Opinion: It just got a little more expensive to be filthy rich in Washington. Boo-hoo
Break out the tissues and tiny violins. Or, if it’s more your style, pour one out for your wealthy friend’s summer home. On Friday, in an objectively stunning decision, the Washington state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state’s controversial capital gains tax. Given Washington’s long, stubborn history of regressive taxation, proponents of the tax described the court’s decision as a dawning of a new day. The 7-2 ruling reversed a Douglas County Superior Court decision from 2022 that found the tax unconstitutional. More importantly, it marked a major step toward righting “an upside-down tax structure where low-income Washingtonians ultimately expend a much larger share of their income in taxes than our wealthiest residents,” as Governor Jay Inslee put it. Continue reading at News Tribune. (The Olympian)

WA awards grants to BIPOC groups tackling birthing inequities
A project from the Washington State Department of Health is funding five organizations to help address racism and maternal mortality rates. Mortality rates in Washington’s communities of color were already troubling before the pandemic. Then things got worse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nationwide maternal mortality rates rose by more than a third from 2020 through 2021, with disparities holding fairly steady between white and Hispanic people and growing between white people and Black people, who experienced mortality rates of 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. Addressing these disparities is the goal of the Washington Department of Health’s Birth Equity Project, which earlier this month identified the five organizations, each of which will receive funding of up to $200,000 per fiscal year for a total of two and a half years.
Continue reading at Crosscut. (Amanda Snyder)

WA moves to eliminate time limits for child sex abuse lawsuits
People who were sexually abused as children in Washington may soon be able to sue the state, schools or other institutions for failing to stop the abuse, no matter how long ago it occurred. A bill moving through the Legislature would eliminate the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits seeking damages for such abuse. House Bill 1618 would apply retroactively, removing time limits that have stymied some lawsuits by people sexually abused as children, who frequently do not fully confront the trauma they endured until decades later. The bill passed the state House earlier this month on an 82-14 vote and cleared a Senate committee last week. “I’ve heard story after story of survivors of all different types trying to access the justice system to hold people accountable, to be able to move on with their lives, and they can’t do that. This is a really meaningful way to address that,” said Rep. Darya Farivar, D-Seattle, the prime sponsor of the bill, in an interview. Continue reading at Seattle Times. (Karen Ducey)