Thousands of Shift readers have participated in the first two rounds of our Madness in Olympia tournament, and we are down to the championship match-up to determine what has been the Democrat’s 2021 Worst Legislative Idea.  Play today and help decide whether a State Income Tax on Capital Gains (SB 5096) or Eliminating Police Resources (HB 1054) is to earn this dubious crown from Shift readers. Share with your friends.  We will officially crown the winner later this week. (Click to participate in Shift’s Madness in Olympia tournament)

State Senate Democrat leaders are being forced to alter the normal legislative process as it maneuvers to pass Governor Jay Inslee’s  controversial Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).  In previous legislative sessions, similar LCFS legislation has been referred to the Senate Transportation Committee, due to its impact on fuel alternatives and fuel prices (estimates say it could add 62 cents to a gallon of gas).  The chair of the committee, Senator Steve Hobbs (D – Lake Stevens), has previously held up LCFS proposals because he will not ignore his commitment to improving transportation in the state or his legitimate concerns regarding the expensive and ineffective (see next story) proposal. So, the hyper-partisans running the Seanate have decided to bypass the Transportation Committee and have instead sent the bill (HB 1091) to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. (Cornfield Report/Everett Herald and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Recent studies prove that many of the claims made by Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) advocates are “false,” “completely unscientific,” and “simply ludicrous.”  Todd Myers from the Washington Policy Center states that environmental groups use outdated studies to make their claims that an LCFS would reduce air pollution and thus provide healthier air to those “most vulnerable.”  The studies many LCFS advocates use were based on vehicles built prior to 2010, before emission reduction improvements were mandated.  Scientists at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory state that “new emission control technology introduced in 2010 largely eliminates fuel effects on emissions” and that the difference between biofuel and diesel today are incredibly small.  One of the most exaggerated claims from LCFS supporters is that imposing an LCFS in Washington would reduce the risk of forest fires.  Myers points out that a LCFS “might reduce a meager 2.7 million metric tons of CO2 in 2030” (out of 6.677 million metric tons produced in the U.S.).  This amounts to 0.04% of the U.S. produced CO2 and would have no impact on temperatures and no impact on wildfires. As Myers writes, “The only thing that will reduce forest fires and our smoky summers, is thinning and harvesting to restore forest health.” (Washington Policy Center)

Republican leaders urge Governor Inslee to follow Centers for Disease Control and Preventions guideline and reduce the current six-foot spacing requirement for students in classrooms down to three feet.  Senate Republican Leader John Braun and House Republican Leader JT Wilcox issued a statement saying that many school districts are claiming that “the six-foot spacing of students is the largest hurdle to reopening classrooms.” The leaders also maintained that other states have been able to safely conduct in-person instruction using the three-foot guidelines, wearing facemasks, and proper hygiene. (Centralia Chronicle)

Thank you Dow Constantine! And all those Seattle mayors whose liberal policies at both the state and local levels caused Washington State to increase its number of homeless individuals by 6.2% between 2019 and 2020, which placed the state in the top three in the country (which experienced a 2.0% overall increase) during this that time period.  These figures comes from a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and most data was collected prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (during which the problem has become even worse).  As state and local governments continue to dramatically increase spending to “combat homelessness,” liberal policies and failed methods have only increased the number of people who suffer the cruel existence of living without shelter.  While liberals claim these numbers demonstrate that we need to throw even more money at the problem, maybe it is time for leaders to examine the policies and why they have failed in the five years since Seattle and King County politicians declared homelessness an “emergency.” (Seattle Times)

As both the City of Seattle and Washington State have extended their eviction moratoriums through June, more property owners are being forced to sell their properties.  Property manager Heather Maggio claimed, “The state, as well as the city, have limited basically almost all of our options.”  She also stated that since the orders are so broad, property owners have limited ability to even discuss future payment schedules with tenants. (MyNorthwest)

The revolving door of Seattle liberal leaders (i.e. mayor, police chief, and school superintendent) sped up just a bit, as the remaining months of Seattle Public School Superintendent Denise Juneau’s contract was bought out by the district.  The school district has hired an interim superintendent for a year, while it conducts a nationwide search to fill the position permanently.  Yet, just like the City of Seattle finding a new police chief, one has to wonder whether any qualified candidates will consider applying for the superintendent position knowing the dysfunctional environment in the region’s liberal establishment, which gives considerable power to the whims of the extremists.  As we saw from the original choice to lead the new Regional Homeless Authority, many qualified individuals do not believe they can be successful in this environment. (Seattle Times)

In a strongly worded editorial, the Seattle Times stated that the “Seattle City Council’s reckless rhetoric and slapdash moves to defund the police have hurt — not helped — the safety of residents citywide.”  Noting that nearly 200 officers have already departed the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and that there has been a severe increase in response times of officers responding to calls, the newspaper argued that councilmembers “should better recognize their fundamental duty to keep the city safe each day.”  The editorial also stated that the council’s current proposal to cut an additional $5.4 million from the SPD budget could conflict with a federal court order and could result in “court intervention if public safety is further eroded.” (Seattle Times)

A new study finds there is less racial disparities in arrests made by the Spokane Police Department than previous studies have found.  The difference in the studies’ findings is determined by what “baseline” data is used.  In Spokane, 12% of the arrests are made were of Black suspects.  Previous studies used the fact that only 3% of the city’s population is Black, and thus arrests indicate there is racial disparities in the arrest. Yet, the new study used the fact that 12% of the calls made to 911 indicated that the suspect was Black, thus the 12% arrest rate shows no racial disparities in the arrest.  Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward revealed the study last week and claimed that the Spokane Police Department was “a model in this state and across the country for how departments should operate.” (Spokesman-Review)

Last Friday’s Newsmaker Interview was with House Republican Caucus Chair Paul Harris of Vancouver. Representative Harris has served in the legislature since 2011, after previously serving 10 years on the Evergreen School Board in Clark County.  Among Representative Harris’s observations is that Governor Inslee could have resumed in-person education sooner for students across our state if he had included teachers earlier on the COVID vaccination list.  Harris also believes the goal of equitably balancing state taxes is a good goal, yet the Democrats’ proposals do not seek balance, rather they are “just adding more taxes and the government is spending more.” (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

Despite learning that the state will be receiving $3.2 billion in state revenue it did not expect (and an additional $7 billion more from the federal government’s latest “bailout”). Democrats and their extreme environmentalist allies want to raise taxes even more to pay for their expensive (and mostly ineffective) projects.  While we can all agree we want clean air, the current Democrat legislative proposals will not “do much to actually help the environment, but will increase prices, kill jobs, and create more government-study opportunities to figure out how to create more ways to tax Washingtonians.” (Click to read the full Shift article)

Do you like The Daily Briefing?

Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment.

Forward this to a friend.  It helps us grow our community and serve you better.

You can also follow SHIFTWA on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected].