Blog

Looking ahead to the McCleary session: Education funding takes center stage

Our new policy brief on the supplemental budget passed by lawmakers notes that the minor changes made this year set the stage for a much more active budget writing session next year. By the end of next month, the Legislature will have to deliver a funding plan for meeting the state Supreme Court’s order to […]

Investment slows when tax policies are uncertain

The National Association of Manufacturers recently conducted a survey of businesses. Here’s the short form. The release today of NAM/IndustryWeek Survey of Manufacturers confirms what manufacturers have long known, the expiration of the on-again and off-again investment tax incentives have companies holding off on making key purchases and thus delays the robust economic growth we […]

Headline writers give lawmakers an incomplete

Detect a pattern? Washington legislature adjourns; punts on big issues Legislative session ends without tackling some major issues State budget OK’d by Legislature, but much left undone Lawmakers pass budget, little else, as session ends

Regional economist sets a low bar. Says a $15 minimum wage is "not outrageous." It's also not a good idea.

Regional economist Dick Conway told KPLU that a $15 minimum wage is “really not that outrageous.” Conway has been on record before; he was the economist Gov. Inslee cited by name at AWB’s legislative day (about 41 minutes in). As a benchmark for setting public policy affecting thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of employees, […]

A look at why Texas reinstated R&D tax incentives demonstrates why Washington should not let them expire

Effective January 1, 2014, Texas once again offers tax incentives for research and development. An article in Texas CEO magazine last fall celebrated their return. The R&D tax break is back in Texas. …Before passing this law, Texas was one of only a handful of states that did not offer some sort of research and […]

Today's column on a swift budget resolution and on-time end to the legislative session

In my column, I speculate that the legislative session will end on time as lawmakers are very close to agreement on the basic contours of the budget. Few legislators want a repeat of last year’s marathon. A special session is unnecessary and unlikely. The side that wants the least typically prevails in these negotiations. By […]

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Rep. Eric Pettigrew make the case for extending R&D tax incentives

Today’s Seattle Times carries a convincing op-ed by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and state Rep. Eric Pettigrew arguing for an extension of a pair of R&D tax incentives scheduled to expire this year. They point out the significance of the tech sector to our state and the economic contribution of the sector. The tech industry […]

Putting the proposal to tax recycled refinery fuels in context – the exemption makes sense

As we have written, the governor, Senate Democrats and House Democrats have all proposed new or increased taxes (generally characterized as repealing preferences) to fund education. The House and Senate Democratic plans propose …applying the sales tax to bottled water, ending the sales tax exemption for out-of-state residents, taxing recycled fuel (“extracted” or “hog fuel”) […]

House and Senate base budgets are close; that's before you get to House-proposed new taxes and school spending

Yesterday House Democrats proposed their 2014 supplemental budget (documents here). It’s the time of year when things happen quickly; the Appropriations Committee hearing was last night at 6:00 In addition to a base budget, which closely resembles the plan introduced earlier by the Senate Majority Coalition, the House rolled out a proposal to increase taxes […]

Bipartisan supplemental budget proposal from state Senate adds $96 million, no tax hikes

Senate Ways and Means chairman Andy Hill, R-Redmond, just concluded a press conference unveiling his proposed 2014 supplemental operating budget. To underscore the bipartisan nature of the process, he was joined by the Democrats’ lead budget writer Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam and other Republicans and Democrats involved in developing the proposal. Although Hill had previously said […]