Richard S. Davis

Report: Senate, House budget writers have a deal on the supplemental

TVW reports today: Senate, House budget writers have a deal on the supplemental.

Tax exemptions as economic stimulus…

Strange headline over this story in Stateline.org: Despite red ink, some governors push big tax cuts for businesses. A less skeptical editor might have written, “because of red ink, some governors use tax policy to stimulate investment and job creation.” Because, well, that’s what the story is about. Governors from New York to Florida, Idaho […]

Pension reforms moving forward in Olympia

Bert Caldwell does a nice job in the Spokesman-Review of catching up on the move to assure full funding of state pensions. Washington state Treasurer James McIntire last week followed through on a pledge made last fall: He and a bipartisan group of sponsors submitted a proposed constitutional amendment to the Legislature that would assure […]

Governor scheduled to sign UI bills this afternoon

A week of anticipation culminated in a welcome compromise on unemployment insurance legislation. The state Senate this morning concurred with the House, passing EHB 1091 (41 yea, 4 nay, 3 excused). The Wednesday, the House passed the measure, which provides permanent unemployment insurance tax relief to a reported 90 percent of employers and temporary extension […]

House unanimously passes UI bill

Unanimous votes on important legislation are rare. Following the recent unemployment insurance contention, this outcome looks pretty good. Brad Shannon has the story in the Olympian. The state House of Representatives swiftly and unanimously voted today to approve an unemployment insurance deal that came after days of negotiating on a sharply contentious issue. If ratified […]

Reducing the number of elected state officials and increasing accountability

That’s the theme of my column today. The Research Council has looked at the issue many times over the years. Gov. Gregoire’s call for education reorganization, with specific implications for the elected superintendent of public instruction, raises the question: why stop there? Let me know what you think.

President's UI tax plan far from a done deal…kind of like the governor's better idea

Yesterday Emily wrote about President Obama’s plan to allow states to raise their unemployment insurance taxes and provide some temporary debt relief to states that have borrowed from the feds. Today that plan appears to be in a little trouble. The Wall Street Journal reports that Capitol Hill Republicans oppose the proposal, though states that […]

Thrive Washington suggests positive ideas to put state on sustainable budget path

Thrive Washington, a research and communications partnership between the Research Council and Washington Roundtable, has looked at budget reforms, contracting out, and health care policy. This series of white papers provides a good platform for responsible state budgeting in hard times. And, these proposals will accelerate the transition to better times. Sunday, the Herald of […]

Unemployment rate climbs to 9.8 percent

Here’s the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner’s statement on the latest employment situation. In a nutshell, the commissioner reports: Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in November (+39,000), and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 percent.  The jobless rate had been 9.6 percent in each of the prior 3 months.  Payroll employment has increased […]

Washington ranks in top 10 for health insurance mandates

The Council for Affordable Health Insurance recently released Health Insurance Mandates in the States. Here’s why it’s important: Policymakers are increasingly focused on how to reduce the number of uninsured Americans and lower the cost of health insurance,” stated CAHI Executive Director J.P. Wieske. “While some state and federal legislators continue to pass new mandated […]