Washington State Legislature

425 Stories

Expanded water taxi service means easier access to and from Seattle for Vashon Islanders

For the first time in years, the King County water taxi is expanding its sailings.
Diana Opong
Seattle is minting millionaires by the thousands

About 1 in every 14 Seattleites are millionaires, making it second only to the Bay Area for “millionaire density.”
Monica Nickelsburg
Styrofoam containers are about to disappear in Washington

The next phase for Washington state's ban on Styrofoam is about to kick in, putting an end to an era of squeaky to-go containers used by restaurants and other businesses.
Dyer Oxley

KUOW Staff
Campaign to defend Washington state's climate law raises $11 million, far outpacing opposition

A campaign defending Washington’s Climate Commitment Act from repeal by voters launched Wednesday. The “No on 2117” campaign announced it has obtained more than $11 million in pledges from environmental groups, unions, tribes, and corporations.
Amy Radil
We paid attention to WA's legislative session so you didn't have to

This year’s legislative session is in the can. Like every round of lawmaking, we started the session with lots of plans: Roughly 1,200 bills were introduced and 340 passed. Northwest News Networks' Jeanie Lindsay has been tracking it all so you don't need to. She tells us about her top 3 takeaways from the session.
Patricia Murphy

Clare McGrane
Week in Review: the legislative session, a plan for growth, and a judge disqualified

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with PubliCola’s Erica Barnett, Washington Policy Center’s Paul Guppy, and Earth Finance’s Reuven Carlyle.
Bill Radke

Kevin Kniestedt
Police pursuit, parent rights, income tax initiatives poised for final vote in Olympia

Lawmakers are plowing ahead with three high-profile voter initiatives. The Legislature plans to take a final vote on the measures Monday, despite concerns from members of the Democratic majority.
Jeanie Lindsay
Strippers' bill of rights one step closer to becoming law in Washington state

A bill that would grant strippers’ some of the broadest workplace protections in the country cleared a key hurdle Tuesday on its way to becoming law in Washington state.
Monica Nickelsburg
Puget Sound counties want modernized ferry fleets. Voters decide their fate this fall

Soundside host Libby Denkmann sits down with correspondent Tom Banse to talk about the finances behind replacing Washington's "other" ferries.
Libby Denkmann

Tom Banse

Jason Burrows
Banning books in Washington state schools could get harder if bill passes

Efforts to ban books across the country reached an all-time high in 2022, according to the American Library Association. Now, some Washington lawmakers are trying to prevent more bans here.
Sami West

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