The Speaker’s Scoop: A micro-podcast as the cutoff deadline looms
It’s House of Origin Cutoff, an important deadline in the session, so Speaker Jinkins only had 56 seconds to chat with us.
The Speaker’s Scoop: Uncharted territory
Speaker Laurie Jinkins discusses the transition in Olympia to full-time floor action this week, and recounts her discussion with U.S. Sen. Patty Murray about the unprecedented threat posed by actions of the new federal administration.
The Speaker’s Scoop: The challenge of governing
It’s great to be in the majority, and be able to pass good policies that help people thrive and move Washington forward. Democrats in the state legislature have gotten to do a lot of that over the past few years. But when there’s a budget shortfall, like this year, it’s also the majority that decides what gets cut from the state budget. This is not simply about numbers on a spreadsheet; it’s about people and families that will be directly impacted.
The Speaker’s Scoop: A really hard, hard week: Policy Cutoff is here
In this week’s installment of The Speaker’s Scoop, Speaker Jinkins talks about two hard deadlines legislators are facing — policy cutoff and fiscal cutoff — and the impact they have on the fate of bills. She also talks about every lawmaker’s fear: the dead bill.
The Speaker’s Scoop: A $12 billion budget shortfall. Exactly how did we get here?
Is it a “spending problem?” This year, budget writers in Olympia are contending with a $12 billion shortfall in the state budget. Speaker Jinkins’ self-described “wonky take” on this question covers the unpredictability of revenue growth when balancing the state budget over four years, and how Washington’s regressive tax structure falls heaviest on working families and households with the lowest incomes. Listen here