Will the Washingtons keep access to the internet tax free?

Only in Washington D.C. can near unanimous agreement on a policy mean there is danger it may not occur. Consider the pending expiration of the ban on internet access taxes and whether or not Congress will act in time. As reported by the Wall Street Journal . . . READ MORE

Remote testimony approved in Colorado

If the Seattle Seahawks' Super Bowl demolition of the Denver Broncos taught us anything, it's that anything Colorado can do Washington can do better. With that in mind, it is worth noting that Colorado lawmakers have sent to their Governor a bill to allow remote testimony. As reported by Colorado's KREX news . . . READ MORE

Legislative survey says: Remote testimony is a winner

Washington State University has released the results of the "2013 Washington State Legislative Service Survey and the Washington State Governance Series." Based on the answers of lawmakers, legislative staff and lobbyists, WPC's recommendation for remote testimony options for citizens is a clear winner . . . READ MORE

Marijuana, Lean management and public records best practices

No, that's not the opening line of a joke but instead an example of how the (now misnamed) Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB) is improving access to public records. According to Governor Inslee's Results Washington process, the Liquor Control Board has made progress using Lean management to improve its response time to growing public records requests as a result of the state's legalization of marijuana . . . READ MORE

Benton County Proposition 14-5: Sales tax increase but no performance audits?

My prior posts discussing Benton County Proposition 14-5 (0.3% sales tax increase for public safety spending) looked at the details of the proposal along with the recommendations of a Citizen Advisory Committee that was created to study the county's public safety programs. Along with proposing the 0.3% sales tax increase that was placed on the August ballot, the Citizen Advisory Committee also recommended Benton County pursue performance audits saying . . . READ MORE

Benton County Citizen Advisory Committee Recommends Sales Tax Increase and Performance Audits

In my prior post I highlighted the details of Benton County Proposition 14-5, a proposal on the county's August ballot to increase the local sales tax rate by 0.3% raising approximately $9 million per year for public safety spending. The proposed sales tax increase came from the recommendations of a Citizen Advisory Committee that was created to study the county's public safety programs . . . READ MORE