State Watch

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

PFML is no safety net and it keeps harming many workers with needs of their own

By Elizabeth NewCreate a program that taxes workers and employers to pay people a replacement wage when they take time off work, and you can bet it will become popular. But popularity is not the same ...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

PFML is no safety net and it keeps harming workers with needs of their own

By Elizabeth NewCreate a program that taxes workers and employers to pay people a replacement wage when they take time off work, and you can bet it will become popular. But popularity is not the same ...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

Pennsylvania's PAyback Success is it a blueprint for Washington's Counties and Cities?

By Mark HarmsworthWhen Pennsylvania’s governor pushed agencies to speed up permitting, the idea was straightforward: set clear expectations, measure performance, and make government more responsive to...

Washington AG Washington 7/10 ?

WA joins coalition challenging rollback of limits on mercury emissions and other pollutants from power plants

WA joins coalition challenging rollback of limits on mercury emissions and other pollutants from power plantsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Mar 31 2026atgAshleyGrossTue, 03/31/2026 - 13:50The Environmental Pro...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

Mobility and equity - the gap between policy and reality

By Charles PrestrudSound Transit has adopted an equity policy intended to guide their planning efforts. The data shows that only a small percentage of lower income workers commute by transit and the i...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

Some worker rights get a poster, others get fine print

By Elizabeth NewWhen I researchedHouse Bill 2355— which creates new rules for hiring domestic workers in private homes — I was struck by a line in thefiscal note. It said that $33,500 was needed in fi...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

California's $20 fast food minimum wage creates less jobs and lower income Washington lawmakers foolishly still think it will work here

By Mark HarmsworthCalifornia’s experiment with a $20-per-hour minimum wage for fast food workers is delivering exactly the outcomes we at the Washington Policy Center (WPC) predicted nearly three year...

Washington AG Washington 7/10 ?

CONSUMER ALERT: Scams target licensed drivers in Washington

CONSUMER ALERT: Scams target licensed drivers in WashingtonFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Mar 30 2026atgSamBlobaumMon, 03/30/2026 - 12:29Attorney General Nick Brown is warning consumers about a rising wave of ...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

The Legislature Has Committed $2.4 Billion to Recurring Pension Increases since 2018

By Ryan FrostThe legislature has granted Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) Plan 1 and Teachers Retirement System (TRS) Plan 1 retirees a “one-time” cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) six times in...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

Washington state lawmakers are getting it right on hiring qualifications

By Elizabeth New“It’s not often that we come before you asking you all to limit our agency’s ability to do something, but here we are,” said a director for Washington state’s Office of Financial Manag...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

State is rightly emphasizing experience and skills, not degrees

By Elizabeth New“It’s not often that we come before you asking you all to limit our agency’s ability to do something, but here we are,” said a director for Washington state’s Office of Financial Manag...

Washington AG Washington 7/10 ?

WA sues USDA for illegally holding hostage billions in critical funding

WA sues USDA for illegally holding hostage billions in critical fundingFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Mar 23 2026atgAshleyGrossMon, 03/23/2026 - 12:21In a move to protect Washingtonians who depend on federal U...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

Will the income tax cause a drop in charitable giving?

By Mark HarmsworthThe optimistic view that a $100,000 non-profit deduction on your Washington income tax return sounds appealing on paper, but it ignores the far larger behavioral response already und...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

Attacking Democracy in the Name of Democracy

By Ryan FrostA healthy democracy produces good policy in the midst of tension, meaningful debate, and bipartisan compromise. That has all but evaporated in Olympia, as the scale has tipped so far in o...

Washington Policy Center Washington 8/10 ?

Washington Passed an Income Tax to Fund Education. Then the Same Majority Cut Education and Left $700+ Million on the Table.

By Vicki MurrayWithin a span of about 24 hours, Washington's legislative majority passed the state's first income tax — sold as the key to “fully funding” education — then approved cuts totaling more ...

Washington AG Washington 7/10 ?

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