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Ross to Speak at Redmond Chamber of Commerce June 15th
Next month’s Redmond Chamber of Commerce luncheon on June 15, will feature State Rep. Ross Hunter, who represents the 48th District, which includes parts of Redmond. Hunter will be discussing the state’s budget. For more information on the luncheon, or on the Chamber, click here.
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Photos from Olympia
[fgallery id=1 w=450 h=385 bg=ffffff t=0 title=”Olympia Labor Rally April 8 2011″]
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State Employee Compensation and Benefits
There was a great article in the Sunday Seattle Times about state worker compensation that lays out some of the issues we face in doing the budget this year. Wisconsin’s state capital is in flames (not really, but figuratively) because the governor proposes requiring employees to contribute 12.8% of the cost of the premiums for…
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Cougars, Wolves and other bills
There are a number of bills this year from rural legislators that propose to allow hunting of wolves and cougars. In particular three bills about wolves: 1107: Preparing for the epidemiological consequences of diseases related to wolf populations 1108: Concerning the state’s management of wolves. 1109: Concerning legislative review of gray wolf conservation and management.…
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HB1668 – Paid Signature Gatherer Registration
Those of you who wrote to me from all over the state asking me to not support HB 1668 (which required paid signature gatherers to register with the Secretary of State) will be happy to know that it never came up for a vote and consequently didn’t pass out of committee. This happens every year…
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I’m Back!
I’m pleased to report that I won this year, and will be back serving the residents of the 48th district for another 2 years. I expect these to be difficult years as we work through the tail (we hope) of the worst economic downturn since WW II. Our budget work this year will be difficult.…
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Jobs Strategy
Our nation is in its worst economic crisis since World War II, 75 years ago. Washington is not immune to the national economy. Like almost every state we face crippling unemployment and many people have lost significant portions of their asset base – their home, their retirement portfolio, and the money they were saving to…
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State Budget Options
I’ve posted a document to the site that has a number of proposals on how we should address the budget situation we face this year. Like most other states our revenue has tumbled as a result of the change in spending habits coming from the economic downturn. I believe we face a structural change in…
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A New Library in Lakehills
I had the opportunity to say a few remarks at the opening of a new branch of the King County Library System in the Lakehills neighborhood of Bellevue on Saturday. It’s lovely. I’ve opened many new facilities, from skateboard parks to low-income housing and it’s always difficult to come up with something that’s relevant, interesting…
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Sales Tax Exemption for Canadian Residents?
British Columbia is making a minor change in their sales tax today that for some incomprehensible technical reasons winds up exempting all of their residents from paying sales tax in Washington. The City of Bellingham and Whatcom county will be heavily impacted by this and have sued the Department of Revenue to get them to…