A Thurston County judge ruled Friday that three initiatives on the November ballot must include fiscal impact statements of 10 to 15 words.

State Republicans filed a lawsuit to prevent those impact statements from being attached to measures to repeal the state’s carbon pricing system, to repeal the state’s capital gains tax, and to make participation voluntary in the new state long-term insurance care program. 

Judge Allyson Zipp ruled against the GOP request from Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, and Deanna Martinez, chairwoman of the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, after hearing very technical pro and con arguments in court on Friday morning. 

Walsh and Martinez argued that, as they interpreted the requirements of a 2022 state law, the ballot initiatives don’t need fiscal statements because they don’t affect taxes and fees. The Washington attorney general’s and secretary of state’s advocates argued the intent of the law is to lean toward requiring fiscal impact statements. Zipp agreed with the state government’s arguments.

After the ruling, Walsh called Zipp’s ruling “disappointing, but not surprising.” He said no decision has been made yet whether to appeal. 

In a news release, Aaron Ostrom, executive director of FUSE Washington, said, “Their lawsuit has one inexcusable purpose: to hide the truth about the impacts of these initiatives from voters.”

“Their lawsuit is a deceptive scam to save misleading initiatives that would cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy while shifting the bill onto low and middle income families,” Ostrom wrote.  

After two years of contending that the Washington cap-and-invest program is a tax, Republican  leaders are arguing in court that it and two other taxes being challenged on the ballot this fall are not taxes.

Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, and Deanna Martinez, chair of the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, have filed a lawsuit arguing that the Attorney General’s office does not need to write fiscal impact statements for the voter pamphlet for three initiatives that would strike down or change recent state laws on long-term care insurance, a capital gains tax and the cap-and-invest program, arguing that these are not technically taxes and fees.

A hearing on the case in Thurston County Superior Court is scheduled for June 7.

A 2022 state law requires the Washington Attorney General’s Office to write a statement of up to 15 words on the state’s voters’ pamphlet about the fiscal impacts of an initiative that affects a tax or fee.

Walsh, also chairman of the state Republican Party, filed the three initiatives that qualified for November’s ballot. Democrats opposed all three initiatives.

“Our friends outsmarted themselves,” said Walsh in a Monday press release. “They were very specific when they passed the [2022] warning-label law. But they were so specific that the law doesn’t apply to any of the initiatives that go before voters this year. The case is so clear-cut I am surprised we have to take this to court.”

In the same press release, Martinez said: “People trust the voters’ pamphlet as an objective source of information. They aren’t expecting a partisan political attack that masquerades as a neutral financial statement.” 

Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office submitted a response to the lawsuit arguing that all three initiatives address taxes and fees.

“This lawsuit is a meritless attempt to deny voters information. … All three [initiatives] repeal or modify taxes or fees, and all three have significant fiscal impacts. Under state law, the public has a right to have those fiscal impacts described on the ballot. This Court should reject Plaintiffs’ cynical attempt to keep voters in the dark,” the attorney general’s filing argued.

Initiative 2117 would repeal the state’s cap-and-invest program, which began operating in January 2023. Critics blame the program for rising gas prices. Supporters argue that it provides a huge amount of money for green-energy programs that decrease dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate environmental damage.

Initiative 2109 would repeal Washington’s capital gains tax, which pumps money into the state’s schools. The Republican filers argue that since the Legislature passed an initiative to the body this spring to ban a state income tax, the capital gains tax has no fiscal impact, therefore no fiscal impact statement from the attorney general is required. Before Walsh’s lawsuit, Republicans have always argued that a capital gains tax is an income tax not allowed by state law. But the Washington Supreme Court rejected that argument, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the challenge.

The third initiative, I-2124, would switch the new state requirement for all W-2 employees to contribute to a new long-term insurance care program from mandatory to voluntary participation. The plaintiffs’ argument is that these insurance payments are premiums and not payroll taxes.

