Emily Makings

The impact of higher cigarette taxes

Jan Teague of the Washington Retail Association had an op-ed in the Everett Herald yesterday on the implications of increasing the state cigarette tax. (Gov. Inslee included an increase in his budget proposal.) Teague writes about the impact on retailers: Cigarettes are also the top revenue generator for many small businesses, accounting for nearly 32 […]

New brief: 2015-17 Operating Budget: Spending Priorities

We have a new policy brief comparing the House- and Senate-passed operating budgets. Briefly: A better economy is expected to bring in an additional $3 billion in revenue. The House-passed budget increases spending by more than $5 billion over 2013– 15. The Senate-passed budget increases spending by more than $4 billion over 2013– 15. Policy […]

Carbon taxation in the offing?

Apparently some form of carbon taxation could still happen this year, despite the fact that it did not make it into either House or Senate budget proposal. It was a main source of revenue in Gov. Inslee’s proposed budget, but the House proposal would increase revenues in different ways. From Crosscut: House Environment Committee chair […]

In Focus this week: Ports agreement, Expedia to Seattle, state finances report

Renovations for Seattle's PacMed Center costlier than anticipated

Interesting story from the Seattle Times on the saga of the PacMed Center in Seattle. (It’s the lovely and a bit imposing building that sits atop the hill just south of I-90 and east of I-5.) It fell on hard times after Amazon left in 2011, and in 2013 the state decided to lease it […]

Senate-passed operating budget would spend $1 billion less than House budget

Earlier this week the Senate passed a 2015-17 operating budget that would spend $37.958 billion. That’s an increase of $4.164 billion over 2013-15. The House has also passed a budget (see here); it would spend about $1 billion more. The chart below compares the policy changes made by each budget proposal. We’ll be writing more […]

Policy Today: Competing State Budgets: Revenue Review

More on the impacts of the ports slowdown, and problems in Portland

Although the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union reached a tentative deal in February (which is making its way through the approval process at the union), the effects of the slowdown reverberate. The Tri-City Herald reports that while shipping has improved, there are still backlogs, which has affected the agricultural industry: […]

Policy Today: Senate Budget

West Coast ports agreement moves along

According to the Wall Street Journal, a caucus of 90 delegates of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has voted to recommend to its full membership the agreement the union reached with the Pacific Maritime Association in February. The contract next will be put to a secret ballot of the union’s 20,000 workers at 29 […]