And That’s a Wrap: Legislature Adjourns
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org After an exceptionally tough and challenging session, the Washington State Legislature adjourned around 6:30 PM on April 27th, the final day of the regularly scheduled 105-day session. When the 2025-27 operating budget was revealed by the Conference Committee on Saturday, April 26th, one of the best bits of news was that…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Advocacy in Action: No Harmful Budget Gimmicks
Advocacy in Action! Danica Noble testified against HB 2050, a bill that would shift apportionment payments from February, March, and April and replace the funds in August. This budget gimmick would help the state balance its fiscal issues, but will create a cash flow problem for school districts, and worsen their financial instability. Listen to Danica here.
Week 14 Legislative Review: It’s the Final Countdown
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org View our comprehensive bill tracker for Week 15 ahead here. Wednesday, April 16 was the final day for bills to pass out of the opposite chamber, with the exception of bills that save the state money or raise money. Starting the next day, both the House and Senate began working on…
Week 14: Another one bites the dust and only one cutoff remains
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org See our comprehensive bill tracker for week 14. April 8th marked the date by which bills from the opposite chamber needed to be passed out of fiscal committees. Starting the next day, work turned to floor action, with the Senate finishing business Friday night and the House working through Saturday. The…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Week 13: Capital Budgets Released, Governor Says “No Go” on Wealth Tax
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org View our comprehensive bill tracker looking ahead to week 13 here. Over the past few weeks, lawmakers have been focused on releasing their proposed House and Senate biennial budgets for operations, transportation and construction and narrowing down the number of bills under consideration that will make it to Governor Bob Ferguson’s…
Week 12: House and Senate offer differing operating budget proposals for K-12 education
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org View our comprehensive bill tracker looking ahead to week 12 here. House and Senate Democrats released their proposed 2025-27 operating and transportation budgets on Monday, March 24th, held public hearings on Tuesday, and accepted amendments on Thursday. On Saturday, the Senate passed the operating budget (ESSB 5167) by a vote of…
Bring On the Budgets (and the Revenue Ideas!)
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Be sure to check out our comprehensive Week 11 Bill Tracker to see how bills we support have fared. Last week the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council reported that anticipated revenue collections would be down by nearly $900 million over the next four fiscal years: $479 million in 2025-27, and $420…
Hs Civil Rights & Judiciary SB 5098
Advocacy Committee member Dr. Gwen Loosmore testified in favor of E2SSB 5098, restricting the possession of weapons on the premises of state or local public buildings, parks or playground facilities where children are likely to be present, and county fairs and county fair facilities. Gwen said that a simple restriction like those presented in the…
WA Faces Revenue Decline in New Budget Outlook
By Advocacy Committee, ptaadvocacydir@wastatepta.org On March 18, the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released the latest revenue forecast. The figures further worsened the state’s financial outlook, adding to an already projected operating budget shortfall of up to $15 billion over the next four years. The latest forecast projects nearly $900 million less for…
Week 10: Senate Advances Special Education Bill
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Be sure to check out our comprehensive Week 10 Bill Tracker to see how bills we support have fared. Wednesday, March 12 was the deadline for bills to pass out of the chamber in which they began. The Senate celebrated the cutoff by passing E2SSB 5263 by a vote of 48-0…