Private Operation Could Help Keep Washington’s State Parks Moving Toward Self-Sufficiency

Thanks to a budget proviso directing the Washington State Parks Commission to develop a report showing how the agency plans "to make the parks system self-supporting," the future of state parks has taken center stage in recent weeks. One of the many interesting details in the State Parks Commission's report was this section . . . READ MORE

Tax restrictions across the country

Initiative 1185 will provide Washingtonians this November the opportunity to vote for the fifth time in support of the requirement for tax increases to receive a supermajority vote in the Legislature. Including Washington, 18 states currently have some form of restriction on legislative tax increases. I recently contacted the budget office for every state to find out if there were any restrictions on tax increases. The following information was self-reported by the states . . . READ MORE

Voting on a shorter ballot

If you're one of those who likes to wait till the last possible moment to place your ballot in the mail your time is running out. Ballots need to be postmarked by 8 p.m. tonight. Once the "polls" close, we can begin the long wait for results to trickle in over the coming weeks. According to the National Association of Secretaries of State, however, the vast majority of states require mail-in ballots to actually be received by Election Day . . . READ MORE

OFM releases 4-year budget outlook

Judging from the initial budget numbers being projected for 2013-15, the first legislative session for the next Governor will look a lot like the past few legislative sessions: focused on realigning state spending within forecasted revenue. According to numbers released today by the Office of Financial Management (OFM), budget writers are anticipating $1.5 billion more in revenue to help write the 2013-15 budget. This expected revenue increase is based on the state's June Revenue forecast which was adopted with the caution that there is a 40% chance that this increase could be wiped-out depending on economic developments in Europe and actions (or lack thereof) in Congress . . . READ MORE

Official descriptions for non-binding tax advisory votes

The Attorney General's Office has submitted the short descriptions for the two non-binding advisory votes that will appear on the November ballot as required by Initiative 960 for tax increases not first submitted to the voters for approval. Here are the short descriptions . . . READ MORE