“The Impact”:
Lawmakers return to Olympia with a lot of big proposals and a short sixty day session to sort them all out. In this episode we look at where legislative leaders stand on a number of topics. Housing. Homelessness. $30 car tabs. Transportation funding.
Tax policy…
“Senate Democrats last year had a plan that would have created a capital gains tax and reduced other taxes I think you’ll see a proposal like that again,” said Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, ( D-Spokane).
A low carbon fuel standard…
“It’s a big gas tax despite what the governor says,” said Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler, (R-Ritzville).
“The fact of the matter is this is oil and gas industry propaganda,” said Governor Jay Inslee, (D).
New gun restrictions…and more.
“I do think we will move forward on gun violence legislation,” said House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, (D-Tacoma).
“When we have discussion about people’s constitutional rights being infringed, we are going to push back,” said House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, (R-Yelm).
The state economy is booming, but are we saving enough for hard times? We sit down with the Washington State Treasurer for his take.
“The Rainy Day Fund, the Budget Stabilization Account, that should be off limits. That is for, if we have a major recession we would have a major crisis on our hands if we didn’t have those funds in place,” said Treasurer Duane Davidson, (R).
Other topics include new data privacy protection proposals and a bill to govern the use of facial recognition technology.