV)
- 2 former UW coaches among best paid in college football (Axios – Seattle)
- How the end of the PAC-12 Conference is hurting Pullman’s economy (Cascade PBS)
STATE GOVERNMENT
- Complaint alleges WA AGO ‘actively deceived’ court about contract with Perkins Coie (The Center Square)
- COLUMN: Washington state misused COVID funds, now complains it’s being taken away (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
TAXES
- WA lawmakers debate property tax reform bill; strong public opposition arises (KHQ TV)
- 43,153 people sign in to oppose property-tax increase heard Monday in Senate budget committee (Clark County Today)
- Proposed WA property tax hikes draw opposition (The Lewiston Tribune) $
- Amazon, Alaska, Costco, Microsoft, Nordstrom asking Washington to skip payroll, wealth tax (KOMO TV)
- Microsoft president cautions against Washington’s proposed ‘wealth tax’ (KING TV)
- COLUMN: Tax the rich? UW economist calls WA a ‘tax haven like the Cayman Islands’ (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times) $
- COLUMN: Latest state tax proposals threaten jobs and economy (Todd Welch/Everett Herald) $
TRANSPORTATION BUDGET
- WA Senate passes transportation package that would hike state gas tax by 6 cents (The Center Square)
TRIBAL ISSUES
WATER
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
- OPINION: Living with fire in the 21st century (Lauren Stachowiak, professor of geosciences at EWU, and Matthew B. Anderson, professor of urban and regional planning at EWU/The Spokesman-Review) $
- EDITORIAL: Fire season’s coming. Power company, customers had better be ready (Yakima Herald-Republic) $
WILDLIFE
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