Ferguson’s filing argued that the cap-and-invest surcharges are fees, and therefore covered by the warning-label law. On the initiative to change the long-term care insurance, the attorney general’s office said that the 2019 law that established the basic program said the employees’ payments are taxes or fees. 

The attorney general also argued that the GOP lawsuit is misreading the texts of the income tax initiative passed this spring and of the state’s capital gains tax law.

“Because the capital gains tax has not been repealed, and because I-2109 would repeal it and would cut billions of dollars in education funding, that measure must have a public investment impact disclosure statement,” the attorney general’s court filing said.

In the face of staffing shortages, Seattle Public Library (SPL) announced plans to reduce hours at branches throughout the city from April 14 until June 4.

As with many city departments, SPL saw a wave of staff departures during the pandemic. According to its announcement of the temporary closures, the library system has hired 160 employees in the years since, and either met or exceeded pre-pandemic open hours in 2023.

But SPL also recently increased the minimum number of staff required to operate each library, spurred in part by a growing concern over safety for library staff and patrons. If a branch does not have enough staff on a given day, it leads to closures on short notice.

Librarians’ roles have expanded in recent years as the public institutions have become increasingly significant pieces of the American social safety net. In addition to being a resource and respite for people experiencing homelessness in Seattle, libraries are also becoming important refuges from the extreme weather impacts of climate change, including heat, cold and wildfire smoke.

SPL’s staffing challenges come as Seattle grapples with a projected budget deficit of at least $240 million beginning in 2025. In January, Mayor Bruce Harrell instituted a hiring freeze for all city departments, with an exemption for public safety departments.

The library is not considered an executive department and was therefore not subject to Harrell’s hiring freeze. But Chief Librarian Tom Fay nonetheless instituted a hiring freeze to address the library’s own budget shortfall, with exemptions for hiring on a case-by-case basis.

The rolling closures will take place mostly on weekends and do not affect hours at the Central Library or Ballard, Delridge, Greenwood or University branches.

Here is the full list of closures:

• Beacon Hill Branch: Closed Sunday, April 14, April 28, May 12 and May 26
• Broadview Branch: Closed on Sundays through June 4
• Capitol Hill Branch: Opening at noon on Thursdays and closed on Sundays through June 4
• Columbia Branch: Closed Saturdays through June 4
• Douglass-Truth Branch: Closed Saturdays from April 20 through June 4
• Fremont Branch: Closed Fridays through June 4
• Green Lake Branch: Currently closed for seismic retrofit construction
• High Point Branch: Closed Sundays through June 4
• International District/Chinatown Branch: Closed Fridays through June 4
• Lake City Branch: Closed Sundays through June 4
• Madrona Sally-Goldmark Branch: Closed Wednesdays and Fridays through June 4
• Magnolia Branch: Closed Sundays through June 4
• Montlake Branch: Closed Tuesdays and Fridays through June 4
• New Holly Branch: Closed Mondays through June 4
• Northeast Branch: Closed Fridays through June 4
• Northgate Branch: Closed Saturdays through June 4
• Queen Anne Branch: Closed Saturdays from April 20 through June 4
• Rainier Beach Branch: Closed Sunday, April 21, May 5, May 19 and June 2
• South Park Branch: Closed Mondays through June 4
• Southwest Branch: Closed Saturdays from April 20 through June 4
• Wallingford Branch: Closed Fridays and Saturdays through June 4
• West Seattle Branch: Closed Fridays through June 4

Correction: A previous version of this article referred to Seattle Public Libraries. The correct name is Seattle Public Library.

A new Washington state legislative district map will be in effect during elections this year after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a motion by conservative Latino voters to block the map’s adoption. 

This is not the end of the debate over Washington’s political map, but the Supreme Court has stopped it for now. The 2024 election will be governed by the map adopted last month by a U.S. District Court judge. 

