House Republican Organizational Committee

KOMO News – May 5, 2011

While we’re all feeling extra pain at the gas pump these days, a KOMO 4 Problem Solver investigation has discovered the state is keeping some million-dollar secrets about your gas taxes. Our investigation found the state is paying out millions from the state gas tax, and they won’t tell us how the majority of it is being spent.For whatever financial pinch you might feel when filling up, at least there’s consolation knowing that for each gallon purchased, 35 cents goes to the state. That money adds up to the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Fund and it all pays for new highways, filling potholes, and fixing roads, right?

Wrong. This year alone, more than $22 million of state gas tax money is heading off the books. It’s going straight to local tribes operating their own gas stations.

Read more at KOMONews.com.

The Seattle Time – May 3, 2011

Washington state’s Speaker of the House Frank Chopp is outvoted on much-needed workers’ compensation reform.

You wouldn’t know it though, because he won’t allow a floor vote on the bill.

Here’s the simple math: A group of nine moderate Democrats and 10 Republicans introduced House Bill 2109, which would reform the state’s system of paying for workers injured on the job. It would continue to protect workers without eating dangerously into the state’s operating budget.

Take those nine Democrats and add them to the 41 Republicans who signed on to an identical bill, House Bill 2108, to make a point, plus another who was absent. That adds up to 51 out of 98 House members who support the workers’ compensation reform bill —as is.

Read more at The Seattle Times.

The Spokesman Review – April 27

As legislators in Olympia pore over the operating budget for major cuts, there is one growing expenditure that makes their job tougher: debt service for state capital projects. While the projects are embedded in the capital budget, the cost of financing them is tacked onto the same budget that is experiencing deep cuts in health care and education, among other key items.

The Senate unanimously adopted Senate Joint Resolution 8215, which would lower the state constitution’s debt limit from 9 percent to 7 percent of general revenues. It also would include state property tax collections as part of general revenue.

Why is it so popular? For one thing, the state carries the eighth largest debt load in the nation. The national median figure for 2009 was $936 per person. In Washington state, it was $2,226 per person. The percentage of the budget devoted to debt payments has risen 61 percent in the last 10 years. It is now 6 percent of the operating budget.

Read more at The Spokeman Review.

Tacoma News Tribune – April 22, 2011

Lawmakers are set to end their regular session Friday, two days short of the 105 days allowed – but with hope to finally bridge a $5.3 billion budget gap during a special session.

“I believe it can be done in two weeks,” Senate Ways and Means chairman Ed Murray, D-Seattle, said Thursday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire still was mulling whether to bring lawmakers back early next week for a new 30-day session, an option the Senate leadership prefers.

But the governor might ask lawmakers to wait a few weeks before starting, an option the House prefers. That is so negotiators in the House and Senate can move closer to agreeing on budget cuts needed to balance a $32 billion budget for 2011-13.

Read more at Tacoma News Tribune.

Seattle Times – April 15, 2011

Gov. Chris Gregoire said she’s talked to leaders in the House and Senate and does not expect them to finish the work by the scheduled end of the session on April 24.

“They can’t mechanically get there. I think it’s unfortunate,” the governor said Friday afternoon.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said earlier in the day that she thought it was unlikely lawmakers would finish on time. Brown said the Senate was interested in a short weekend break and then continuing until they finished the job.

But Gregoire said she wasn’t certain if she’d call them back immediately.

Read more at Seattle Times.

Crosscut.com – April 15, 2011

Two things will drive the 2012 elections: the economy and redistricting.  The economy will be the major issue, but elections are often won and lost by where you draw the lines.  The census data indicates that in Washington state redistricting should produce two wide open, highly competitive congressional elections in 2012, and a legislative playing field tilted a bit more in favor of the GOP.

Read more on Crosscut.com.

The Washington Ledge – April 14, 2011

On the day the Washington House welcomes newly appointed Rep. Sharon Wylie from Southwest Washington, it seems appropriate to revisit the sudden resignation late last month of her predecessor, Jim Jacks.

Statehouse reporters, myself included, have appealed to House Democratic leadership to disclose what led to Jacks’ abrupt decision to leave the legislature mid-session. Rumors abound. Facts are in short supply. Sealed lips just lead to more speculation and rumors.

My most recent request for additional information from Democratic leadership was routed to the House Clerk’s office. That request was, in turn, denied.

Read more at The Washington Ledge.

Seattle Times – April 13, 2011

VANCOUVER, Wash.– Clark County commissioners have unanimously picked a former lobbyist who also served two terms as an Oregon state representative to replace a Washington state lawmaker who resigned abruptly last month.

Democrat Sharon Wylie was selected Wednesday and immediately sworn in by Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson. Wylie succeeds former Rep. Jim Jacks, who resigned March 25 in the middle of the legislative session. He cited “personal and family reasons.”

Read more at Seattle Times.

RedCounty.com – April 12, 2011

This is being written to encourage voters in Washington State’s 49th Legislative District to immediately do all they can to have their voices heard about who they want to represent them in Olympia for the balance of 2011 and 2012. According to articles in The Columbian, the 49th District Democratic Central Committee is on the verge of making this selection and they plan to take this action by the early afternoon of Wednesday, April 13th … about 16 hours from now.

Read more at RedCounty.com.

KOMONews.com – April 7, 2011

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Seventeen people were arrested Thursday afternoon outside the governor’s office as protests over statewide budget cuts grew noisier and more boisterous, witnesses said.

The arrests came as labor groups converged on the Washington state Capitol for a third day of demonstrations to call attention to budget cuts they called “immoral.”

The 17 protesters were arrested following a pushing and shoving match between protesters and Washington State Patrol troopers.

Read more and watch the video at KOMONews.com.