Category Archives: Budget

Washington ranks 30th in total school spending per pupil in 2011

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Ross

Dick Davis at the The Washington Research Council posted about new Census data recently released on school funding. Washington ranks 30th in total school spending per pupil in 2011 A new report from the U.S. Census provides a wealth of data on … Continue reading →

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Senate Budget – Unconstitutional Fund Transfer?

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Ross

In the Senate Republican budget they transfer $166 million of the “Common School Construction Fund” into the operating budget. The Treasurer does not believe he has the constitutional authority to make this transfer and has said so publicly. The Senate … Continue reading →

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Town Hall Wrap

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Ross

  Another town hall meeting. I should go back on the calendar and count how many we’ve done. These have been fun over the years and we keep fiddling with the formula. This time we had a full room so … Continue reading →

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Education Bills and Background

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Ross

Lots has been happening on the education front this year, though the most important thing is happening in closed rooms as the House and Senate work out their budget proposals. I sat on a school funding panel in front of … Continue reading →

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Legislative “Progress” – Early March

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Ross

Each Legislative session has a rythym all its own. This one is waiting expectantly for something to happen. I think you’ll see a flurry of activity towards the end of the month as budgets start to get released. At the … Continue reading →

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Helping Foster Kids Launch

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Ross

Investigate West published awesome investigative journalism on what happens to foster children when they “age out” of our system at age 18. As a parent I’m quite proud of my kids who are both in the 19-21 age group. They … Continue reading →

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A Good Deal for Washington

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Ross

One of the three key items that need to be resolved this year is the Medicaid expansion that is part of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) or “Obamacare. (The other two are the overall budget and education funding increase … Continue reading →

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Standardized Tax Rates for all Marijuana

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Ross

Rep. Reuven Carlyle and I introduced legislation today to standardize state tax rates across medical and non-medical marijuana. The medical market would now look like the setup initiative 502 put in place for recreational use. The press release we issued … Continue reading →

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Legislative Update

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Ross

We’ve gone through the first week. The governor and the state-wide officials have all been inaugurated, I fit into the same tuxedo I got married in 23 years ago for the inaugural ball, the Senate is in uproar about Senator … Continue reading →

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What’s in “McCleary?”

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Ross

In 2012 the Washington State Supreme Court found that Washington State is not funding our education system at anything close to the level the constitution requires. Just before the holidays the court opined again, that “the overall level of funding … Continue reading →

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