The new map aims to create a Latino voter-majority district that aligns with voting rights laws. Under the new map, Legislative District 14 unites Latino communities in Central Washington from the east part of Yakima to Pasco in neighboring Franklin County, including Latino communities along the Lower Yakima Valley. The map also switched the Latino-majority district from the 15th to the 14th to ensure that state Senate elections fall on a presidential election year when the turnout of Latino voters is higher. 

The court led the process of creating the map after U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik sided with Latino voters who sued the state in January 2022. He said the district, as drawn by the bipartisan Washington State Redistricting Commission in 2021, diluted Latino voter power. The court led the process after Democrats in the Legislature declined to reconvene the redistricting commission. 

A group of conservative Latino voters, which included State Rep. Alex Ybarra (R-Quincy), intervened in the case, known as Palmer v. Hobbs, and opposed the map, stating that it was an attempt by Democrats to gain power in conservative Central Washington districts. That argument did not get much traction in the original court case or the remedial map process.

Intervenors, however, will have another opportunity to present their arguments for the appeals process, which was allowed to continue after the court declined to block the map for the 2024 election. According to a court document, conservative voters must file opening briefs by June 7, with responses due in early July.

As part of his plan for Downtown Seattle’s post-pandemic recovery, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced this week that he is sending legislation to the City Council to allow more business types to set up shop in vacant storefronts in the greater Downtown area.

The proposed legislation would apply to areas in Belltown, South Lake Union, Lower Queen Anne/Uptown and Downtown that currently allow retail, restaurants and bars and entertainment as well as libraries, museums, child care and religious facilities in street-level commercial spaces.

The bill would expand those allowed uses to include medical offices, research and development labs, food processing, horticultural operations, crafts manufacturing and art installations. The proposal also leaves the door open for other business types not covered by that list to apply for a permit from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections.

While the legislation would change the allowed permitting for three years, businesses established during that period would be allowed to stay indefinitely.

In addition to expanded uses, the proposed legislation would modify zoning regulations to allow smaller business spaces, making it easier for smaller-scaled businesses to set up shop. The bill would allow businesses to be a minimum of 8 feet deep instead of the current 15-foot minimum Downtown and 30-foot minimum in Belltown.

Finally, the bill would modify zoning rules to encourage businesses to occupy the second floor of office towers rather than filling only ground floor spaces.  

As is the case in many U.S. cities, Downtown Seattle has struggled in the wake of the pandemic, driven in large part by hybrid office work reducing daily foot traffic. Other than a dip around the winter holidays, Downtown worker foot traffic has mostly hovered around 55% of pre-pandemic levels since August 2023, according to the Downtown Seattle Association. Office vacancies in the central business district have continued to rise, hitting 24% at the end of last year and predicted to increase to 30% by the end of 2024.

Harrell has made Downtown recovery a centerpiece of his first Mayoral term. His Downtown Activation Plan is a laundry list of ideas meant to bolster economic recovery through tourism, increased numbers of Downtown residents and more.

In mid-March, Harrell transmitted legislation to the City Council to incentivize the conversion of office buildings into apartments and other uses. Last fall the Council passed legislation to rezone Third Avenue between Union and Stewart Streets to increase commercial and residential density, legislation to allow more hotel construction in Belltown and waived permit fees for food trucks and carts and small-to-medium street and sidewalk events. 

A redrawn Washington legislative district map selected by a U.S. District Court judge earlier this month will be used in elections this year. The U.S. Court of Appeals has announced it will not step in to block the decision. 

However, the three-judge appeals panel, in its order Friday evening, allowed a group of conservative Latinos to continue its appeal efforts. 

The new maps create a Latino-voter-majority district in the Yakima Valley that aligns with federal voting rights laws. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik sided with Latino voters who sued the state in January 2022, saying the district, as drawn by the bipartisan Washington State Redistricting Commission in 2021, diluted Latino voter power. 

Under the new map, Legislative District 14 unites Latino communities in Central Washington from the east part of Yakima to Pasco in neighboring Franklin County, including Latino communities along the Lower Yakima Valley. The map also switched the Latino-majority district from the 15th to the 14th to ensure that state Senate elections fall on a presidential election year when the turnout of Latino voters is higher. 

