Gov. Inslee is jet-setting during session – again. This time, to Switzerland to attend “Stepping Up on Climate Action.” However, if you thought the Democrats would suffer without their leader in Olympia… you likely haven’t been paying attention to just how little they actually work with him. “House and Senate Democrats have already killed Inslee’s top agenda items, and Inslee no longer plays any major role in negotiating the state budget,” political strategist Alex Hays said. (Seattle P.I.)

Fatal Amtrak crashes notwithstanding, WSDOT is still interested in developing a high speed train between Spokane and Seattle. 770 KTTH’s Todd Herman says the train speed “would be approximately 600 percent slower than an airplane ride. Yet it would…be more expensive than flying.” Herman calls it the “newest, greatest choo-choo train scam.” (MyNorthwest)

The Legislature is appealing a court ruling that says it must comply with the Public Records Act, a move that is “misguided and a waste of public dollars.” We agree with the Seattle Times editorial board that spending money on outside attorneys “to argue that legislators are entitled to special treatment under the law” is money poorly spent – taxpayer money poorly spent. (The Seattle Times)

King County has a new 75-person homelessness task force, in what the Seattle Times is billing as “the first evidence of regional collaboration between new Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and King County Executive Dow Constantine on the homelessness crisis.” The group is supposedly focusing on preventing homelessness at the “root causes.” One positive sign: Durkan says “it’s not the taxes first, and then do the services that fit the taxes…Let’s find the solutions, then scope the resource to fill that gap.” (The Seattle Times)

Jobs at Boeing have reached “that more stable plateau” in the Puget Sound area, according to CEO Dennis Muilenburg. He declared the area “still my Boeing home” and gave factory work force here a little bit of hope after a period of job cuts. (The Seattle Times)

Edmonds is crowd-sourcing areas to focus on traffic enforcement, in a bid to cut down on speeding through residential neighborhoods. The city is asking residents to fill out paperwork and collect neighbor signatures. Areas of the city will then be chosen for anti-speeding emphasis. (MyNorthwest)

Milk cartons dated “best by” Feb. 6 were pulled from all Spokane Public Schools after students at Shadle Park High School discovered a mixture of water and cleaning solution in their drinks. District spokesman Kevin Morris said they “don’t know exactly how many students drank it.” (The Spokesman-Review)

Yakima County Commissioners approved the establishment of a Health, Science and Service Authority to oversee development of local medical facilities – if state lawmakers approve the measure. Sales taxes would cover the clinic costs. (Yakima Herald)

Pioneer Human Services is now providing counseling and treatment for people under federal probation supervision in order to help people clean up and get their drug charges dropped. “Nationally, drug courts have one of the lowest recidivism rates in the country,” drug court administrator Santy Altshuler said. The Pioneer Human Services program helps to get people through drug court and into a successful recovery. (The Spokesman-Review)

Establishing a mandatory training course for campaign treasurers | SB 6161 | What a complete waste of time. Micromanaging campaign treasurers won’t make it any less likely they’ll be removed from AG Ferguson’s line of fire – he’ll just find another way to make headlines.

Unrealistically forcing Washington to be carbon-free by 2045 (actual title: establishing a clean, efficient, renewal energy standard) | SB 6253 | This bill defines carbon-free energy as a “resource that emits no greenhouse gas pollution as part of its generation activity,” which – as Lens pointed out, “includes energy generated by hydro, wind, solar and nuclear power.” Once again, Democrats in Olympia wave around lofty goals – without any real plan of action that would make the goals realistic or attainable. This time, they also infringe on a major part of Eastern Washington’s economy “at a very expensive cost.” (Lens)

Abolishing the law banning rent control (actual title: Concerning local authority to address affordable housing needs through regulation of rent and associated charges) | HB 2583 | “I think local communities are best situated to bring together the appropriate stakeholders to figure out the right policies for their local communities…that is why I think it is time to repeal the preemption on locally-imposed rent regulations,” said Rep. Nicole Macri (D-Seattle).

Encouraging the disclosure and discussion of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace | SB 5996 | in committee | “Prohibiting nondisclosure agreements that prevent employees from disclosing sexual harassment or assault.” (The Columbian)

Developing model policies to create workplaces that are safe from sexual harassment | SB 6471 | in committee | The models would be developed by a combination of the Human Rights Commission and “representatives from the business community as well as advocates for those affected by sexual harassment.” (The Columbian)

Promoting renewable natural gas | HB 2580

Eliminating certain tax preferences not being used and recommended for repeal as determined by the joint legislative audit and review committee | HB 2734

Concerning dates and timelines associated with the operation of the state primary and elections | SB 6193

Providing for approval of school district bonds by fifty-five percent of the voters voting | SB 6246

Concerning Amending the Constitution to allow at least fifty-five percent of voters voting to authorize school district bonds hours of availability for inspection and copying of public records | SB 6373

Requiring employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives reasonable access to new employees for the purposes of presenting information about their exclusive bargaining representative | SB 6229 & HB 2624

Evaluating random check procedures for ballot counting equipment | HB 2527

Concerning electronic ballot return | HB 2614

Concerning election ballot space and voter informations | HB 2704

Concerning the collection of a motor vehicle excise tax approved by voters of a regional transit authority in 2016 | SB 5955

Modifying the election and authority of regional transit authority board members | SB 6301

Establishing a vehicle valuation method for a regional transit authority collecting a motor vehicle excise tax that is based on Kelley blue book or national automobile dealers association values | SB 6303

Addressing the need for substitutes in schools | HB 2379

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