The pomp and circumstance of the legislature’s opening days is transitioning into the daily grind of hearings, press conferences, and Jay Inslee’s re-election campaign maneuverings, as we move toward the end of the first week. Shift today looked at Inslee’s endorsement of the labor-backed initiative to raise the minimum wage to $13.50 – because having the nation’s highest statewide minimum wage evidently won’t get enough votes for him this year. Of course, Inslee could try get votes by endorsing the public charter schools bill that we reported passed out of a Senate committee yesterday – but that might cost him the big bucks that the state teachers union generally puts into Democrat gubernatorial campaigns, so that’s unlikely. Also unlikely is much cooperation between Inslee and legislators on his “independent” investigation into the scandal-plagued Department of Corrections, with Shift reporting that two state senators have announced plans to seek a subpoena to ensure they get access to materials from Inslee’s administration on the investigation. Stay tuned for more fun on that one…
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