Democrats refused to vote for Governor Inslee’s $30 million tax plan after it advanced out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee on its way to the floor. Tax proposals included a 7.9% capital gains tax, closing a sales tax exemption loophole, changes to current B&O taxes and a carbon tax with a $25 per metric ton rate slapped onto it. Now that they’re actually faced with a vote, it seems their bark is bigger than their bite…

Property owners and law enforcement agents may finally have the right to kick out squatters on private property, thanks to a bill brought forth by Senator Hans Zeiger (R-25). As it stands, action cannot be taken unless a crime is committed. SB 5388 passed unanimously through the Senate and, if passed through the House, would legalize kicking out trespassers on private property.

Three Senate bills are challenging minimum wage laws now that they have dramatically driven up the cost of labor, including a rise of approximately $60,000 more a year for one business. SB 5530, SB 5532 and SB 5541 propose lowering the minimum wage for employers who are outside of King County so that they are not saddled with the financial burden handed down by liberal Seattleites.

Liberal Senator Sam Hunt (D-22) violates campaign finance laws and is being sued by the Attorney General. Three claims are being pursued for Senator Hunt failing to report his debts and obligations on time, for failing to report a mailing list the Washington State Democrat Party gave him and for failing to report 2016 campaign expenditures. This lawsuit can be tacked onto the list of six others that Attorney General Ferguson is suddenly avidly pursuing after three yeas of near-silence in office – a most desperate attempt to garner headlines in preparation for what seems to be a gubernatorial campaign on his horizon.

In 2018, you will need more than just your ID to fly out of SeaTac – but the State Senate is taking a step closer to fixing that by passing a bill (45-4) that would help create a two-tiered licensing system. State Senator Curtis King (R-14) explained passing this bill would “protect the interests of all of us in the state of Washington” by helping our state drivers’ licenses and ID cards to comply with federal law.

The O’Reilly Factor featured a Washington State trooper who is under review for following standard procedure when he called ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to report an illegal immigrant, a man who is also a convicted felon, was involved in an auto accident. The show criticized Governor Inslee for not standing behind the state trooper, pointing out that the trooper could sue Washington if action is taken against him for doing his job.

Seattle City Council threatens to sever ties with Wells Fargo, potentially costing taxpayers more money. Seattle City Council voted 9-0 to sever ties with the bank because of their ties to the Dakota Access Pipeline project and Wells Fargo has accepted their request – even offering to help Seattle find a new bank. The catch? Head of government and institutional banking for Wells Fargo has reported that finding a new bank is only going to cost the taxpayers more money, and may be difficult to do so.

Councilmember Kshama Sawant once again using fighting verbs to call together an “opposition to the right.”  In her pathetic response to President Trump’s Address to the Joint Session of Congress, Sawant once again attempted to rally the masses to “confiscate” the wealth of people and “allocate it to the masses.”

The Superintendent for Spokane Public Schools, Shelley Redinger, recieved a $10,715 base salary raise last night after the board of directors credited her with an uptick in culture and district operations. “The best thing that ever happened while I’ve been on the board is when we hired you in 2012,” one former member, Bob Douhitt, claimed.

Spokane Valley City Hall is reorganizing departments, merging together their Community Development and Public Works departments. “This will provide better coordination and communication between city staff,” said City Manager Mark Calhoun. It is also supposed to provide $200,000 in savings for the city in cutting positions that are currently vacant.

USA News ranked Washington State 44th in mental health care, which seems ironic considering Governor Inslee was just honored for a national award by a mental-health advocacy group. Even The Seattle Times has called Inslee out on his failure to pay attention to his “own messes to clean up.” It seems as though he is preparing for his presidential run in typical liberal fashion: ignoring the facts and painting his idealistic truth as reality.

We know some Senators who would probably sign up for this…

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