Articles written by Jason Mercier
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Capital gains tax not 'excise' tax
Last week, the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments concerning the capital gains income tax. I attended the hearing in person. It is unclear when the court will issue its... — Updated 2/9/2023
Restore balance of power in Olympia
Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week that he will finally end governing under an emergency order — after more than 900 days —on Monday, Oct. 31. When the Legislature next... — Updated 9/15/2022
State union negotiations should be public
Did you know the governor’s office is currently negotiating pay and compensation with state employee unions for the state’s 2023-25 budget? What is on the table? Will the... — Updated 7/21/2022
'It is absolutely unconscionable not to do this'
Governor Inslee has repeatedly made it clear that he believes his spending priorities exceed any need to provide tax relief to help families deal with the impact of record... — Updated 6/30/2022
A success story from Lincoln County
In 2016, Lincoln County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to require transparency for all the county’s collective bargaining talks. According to the resolution:... — Updated 6/2/2022
Capital gains supporters set up surveillance
Proponents of the unconstitutional capital gains income tax are working overtime to prevent voters from weighing in. First, there was the game last year with the emergency clause... — Updated 5/12/2022
Legal challenge filed for proposed ballot measure
As expected, the I-1929 (capital gains tax repeal) campaign officially filed a legal challenge to the attorney general’s ballot title and summary for the proposed ballot measure.... — Updated 4/14/2022
Year 3 starts under gubernatorial edict
Sorry to break the news, Washingtonians, but Year 3 of living under emergency orders by the governor will continue without meaningful legislative oversight. The House officially... — Updated 3/31/2022
Lawmakers kill emergency powers reform
Sorry to break the news, Washingtonians, but year three of living under emergency orders by the governor will continue just as the last two years have – without meaningful... — Updated 3/17/2022
Emergency powers reform testimony
In an emergency, governors need broad powers to act fast. Legislative bodies inevitably take longer to assemble and act than a single executive, so they temporarily delegate their... — Updated 2/3/2022
State Supreme Court rules Governor issued illegal vetoes
In a 7-2 ruling this morning, the State Supreme Court said the partial vetoes the Governor made in the 2019 transportation budget were unconstitutional. When issuing those vetoes... — Updated 11/17/2021
Which city will be next?
The Battle Ground City Council this week unanimously adopted Resolution No. 21-07 opposing a local income tax. That brings the number of cities officially going on record against a... — Updated 7/29/2021
Thank goodness for access to remote testimony during legislative session
Washington Policy Center and the League of Women Voters of Washington want to thank the Washington State House and Senate’s bipartisan leadership for the remote testimony processes they established in the challenging legislative... — Updated 6/24/2021
Inslee issues questionable line-item vetoes, again
We knew it was coming. The moment lawmakers tried to get clever and thought they could gain support for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (House Bill 1091) and Cap and Trade (Senate Bill 5... — Updated 5/26/2021
Governor issues questionable line-item vetoes, again
We knew it was coming. The moment lawmakers tried to get clever and thought they could gain support for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (House Bill 1091) and Cap and Trade (Senate Bill 5... — Updated 5/20/2021
Lawmakers wanted an income tax lawsuit – they'll get two
Public records show lawmakers plan to use the capital gains income tax to set up a lawsuit to try to impose a broad-based graduated income tax. They’re going to get not one, but... — Updated 5/6/2021
Still time for lawmakers to act on emergency powers reform
We are now more than halfway thru the 2021 Legislative Session and have passed the important House of Origin cutoff. This is technically when bills start to die. Among the bills... — Updated 3/18/2021
Restoring trust in state government in 2021
It has been 286 days since Governor Inslee first declared a statewide emergency relating to COVID-19. Since that time, the Governor has continued to extend emergency declarations... — Updated 1/14/2021
Inslee's proposal is an income tax
Despite the budget being balanced, billions in reserve, and projected revenue growth of 7.2%, Gov. Jay Inslee is yet again proposing an income tax on capital gains in his new... — Updated 12/31/2020
Could Zoom mean a Legislature that listens
There’s no other way to say it, 2020, has been just an awful year. It is difficult to believe anything good can come from this mess but I’m really excited to see that one silver... — Updated 12/4/2020
Robust remote testimony to look forward to in 2021
There’s no other way to say, 2020 has been just an awful year. It is difficult to believe anything good can come from this mess but I’m really excited to see that one silver... — Updated 11/19/2020
No good reason why a government shutdown should occur, even in a deficit
DURING the last two state budget cycles, Washington lawmakers have come dangerously close to forcing a government shutdown due to failures in the budget process. The current... — Updated 10/30/2020
National vote-by-mail standards needed to avoid election confusion
I’ve lived in two exclusive vote-by-mail states during my time as an eligible voter. My first ballot ever cast was via the mailbox in Oregon. There the ballots are due in the hand... — Updated 10/22/2020
Budget outlook takes another hit with Boeing's 787 announcement
It is official. Boeing will consolidate its 787 manufacturing in South Carolina. This news has many implications for the state including a direct impact on the state’s budget... — Updated 10/8/2020
State revenues continue to grow overall
First the good news. Unlike during the great recession, state revenue is still increasing overall during the COVID pandemic. According to the September revenue forecast:... — Updated 10/5/2020
