2/3 vote requirement for tax increases goes on trial January 14, 2013

It looks like lawmakers better get used to abiding by the 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases - at least until 2013. Earlier this year several House Democrats joined the Washington Education Association (WEA) and the League of Education Voters to file a lawsuit to overturn the four-time voter approved 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases . . . READ MORE

DES seeking public comment on draft procurement rules/OFM rejects liquor warehouse proposals

The new Department of Enterprise Services is seeking public comments on its proposed draft procurement rules and the Office of Financial Management has recommended that neither of the proposals received to lease the state's liquor warehouse be accepted . . . READ MORE

Colorado voters reject education tax increases

Election day came a week early in Colorado and based on the results, proponents of tax increases may want to focus on plan B. Granted this was a Colorado election but voters there last night crushed a proposal to raise taxes for education spending. Here are the details courtesy of KWGN in Colorado . . . READ MORE

Should tribal gaming revenue sharing be on the table?

While lawmakers consider the Governor's proposed budget reductions, discussions of ways to generate new revenues are growing louder. The perennial favorite is to close business tax exemptions. WPC's Vice President for Research, Paul Guppy, addressed that topic in an op-ed today published by Publicola (in-part) . . . READ MORE

Boeing helps state with Lean management reforms

When announcing her proposed budget reduction strategy, Governor Gregoire also highlighted one way the state hopes to improve service delivery even as changes are made to program funding levels: Lean management. Gregoire noted at her budget press conference: "One example is we have partnered with Boeing to launch lean-management tools across our agencies, and we already are seeing early successes." What exactly are Lean-management tools . . . READ MORE