Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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As many struggle to make ends meet because of inflation and our state having the most expensive gas in the nation, the last thing they want is to pay a big new tax. Yet, that is exactly what Washington workers now face. A payroll tax, which went into effect on July 1, is being taken out of most employees’ paychecks. This tax is currently equal to $58 annually for every $10,000 in pay. It supports a government-run long-term care program called WA Cares, created by majority Democrats in the L...
A key issue needing legislative action during this year’s session is public safety – and for good reason. In recent years, Washington has seen an alarming increase in crime, some of it the result of recent laws passed by the Democratic majority in the Legislature that soften penalties for criminal behavior or makes it more difficult for law-enforcement officers to do their jobs to protect our communities. The issue of vehicle pursuits by police is exhibit A. Democrats in the Legislature cha...
We are now less than two weeks away from end of the 2021 legislative session. It’s been a very busy time, wrapping up work in committees and marathon evening and weekend sessions voting on bills on the floor. The “opposite house of origin” cutoff for moving legislation has passed — meaning all policy bills that were not approved by both the House and Senate in some form are considered “dead.” Exceptions are made for any bill found to be necessary to implement the budget, and it should alwa...
As much as we would love to see an end to impaired driving and with it, the need to keep sponsoring DUI legislation, we unfortunately know there is still much work to be done. Last week the Senate Law and Justice Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 5054, a measure I introduced with the support of Sen. David Frockt, D-Seattle, to strengthen the state’s felony-DUI law and reduce the number of people who become victims of impaired drivers. Washington law now makes the fourth DUI conviction a...
There’s an old story about Elizabeth Willing Powel, the wife of a Philadelphia mayor, asking Benjamin Franklin, as he left the Constitutional Convention, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Ben Franklin supposedly answered: “A republic, if you can keep it.” This legislative session, which started Jan. 11, will require you as a resident to work harder than ever to keep our representative democracy…well…representative. Access to democracy is a major topic at the start...