Washington Research Council

Budget

courts

17th of September 2014

Davis column on contempt ruling: "Court finesses crisis it created"

In my column today, I examine the state Supreme Court’s decision to find the state in contempt. We blogged about the decision here. The court chose to give lawmakers one more chance before imposing “sanctions and remedies.” It was the smart, face-saving move given the circumstances. But the court never should have forced the issue. Having […]


12th of September 2014

State Supreme Court finds Legislature in contempt, defers sanctions

Yesterday’s big news was the state Supreme Court order finding the state in contempt for failing to respond adequately to the court’s McCleary decision, calling for a rapid ramp-up in state funding of basic education. (Like everyone, we’ve written a lot about this, good background here.) The judicial rebuke was expected. The question was how […]


18th of February 2014

Lawsuits pending in 11 states over adequacy of education funding

Washington is not alone in facing court troubles over school funding. Stateline.org reports today on just how frequently litigation and education funding have become entwined. Across the country, litigation is pending against 11 states over inadequate or inequitable school funding. That is nothing new: Over the years, all but five states have been the subjects […]