Capitol  Buzz

OUR NEWS RELEASES FROM THIS WEEK

• House Republicans to push for votes on bills to repeal and replace the long-term care insurance program
• Rep. Mary Dye introduces bills in support of Republican ORCA (Outdoor Recreation and Climate Adaptation) Plan
• Reps. Abbarno and Griffey introduce legislation to financially help fire stations upgrade buildings and meet community safety needs
• Rep. Jim Walsh introduces bill that seeks to put limits on state spending
• Abbarno co-sponsors legislation to recognize Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library as statewide program

ABORTION

• State lawmakers take up abortion debate amid uncertain future for Roe v. Wade (MyNorthwest)

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Farmers give thumbs-down to Inslee’s buffer bill (Capital Press)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Restaurant workers go ‘missing’ again from Washington’s job recovery (The Seattle Times)
• AG Ferguson targeting Stevens Pass after high number of complaints against the ski area (KPQ Radio)
• Why some people with good credit are still seeing sky-high insurance premium increases (KIRO TV)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Survey: Walla Walla residents want better roads, affordable housing and more (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• Home for sexually exploited girls would be first of its kind in WA state (The Bellingham Herald)

CORONAVIRUS

• Pandemic updates: National Guard begins arriving at Washington hospitals (KUOW Radio)
• Washington confirmed the country’s first COVID patient 2 years ago. What have we learned? (The Seattle Times)
• Large hospitals in Washington guarantee they’ll take certain emergency transfer patients as new standards take effect (The Spokesman-Review)
• COLUMN: A COVID-19 conspiracy ran rampant last week. Two Pierce County lawmakers helped it spread (Matt Driscoll/The News Tribune)

COURTS (STATE)

• WA Supreme Court upholds $18M campaign finance fine against grocery industry group (The Seattle Times)

CRIME

• Washington state legislators to tackle catalytic converter theft (The Center Square)
• Advocates push to eliminate state fees charged families of incarcerated youths (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• OPINION: Lawmakers can help consumers by fighting fraud (Michael-John Kuehne, Senior VP of Philips Garment Care/Puget Sound Business Journal)

EDUCATION

• John & Shari: Bill to reduce in-person learning hours should go ‘down in flames’ (MyNorthwest)

EMERGENCY POWERS

• EDITORIAL: Rein in emergency powers (Daily Record)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• After mega-quake, there won’t be much time before tsunami waves reach Olympic Peninsula (The News Tribune)
• Firefighters hope Washington bill will help remove toxic chemicals from protective gear (NW News Network)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Legislation looks at reevaluating where clean energy projects should be built in Washington (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)
• Former BPA chief cautions lawmakers about cryptocurrency’s impact on Northwest hydropower (The Spokesman-Review)

FISH

• Salmon recovery bill sparks plenty of testimony (Columbia Basin Herald)

HEALTH CARE

• Legislature debates WA hospital staffing ratios as healthcare labor problem steeps (MyNorthwest)
• Hospitals still struggling during omicron surge (KIRO TV)
• OPINION: Pierce County needs better dental care. Dental therapists won’t solve the problem (John Lo, DMD/The News Tribune)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• University of Washington professor censored over syllabus language (The Center Square)
• WSU pulls out of steam plant renovation project (The Lewiston Tribune)

HOUSING

• Washington legislators introduce two bills to boost affordable housing (The Columbian)
• 12th District Senator Brad Hawkins affordable housing legislation heads to hearing (KPQ Radio)
• Proposed law would force cities to increase housing density in single-family neighborhoods (Washington State Journal/The Reflector)
• Puget Sound housing market hits record numbers as prices continue to soar (MyNorthwest)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Two police use of force bills pass out of House committee (The Center Square)

LEGISLATURE

• Battle lines drawn on bill to ban citizen ballot measures in odd year elections (The Center Square)
• Gov. Inslee’s budget seeks to expand voting access in WA county jails (Crosscut)
• ‘Right to repair’ bill would give Washington state consumers control over electronics repair (MyNorthwest)
• Statewide funding for Dolly Parton Imagination Library proposed in new House bill (The Chronicle)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Tumwater, Thurston County adopt agreement for city to annex unincorporated ‘islands’ (The Olympian)
• Lacey City Council approves city’s version of ‘missing middle’ (The Olympian)

LONG-TERM CARE

• Washington House passes bill to delay long-term care program (KPQ Radio)
• House Democrats reject GOP efforts to repeal/replace long-term care program and payroll tax; approve 18-month delay (KLCK Radio)
• COLUMN: WA state’s long-term care tax possibly delayed 1 year before it goes into effect (Reesha Cosby/KIT Radio)

MARIJUANA

• Proposed Washington law would end employment tests for marijuana use (Washington State Journal/The Reflector)
• OPINION: U.S. government’s position on marijuana research is incoherent and irresponsible (Justin Singer, chief executive and co-founder of Ripple/The Seattle Times)

MEDIA

• Reporter is hit by car on air, striking a nerve with TV journalists (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon residents decry proposed ‘permanent’ mask mandate (AP/The Columbian)
• One in 10 of Oregon’s hospital beds are occupied by patients ready to leave — with nowhere to go (OPB)
• Preteens may be vaxed without parents under California bill (AP/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

PARKS

• 2 national parks in Washington among most dangerous in U.S., analysis finds (The Seattle Times)

REDISTRICTING

• Lawsuit says new majority Latino district in WA a ‘facade’ (AP/KLCK Radio)

RURAL BROADBAND

• $20M grant announced to build broadband infrastructure in Clallam County (KONP Radio)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Gov. Inslee defends mandates to Congress: ‘No intervention is as important as vaccination’ (MyNorthwest)
• Inslee joins other governors in testifying to Congress on COVID strategies (The Spokesman-Review)

TAXES

• Washington Senator introduces bill to allow for local income tax if other taxes are cut (FOX 13)

TRANSPORTATION

• Sefzik bill would slash gas prices nearly 50 cents per gallon (Lynden Tribune)
• Kitsap Transit warns that it may cancel ferry sailings because of staffing issues (Kitsap Sun)
• I-5 Bridge Replacement Program unveils visuals that are ‘an example of direction we’re going’ (The Columbian)
• OPINION: Fiscal responsibility and addressing transportation needs can co-exist (Reps. Mike Volz and Keith Goehner/The Spokesman-Review)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• OPINION: Guarantee future funding for Washington’s forest-health crisis (Todd Myers, director of the Center for the Environment at the Washington Policy Center/The Seattle Times)