Articles written by Jason Mercier
Sorted by date Results 1 - 18 of 18
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Restore balance of power in Olympia
Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week that he will finally end governing under an emergency order — after more than 900 days —on Monday, Oct. 31. When the Legislature next convenes, it should ensure that this type of ongoing em... — Updated 9/15/2022
Fair tax; amend the constitution
I recently had the opportunity to review all 50 state constitutions and confirmed an important fact for the current capital gains income tax litigation in Washington. Although most state constitutions mention how real, personal,... — Updated 9/8/2022
Shrouded in secrecy: State union negotiations should be public
Did you know the governor’s office is currently negotiating pay and compensation with state employee unions for the state’s 2023-25 budget? What is on the table? Will the outcome of these secret talks be no tax cuts for... — Updated 7/21/2022
'It is absolutely unconscionable not to do this'
Governor Inslee has repeatedly made it clear that he believes his spending priorities exceed any need to provide tax relief to help families deal with the impact of record inflation. On the same day Inslee declined President... — Updated 6/30/2022
Capital gains supporters set up surveillance
Proponents of the unconstitutional capital gains income tax are working overtime to prevent voters from weighing in. First, there was the game last year with the emergency clause to prevent a referendum. Now capital gains income... — Updated 5/12/2022
Year 3 starts under gubernatorial edict
Sorry to break the news, Washingtonians, but Year 3 of living under emergency orders by the governor will continue without meaningful legislative oversight. The House officially killed Senate Bill 5909 before adjourning. Although... — Updated 3/31/2022
State Supreme Court rules Governor issued illegal vetoes
In a 7-2 ruling this morning, the State Supreme Court said the partial vetoes the Governor made in the 2019 transportation budget were unconstitutional. When issuing those vetoes the Governor said: “While my veto authority is... — Updated 11/18/2021
Do we still need a Legislature?
With Gov. Jay Inslee telling us his ongoing mandates — developed behind closed doors and imposed without public involvement — are a “raging success,” do we still need the public legislative process for governing? Should... — Updated 10/21/2021
Legislature failed to help small business, but some good things happened
Washington Policy Center and League of Women Voters of Washington want to thank the Washington State House and Senate’s bipartisan leadership for the remote testimony processes established in the challenging legislative session t... — Updated 6/3/2021
Lawmakers wanted an income tax lawsuit - they'll get two
Public records show lawmakers plan to use the capital gains income tax to set up a lawsuit to try to impose a broad-based graduated income tax. They’re going to get not one, but two. It could be years, however, before we know if... — Updated 5/6/2021
National vote-by-mail standards needed to avoid election confusion
I’ve lived in two exclusive vote-by-mail states during my time as an eligible voter. My first ballot ever cast was via the mailbox in Oregon. There the ballots are due in the hands of election officials by 8 p.m. on election... — Updated 10/22/2020
More calls for a special session
Voices across the state continue to ask the Governor to call a special session to allow lawmakers to balance the budget and address COVID-19 related policies. A special session would provide the legislative branch of government... — Updated 9/10/2020
Washington has too many statewide elected officials
With the August primary in the books let’s work to reduce the number of statewide elected offices. At present the people of Washington elect officials to nine statewide offices (not counting justices to the state supreme court).... — Updated 8/13/2020
Law requires across-board budget cuts
There are two legal options to respond to a state budget deficit: The governor orders across the board budget cuts, or a special session of the Legislature occurs liquidating the deficit. The first is a blunt instrument allowing no... — Updated 7/23/2020
Will Washington really punt budget action until January?
What once seemed inevitable is now growing unlikely — a special session to balance the state’s budget. This is why it was so important to act before the new spending increases took effect on July 1. Once we started the new fisc... — Updated 7/9/2020
Public records should be kept public – for everyone
When House Bill 1888 was proposed this year to help protect state employee unions from an ongoing battle with the Freedom Foundation, the media was strong in opposition against blowing a hole in the state’s Public Records Act.... — Updated 2/13/2020
Initiative 1464 would direct state tax dollars to support political candidates you might oppose
This November voters will consider Initiative 1464. Spanning 23 pages and 37 sections, I-1464 is a very complex proposal covering many aspects of campaign finance including a proposed repeal of the current ban on giving tax dollars... — Updated 10/13/2016
2014 supplemental budget will need to keep state spending limit in mind
After going through multiple special sessions to adopt the state’s 2013-15 budget, the last thing lawmakers will want to do is fight about a 2014 supplemental budget. State agencies, however, have already submitted their 2014... — Updated 12/6/2013
