Sound Transit could see a board of directors overhaul if SB 5001 passes through the House. The bill, which passed through the Senate on Wednesday, would seek to create a board with 11 members who have been elected by voters. Currently, all 18 board members are appointed. Frustration from Sound Transit 3, which includes your tripled car tab rate, is one of the driving forces behind this bill, as it has become clear that Sound Transit needs more accountability in how they use our tax dollars.

Washington’s State Senate is pushing to allow permit-exempt wells to be used for development. They passed a measure Tuesday night that would – if approved by the House – reverse a Supreme Court decision that restricted water usage, halting development in many counties across the state and leaving countless property owners hanging out to dry with their property construction.

Protecting man’s best friend has become a priority of lawmakers, as two bills passed through the House and Senate that creates civil penalties for “people who inhumanely tether a dog, and leave it without water, the ability to turn around or adequate shelter.” Senator Joe Fain (R-47) is sponsoring this bill, and we applaud him for his determination to protect man’s best friend. Woof!

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) casts “superwealthy entrepreneur” Nick Hanauer as lead in buying his way towards a property tax to battle homelessness. Hanauer’s ambitions to buy a victory for the Democrats won’t be stopped, as he claims, “I’m going to donate enough money to that campaign to make sure that we would win. It’s so far below the amount of money that I care about that.” It’s worth noting that Hanauer doesn’t actually live in Seattle and would not be subject to these taxes he’s willing to fight for…

Where is the manual for traffic meltdowns? Seattle has yet to finish a manual to outline dealing with major traffic accidents – and if the accident that halted movement throughout Seattle and even caused a taco truck to open up on I-5 is any indication, we are no closer to having that manual now than we were 19 months ago when it was promised by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D). In 2015 he seemed to think the manual was on the close horizon and that the city was already implementing suggestions from it, saying, “The steps we are taking will help improve our response time and get traffic flowing after incidents as quickly as possible.” So what happened? Has Murray changed his mind now that Democrats are championing Sound Transit at any cost?

Uber may operate in Pasco once again after SB 5620 moved through the Senate transportation committee to help ensure regulation for transportation network companies, like Uber, is the same across the state. The bill, sponsored by Senator Curtis King (R-14) would also require companies to run background checks on drivers to ensure safety.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson is once again standing up to gain headlines, after an entire term in office of hardly doing anything, as he demanded $1.1 million from the Grocery Manufacturers Association in legal costs and fees to Washington State. These fines come in addition to the $18 million fees they are already paying for a $14 million campaign against I-522 which would have required labeling of GMOs on food in Washington. Despite losing their campaign, Ferguson is determined to fine them, saying, “GMA willfully disregarded Washington state campaign finance law.”

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