OLYMPIA - In about two weeks, 147 state representatives and senators will descend on the Capitol for 105 days of lawmaking.  Hundreds of others — lobbyists, support staff, press and …

OLYMPIA - The upcoming legislative session will see high levels of turnover among Washington state lawmakers.  Following the retirements of longtime legislators, a few redistricting …

OLYMPIA - State Sen. Joe Nguyen will be the new director of the Department of Commerce . Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson on Thursday announced Nguyen’s appointment to lead the agency, which …

OLYMPIA - Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste will soon be serving under his third chief executive. Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson on Thursday announced Batiste’s reappointment to lead the …

OLYMPIA - A Democratic state senator’s errant email is shedding light on new taxes that she and her colleagues may pursue in 2025 as well as a strategy to sell them to the public. Sen. …

OLYMPIA - The hunt for invasive “murder hornets” is over in Washington and the rest of the U.S. after three years without confirmed detections, state and federal officials said …

OLYMPIA - Gov. Jay Inslee entered office a dozen years ago vowing to not raise taxes as Washington emerged from a devastating recession during which state programs and services were slashed to make …

OLYMPIA - Washington state’s budget is, to put it nicely, in a world of hurt. There’s a big gap between what the state is collecting in taxes and what it needs to pay for its …

OLYMPIA - Child care affordability, crime trends, environmental protections, access to addiction treatment and housing costs. These are some of the issues on Washington lawmakers’ agenda this …

OLYMPIA - Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson is tapping a Biden Administration official to lead the state’s Department of Ecology and to keep Washington at the forefront of the nation’s fight …

OLYMPIA - Businesses and nonprofit organizations should watch out for fraudulent letters that claim to be asking for money on behalf of the Washington Office of the Secretary of State. Since …

OLYMPIA - Many affordable housing projects in Washington are funded in part by the state’s Housing Trust Fund.  A new report from the Department of Commerce looked at the cost of …

OLYMPIA - State funds that pay for homelessness services in Washington are running low, and the Legislature may need to find extra money to avoid program cuts.  The Department of Commerce …

OLYMPIA - Washington lawmakers have begun teeing up legislation ahead of the 2025 session. Monday marked the first day they could pre-file bills. Legislators will have 105 days to push their …

OLYMPIA - A 5,000-member public employee union in Washington that overwhelmingly rejected a new two-year contract in September is accusing the governor’s office and several community colleges …

OLYMPIA - Long lines on Election Day aren’t common in Washington with the state’s vote-by-mail system. But this year, some counties were inundated with people taking advantage of a …

OLYMPIA - The natural gas initiative Washington voters approved calls for erasing some of the state’s building codes but that might not happen when the measure takes effect next month. …

OLYMPIA - Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is warning of a budget deficit in excess of $10 billion and calling on state agencies to pare spending now to deal with it. A Nov. 8 memo from Inslee’s …

Washington State Standard OLYMPIA - Supporters and opponents of a proposal to slash public defender caseloads in Washington made their closing arguments to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday. …

Washington state courts’ computer systems have been down for nearly two weeks, disrupting the operation of local courts and preventing the completion of thousands of firearm sales. The …