Legislature
Photo courtesy of the Washington State Senate Secretary Reed took part in the Senate’s opening-day ceremonies Monday by presenting certificates to the new and returning senators. Here he is shown handing Sen. Joe Fain (47th Legislative District) his certificate. Looking on is Lt. Gov. Brad Owen.
Bleak times: Gov. Chris Gregoire and a bipartisan panel of legislative leaders say the 105-day session that convenes next Monday will inevitably feature massive state budget spending cuts as Olympia deals with an unprecedented $4.6 billion budget gap. The Democratic governor, who recently unveiled a no-new-taxes budget, said the voters sent a clear and unmistakable signal with their tightfisted votes in November that they want an all-cuts budget. That tracked with what Republican leaders of the House and Senate told…
Washington will get word on Tuesday on whether we’ve grown enough in the past decade to warrant a new seat in Congress. The Census figures are coming out, amid speculation that we’ll get a 10th congressional district. The state Redistricting Commission will soon take up the task of redrawing congressional and legislative district boundaries so they represent equal numbers of voters. Right now, some districts have far more than the ideal-sized population. The commission will be comprised of four voting…
Secretary of State Sam Reed, a longtime advocate for Washington’s Presidential Primary, is joining Gov. Chris Gregoire in asking the Legislature to suspend the primary in 2012. The move would save $10 million. The regular Top 2 Primary would still be held in August for governor, U.S. Senate, and other statewide and local races. But the state would rely on the old precinct caucus-convention system, which Iowa and a handful of other states still use, for allocating national nominating convention…
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, responding to a massive budget gap of $4.6 billion and public sentiment against tax hikes, is proposing a $32 billion two-year state budget that slashes virtually every segment of state spending. The governor recommended eliminating some of her favorite programs, including health coverage for the working poor, tax support of state parks, Disability Lifeline grants, Children’s Health Program, class-size reduction in K-4, and more. She proposed shuttering the history museums in Tacoma and Spokane and freezing…
Gov. Chris Gregoire has called Washington lawmakers into an emergency special session at 9 a.m. Saturday to deal with the state’s billion-dollar budget gap. This is apparently the first “lame duck” session the Legislature has ever had. Leaders said they have agreement on cutting $784 million, including about $200 million of across-the-board cuts previously ordered by the governor and about $200 million in federal aid-to-education. The session is permitted to last 30 days, but leaders said they’re planning on a…
Courtesy of Washington State Archives’ House photo collection People in our office received word Tuesday morning of the death of Jeannette Hayner, the longtime Walla Walla legislator who rose to Senate Republican Leader during the latter part of her career before retiring in 1993. Hayner, 91, died Friday in Walla Walla. Here is the obituary that ran in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. A few of us in this office knew Hayner, having either worked with her, for her, or having…
In 1910, Emma Smith DeVoe and May Arkwright Hutton led campaigns in Washington supporting the women’s suffrage amendment. The ballot measure to amend Article VI of the Washington Constitution was on the 1910 General Election ballot and was passed by majority of 22,623, a favorable vote of nearly 2 to 1. Washington State joined the western states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Idaho, that had already enacted women’s suffrage. Washington was the first state in the 20th century to pass…
Image courtesy of Washington State Archives In 1889, Congress passed the Enabling Act, which “enabled” Washington to draft a state constitution and request admission to the Union. During the Washington State Constitutional Convention, women petitioned the delegates to include women’s suffrage in the new state constitution. The issue was presented to the voters as a separate amendment on the ballot. In the ensuing vote, 16,527 voters voted to include the amendment granting women the right to vote, but 34,613 voted…
Mark your calendars for November 7 and 8 for two events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the vote to amend the Washington Constitution for women’s right to vote in the state as part of a Day of Jubilation. The American Association of University Women is sponsoring a Women’s Suffrage Pink Tea at the State Capital Museum in Olympia on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit this website for more details! The Office of the Secretary of State, the WSHS/Women’s…