| TITLE |
AUTHOR |
DATE |
SUMMARY |
 Governor’s Budget Sets Priorities, Lives Within Means |
WRC |
12/20/2002 |
Governor Locke’s proposed budget reflects the fiscal realities confronting the state. The cuts in the budget are receiving a lot of attention. More important,... |
| Property Rights and the Growth Management Act |
WRC |
12/17/2002 |
Strong property rights are a key prerequisite for economic development in a market economy. Businesses only invest where the expected rate of return is suffic... |
| Property Rights and the Growth Management Act |
WRC |
12/17/2002 |
Strong property rights are a key prerequisite for economic development in a market economy. Businesses only invest where the expected rate of return is suffic... |
| The Medical Assistance Challenge |
WRC |
12/13/2002 |
Medical Assistance is one of the most significant cost drivers in the state budget. The program provides vital life-giving services to the most vulnerable popul... |
| Untaxed and Lightly Regulated |
WRC |
11/14/2002 |
Some tribes are now using casino profits to expand into otherlines of business. Tribal businesses operate with regulatory and cost advantages over nontribal bus... |
| Initiative 776: $30 Car Tabs and an Attempt to Derail Sound Transit |
WRC |
10/25/2002 |
I-776 brings back the promise of $30 car tabs. However, the initiative moves too aggressively to limit options at a time when policy decisions are increasingly... |
| Public Funding for Health and Human Services in King County |
WRC |
9/18/2002 |
Health and human services programs, and the people they serve in King County, depend on funding from public and private sector sources. |
| Closing the Budget Gap is Now a Major Competitiveness Challenge |
WRC |
9/17/2002 |
Lawmakers returning to Olympia in January will again face serious budget difficulties. Solving the problem without harming the state’s economic competitivenes... |
| Closing the Budget Gap is Now a Major Competitiveness Challenge |
WRC |
9/17/2002 |
Olympia in January will again face serious budget difficulties. Solving the problem without harming the state’s economic competitiveness poses a severe challe... |
| “GENEROUS” UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SYSTEM ALSO COSTLY |
WRC |
9/11/2002 |
In a state that leads the nation in unemployment insurance (UI) system costs, UI policies have a direct effect on Washington’s economic competitiveness. |
| Front Lawns or Balconies? Trends in WA Housing |
WRC |
9/6/2002 |
Two distinct trends in housing preferences stand out in Washington’s housing market; large single-family homes typically located outside of the central city... |
| Seattle Initiative I-77: The Espresso Tax is a Shot in the Dark |
WRC |
8/13/2002 |
Seattle’s proposed espresso tax will bring in less than supporters expect and create substantial administrative burdens for espresso shop employees and city o... |
| Build for Vitality |
WRC |
7/1/2002 |
By financing infrastructure projects that encourage economic vitality, accommodate growth, and provide the amenities that build better communities, communities ... |
| New Population Projections for GMA Planning |
WRC |
6/25/2002 |
The census provides the basis for new projections by the Office of Financial Management of future population growth for the state’s counties. The counties wil... |
| Reviewing Growth Management – Planning for Housing |
WRC |
5/23/2002 |
Policy makers should avoid overly proscriptive regulation of the housing market, maximizing opportunities for residential and commercial development that is con... |
| 2002 Budget Act: Supplemental but Not Sustainable |
WRC |
4/25/2002 |
The recently enacted supplemental budget provides a temporary solution to the state’s fiscal woes. Preliminary projections show a gap of $1.5 billion between... |
| An Insecure Plan for Tobacco Fund Securitization |
WRC |
3/7/2002 |
Legislators have proposed selling the anticipated revenues from the tobacco settlement to bridge the gap between spending and revenues in the state general fund... |
| Senate Budget Plan Cuts Biennial Spending 1.4 Percent |
WRC |
3/7/2002 |
The Senate Ways and Means Committee adopted a budget that reduces current biennial appropriations by $321 million. New revenues of $83.4 million are projected f... |
| Senate Budget Plan Cuts Biennial Spending 1.4 Percent |
WRC |
3/7/2002 |
The Senate Ways and Means Committee adopted a budget that reduces current biennial appropriations by $321 million. New revenues of $83.4 million are projected f... |
| Caseload Increases Drive Up State Costs |
WRC |
3/4/2002 |
The recession has thrown the state budget seriously out of balance, simultaneously reducing revenues and increasing the cost of maintaining existing spending co... |
| A First Look at the Supplemental Budget |
WRC |
3/2/2002 |
With expenditures $1.4 billion greater than revenues, this supplemental budget is a shortterm patch, not a long-term solution. Preliminary projections show the ... |
| State Revenue Forecast Reduced Again |
WRC |
2/19/2002 |
With the release of the February forecast, the magnitude of the fiscal problem facing the state is clearer. |
| $34.3 Million Bond Issue for Police Facilities Goes to Tacoma Voters February 5 |
WRC |
1/28/2002 |
Tacoma voters will decide the fate of a $34.3 million bond proposal for police facilities February 5 at a special election. The money would pay for construction... |
| Pierce Transit Seeks Sales Tax Increase |
WRC |
1/28/2002 |
On February 5th voters will be asked to approve a sales tax increase of 0.3 percent to benefit Pierce Transit. |
| Pierce Transit Seeks Sales Tax Increase |
WRC |
1/28/2002 |
On February 5th voters will be asked to approve a sales tax increase of 0.3 percent to benefit Pierce Transit. |
| $34.3 Million Bond Issue for Police Facilities Goes to Tacoma Voters February 5 |
WRC |
1/28/2002 |
Tacoma voters will decide the fate of a $34.3 million bond proposal for police facilities February 5 at a special election. The money would pay for construction... |
| 2002 Competitiveness Report - Will Washington Shrug? |
WashACE |
1/22/2002 |
Washington's plunge from prosperity to recession caught many policymakers by surprise - and radically refocused theh competitiveness debate. |
| Responsible Utility Regulation is a Key Competitiveness Issue |
WRC |
1/11/2002 |
The state should be more accommodating of requests by utilities to site transmission lines and other facilities on state lands and regulators should provide a ... |
| Responsible Utility Regulation is a Key Competitiveness Issue |
WRC |
1/11/2002 |
The state should be more accommodating of requests by utilities to site transmission lines and other facilities on state lands and regulators should provide a ... |
| Economic Development: Growth Management’s Missing Link |
WRC |
1/9/2002 |
The GMA recognizes economic development as one of the Act’s thirteen goals. Last month, the Washington Competitiveness Council called on the legislature to re... |