A group of conservative Latino voters, which included State Rep. Alex Ybarra, intervened in the case and opposed the map, stating that it was an attempt by Democrats to gain power in conservative Central Washington districts. That argument did not get much traction in the original court case or the remedial map process. Intervenors, however, will now have an opportunity to lay out their argument for the appeals process. According to a court document, conservative voters must file opening briefs by June 7, with responses due in early July.

The Washington Legislature approved loosening police-pursuit restrictions and passing two other initiatives submitted by public petitions. That leaves three initiatives to be addressed in the November election.

The Senate approved removing some police-pursuit restrictions 36-13, with the opposing votes all coming from Democrats.The House passed the measure 77-20. 

The Senate also passed the initiative forbidding a state income tax 38-11, and unanimously declared parents had rights to medical, academic and disciplinary information on their children. The House passed the income tax initiatives by 76-21 and the parental rights measure by a vote of 82-15. All votes against the three initiatives were from Democrats.

The police-pursuit initiative was the most controversial. It repeals a 2021 law that raised the standard for vehicular police pursuits from “reasonable suspicion” to “probable cause” — the standard typically required for a warrant or arrest – for pursuits involving all but a narrow list of crimes. That list of crimes was expanded in 2023 following an unsuccessful Republican attempt to repeal the entire 2021 law. 

Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said, “Police and law enforcement have been handcuffed in the number of crimes they are allowed to pursue. … off [criminals] go, thumbing their noses at law enforcement.” He added that vehicle thefts have significantly increased since 2021 because police pursuits were restricted.

In voting against the initiative, Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, worried that a broken taillight or loud music could trigger a police pursuit. Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, cited innocent bystanders being injured over the small theft or drug possession charge. 

The two other initiatives sparked only token discussions Monday because the measures do not change the status quo. Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said the parental-rights initiative merely codifies rules already set in state education regulations. Meanwhile, there has not been a serious attempt at establishing a state income tax in more than a decade.

Conservative organization Let’s Go Washington, funded by Redmond hedge fund manager Brian Heywood, gathered enough signatures to send six initiatives to the Legislature. The Legislature had the choice to adopt those initiatives or send them to a public vote on the November ballot. Monday’s action removed three from that lineup.

The three remaining initiatives — including one to repeal the new cap-and-invest program that puts a price on carbon pollution — all have complicated fiscal ramifications that do not lend themselves to easy “yes” or “no” votes, without amendments. The Legislature is not allowed to amend initiatives.

Another initiative asks voters to repeal Washington’s new capital gains tax on people earning $250,000 or more on capital gains. The sixth proposal would repeal a 2023 law that taxes paychecks to provide for long-term health care.

The Washington House has greenlighted the creation of a task force to study artificial intelligence issues for the Legislature.

Senate Bill 5838, sponsored by Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-White Center, passed late Thursday 68-28 and will go back to the Senate for a vote on the House’s minor tweaks.

The bill calls for the creation of a 42-person task force, to begin meeting this year, to come up with recommendations on how the Legislature and state government should address AI issues. Preliminary recommendations on future legislation and regulations would be due to the governor’s office and to the Legislature by Dec. 31, 2024 and Dec. 1, 2025, with a final report due July 1, 2026.

Participants in the task force would include state government officials and representatives of universities, technology associations, business groups, labor and community advocate organizations. The task force must meet at least twice annually. The Washington Attorney General’s Office will coordinate its work.

“I believe the rapid development of artificial intelligence will bring about one  of the most momentous developments in technology. It will alter the world and we will see massive changes in society,” said Rep. Clyde Shavers, D-Oak Harbor, on the House floor. “We often forget or ignore the enormous challenges that come with these great technological advances. … Right now, companies are either self-regulating or not subject to adequate oversight, and we need both now.”  

Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, added: “People don’t realize artificial intelligence touches their lives. … There are risks and opportunities.”

