Here’s a handy run-down of what happened today:

- Chief economic forecaster Arun Raha said revenue collections for the past two months are actually higher than he forecast in November. Yet …

- A comprehensive review showed the state’s economic climate hasn’t improved relative to other states.

- The state could save around $10 million by streamlining information services for five agencies and potentially $277 million for privatizing liquor stores.

- House Speaker Frank Chopp said the state needs to create a moral budget without cutting the most vulnerable and Rep. Richard DeBolt said the state needs to encourage business development, which will finance a healthy future.

- The Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee discussed banning BPA.

- Chief Justice Barbara Madsen was sworn in.

Want more? Watch Legislative Review at 11 o’clock tonight or 7:45 tomorrow morning.

Tags: Legislature, supreme court

Today marks the first day of this year’s 60-day legislative session. Here’s what’s happening:

- At 9:30 a.m., TVW will be live with the swearing-in of Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Madsen.

- At noon, both the House and Senate will hold their first floor session. Watch the House live on TVW. We’ll replay the Senate ceremonies tonight at 5:30.

- At 1:30, the first wave of hearings will begin. See the full schedule here. TVW will be live with the Senate Economic Development and Innovation Committee. The state’s chief economic forecaster, Arun Raha, will be there to discuss the economic climate and outlook.

- At 3:30, we’ll be live with the House Ways & Means Committee, where Auditor Brian Sonntag will cover the statewide performance review.

- And at 8 p.m., you can catch Friday’s taping of the Seattle City Club. They hosted legislative leaders for the annual session preview.

- If you don’t have time to watch all of this but still want to know what happened, watch TVW at 11 p.m. for Legislative Review.

Tags: daily preview, Legislature

Finishing up the first panel at the AP Legislative Forum is Rep. Richard DeBolt. He said he feels like you could go back to any year, rewind and hear the same things at the opening forum. “We have to think about it from a simple perspective, we have to break it down from the people at home … that is putting people back to work. Washingtonians want to work.”

He said the state has to keep up and make sure “Washington businesses can compete.” He said the state has done everything it can in the past 12 years to “push manufacturing out of Washington… we have not done the best we can do.”

“It doesn’t seem that difficult to me,” he said, to figure out how to reinvigorate business in the state: Make it easier to permit businesses, for starters.

Tags: Budget, DeBolt, Legislature, taxes

Sen. Lynn Kessler, filling in for House Speaker Frank Chopp, followed Sens. Hewitt and Brown (see below) at the AP Forum. She said she wanted to make clear how the state got into this situation — being $2.6 billion short: “The world economy collapsed and we are in this situation.”

She said she also wanted to make a distinction between business and government: When times get tough for businesses, they lose customers and must get leaner. Not the state, she said: There are more unemployed, more on food stamps, more students in schools.

She said House Democrats are also working on public safety bills to address the police officer killings in the last few months.

Tags: Budget, Kessler, Legislature, taxes

Sen. Lisa Brown at the Legislative forum:
“I think there isn’t a question about the kind of state people of Washington want to live in,” she started out with, “So the question for us this Legislative session is … how will we do that?”

“The Senate Democrats, when we went on our retreat, were clear: We’re committed, despite the economy, to moving forward … and preserving that quality of life that makes Washington so special.”

She said they’ll “start soon and act quickly” on the budget problem. “I was pleased to see that the Governor was not content with the Book One budget,” she said — Gov. Gregoire’s Constitutionally required all-cuts budget released last month.

Tags: Budget, Legislature, Lisa Brown

Tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock, I’ll be at the annual AP forum, where lawmakers will talk to the media about what’s in store for the year. I’ll be blogging as it happens, so if you want a glimpse into the next 60 days — from the people who will actually be making the decisions — check back here.

And tomorrow night, don’t miss The Impact at 7 and 10 p.m. on TVW. Host Jessica Gao will interview Victor Moore from the Office of Financial Management. And more.

Tags: Budget, Legislature, policy

Next Monday, the 60-day legislative session will begin, bringing Legislators, lobbyists and extra staff members to Olympia to try to solve the $2.6 billion budget problem.

Since this is an even-numbered year, any bills that were introduced but failed to pass last year are still in play. On top of that, many members have introduced new bills. You can find them all here, but I’ve listed a few below to pique your interest.

A sampling:
- A pinioned pair of sexually altered mute swans living on a private lake of 20 acres or fewer would not be considered deleterious livestock under this bill.
- Small wineries would only have to file annual reports to the state, rather than the monthly reports required of larger wineries and distributors, under this one in the Senate and this one in the House.
- Baby food containers and sports bottles would be barred from containing bisphenol A, or BPA. See that bill here.
- This one would amend the Constitution to allow for an income tax.
- And this one would take make it legal to possess up to 50 lbs of black powder (gunpowder) if it contains Potassium Nitrate. It’s currently legal to have up to 5 lbs. of the gunpowder.

Tags: bills, Budget, Legislature

Tune into TVW now to watch the Quality Education Council. This is the group that is tasked with studying public education in the state and coming up with ways it can be improved.

So far, they’ve discussed new teacher mentor programs and graduation requirements may be on the horizon. Stay tuned.

And don’t forget that later this week is Assembly Days, when lawmakers will return to Olympia for a pre-session set of hearings.

Tags: education, Legislature, QEC

This week, lawmakers are in town for committee days. You can see the full slate of committee hearings and schedules here.

TVW will be covering many of the hearings live. Go here for the schedule.

Tomorrow, don’t miss the Senate Ways and Means Committee at 1:30 p.m. (and live on TVW) — they’ll undoubtedly discuss the recent revenue forecast and the state budget. At 8 a.m., we’ve got the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and at 3:30 p.m., we’ll show the Senate Health and Long-term Care Committee. Don’t miss it.

Tags: committee days, Legislature

Joe Turner at The News Tribune is compiling lists upon lists of bills that have passed but await Gov. Chris Gregoire’s signature, bills that have been signed, and bills that just plain old failed.

The lists are worth a read — from newspaper tax breaks to mole trapping.

Tags: bills, Legislature