Couture acknowledged some GOP representatives opposed the bill because they object to the attorney general’s office being in charge.

The Washington Legislature has voted along party lines to adjust its carbon pricing system to make it compatible with the cap-and-trade systems in California and Quebec.

House approved Senate Bill 6058, on a vote of 57-39 Thursday. The Senate passed the measure on Feb. 12. Now the two houses will have to reconcile minor differences in the bills they passed before it can be sent to the governor's desk.

Washington is negotiating with California and Quebec on meshing their three carbon markets. Supporters of the move expect a bigger market would bring down carbon emission auction prices, which would lead to lower fuel costs.

The earliest that the proposed alliance could take place is 2025. Lurking in the background is a November referendum on whether to repeal Washington’s cap-and-invest program, which is blamed for some gas price increases.

Washington’s carbon polluters, including oil companies, bid every three months on the amounts of carbon emissions they can release. The volume of allowances is limited, which has driven up auction bids. Washington’s carbon auction prices have been higher than those in California. This past year, however, California’s gas prices have been frequently, but not always, higher than Washington’s.

The cap-and-invest system is one of numerous factors affecting the rise and fall in Washington’s gas prices. 

Republicans opposed the bill Thursday, spending the majority of a more than four hour debate slamming the program and its association with gas prices. Republicans also said they did not like tying Washington’s program with a much larger California economy and its own unique ups and downs. They also voiced skepticism about claims that a larger market would decrease gas prices in the Evergreen State.

“We’re going into an agreement without a clear understanding of the partners we want a relationship with,” said Rep. Keith Goehner, R-Dryden.

“Fools rush in. We should not rush into any linkage,” said Rep Jim Walsh, R-Abderdeen, who is also one of the leaders of the initiative to repeal Washington’s cap-and-invest program.

Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-West Seattle, noted that a common argument against Washington’s efforts to combat climate change is that one state’s efforts won’t have an effect on global warming. He said a Washington-California-Quebec market would have a greater impact on reducing carbon emissions.

Fitzgibbon also noted New York, Massachusetts and Maryland are watching Washington and this potential alliance with thoughts about creating their own cap-and-trade programs to eventually join this bigger market.

The biggest change from SB 6058 would be allowing a single bidder in a quarterly auction to obtain up to 25 percent of the allowances for sale. Currently, the limit for a single auction is 10 percent. However, a single corporation would still be limited to obtaining no more than 10 percent of allowances offered in a calendar year.

A watchdog group reports that Washington’s public agencies are making it harder for the public to gain access to information, eroding the state’s Public Records Act. 

The Washington Coalition for Open Government, a group that pushes for public access to government information, released its report this week, revealing several key findings, including longer wait times for records than in previous years and an increase in exemptions in public records law.

The Coalition found that public officials and agencies often obstruct people requesting public information — for example, creating long administrative appeals for denials and imposing deadlines to pay fees before a requester can access records. Sometimes agencies take a lengthy time to respond to requests, or simply fail to respond altogether. 

Data from the report shows that requesters are waiting longer than in previous years to receive information: In 2019, people waited an average of 15 days, which increased to 23 days in 2022. 

Public officials are also becoming creative with ways to withhold public information, like using “legislative privilege” or releasing redacted and blacked-out documents in response to requests. None of the officials that violated the act were held accountable by the public records act. 

From 2012 to 2022, the list of exemptions for disclosing public records has increased more than 30%. 

The report also found that agencies also fail at maintaining and organizing records. The Coalition said agencies spend more time and money searching for documents due to this disorganization.

Not only is their document organization inadequate, but the Coalition found that staff members of these agencies are often improperly trained on how to handle public records. The training that public employees receive from the Office of the Attorney General creates bias and tilts them to favor nondisclosure over transparency, according to the report.

Recommendations from the study include making data accessible to people in a timely manner. They also ask for the government to act transparently and implement pro-transparency recommendations from the Attorney General’s Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee.