Washington in Focus

The City of Seattle is working to address a loss of tree canopy by proposing bills that would increase regulations, potentially affecting tree cutting services in the city. Seattle’s goal is to achieve 30% canopy coverage across the city by 2037. This goal is a result of a finding that from 2016 to 2021, the region had a relative decline in canopy cover of 1.7%, or 255 acres. Neighborhood residential areas had a net loss of 87 acres from 2016 to 2021, the most out of all Seattle land areas. Notably, neighborhood residential areas make up 39% of the city’s land area.

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The Washington State Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the state’s capital gains tax. The court released its 7-2 ruling on Friday morning. The state Legislature passed the capital gains tax in 2021, and Gov. Jay Inslee signed it into law. It creates a 7% tax on profits of more than $250,000 from the sale of some assets, such as stocks and bonds. Last March, Douglas County Superior Court Judge Brian Huber ruled the tax was “properly characterized as an income tax…rather than as an excise tax as argued by the State” and struck it down. The state constitution’s uniformity clause does not allow income to be taxed at different rates.

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The Seattle City Council is addressing a staffing shortage within the Seattle City Attorney’s Office by approving a memorandum of agreement that increases the pay of assistant city prosecutors by 20%. The city council voted 8-0 in favor of the ordinance on March 14. Earlier that day, staff members of the Seattle City Attorney’s Office said they were still working to fill staffing as it lost 12 prosecutors over the last two years. One of the biggest impacts the office cites is its ability to pay prosecutors a competitive salary. According to the report presented to councilmembers, the salary range for a city prosecutor is approximately $81,000 to $110,000 – lower than six other Western Washington cities. This includes Tacoma, Auburn, Bellevue, Renton, SeaTac and Redmond. Between city prosecutors, public defenders and county prosecutors, Seattle city attorneys remain competitive with their salaries up until five years of experience where the average is around $100,000, according to the office’s report.

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Angie Dowell’s fight to keep the man who murdered her father behind bars epitomized the spirit of Wednesday afternoon’s “Crime Victims’ Call to Action” on the north steps of the Capitol building in Olympia, Washington. Her father, Loran Dowell, was murdered in a 1980 robbery of the Red Barn Tavern in South King County that claimed two other lives as well. The man convicted of the crime, Timothy Pauley, was sentenced to three life sentences, but after laws were changed in 1984, he became eligible for parole. Pauley was scheduled to be set free last July, but Gov. Jay Inslee blocked it.

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

⁠America in Focus:⁠ A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

⁠America's Talking⁠: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

⁠Everyday Economics:⁠ Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

⁠Future of Freedom:⁠ Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

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The Washington Senate Law & Justice Committee is scheduled to vote next week on House Bill 1240 creating a state definition of “assault weapon,” which the Gun Owners of America, or GOA, says would apply to most firearms. One of the reasons is due to the definition of assault weapons in the bill. Although the bill specifically lists 62 rifles by name "regardless of which company produced and manufactured the firearm," the ban also applies to any semi-automatic rifle with a barrel length less than 30 inches. The gun barrel is the section of a firearm between the action and the muzzle.

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The Washington House has passed a bill that if enacted would ban the sale or distribution of certain semi-automatic weapons and adds a new definition to state law of “assault weapons” that includes rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Critics warn that the wide legal definition will include thousands of ordinary firearms and, under the grandfathering clause, put later descendants of current owners at legal risk should they eventually inherit the firearms. Sponsored by Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, at the behest of State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, HB 1240 cleared the state House 55-42 on March 8, just minutes from the legislative cutoff date for bills to advance from their original chamber.

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

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County Executive Dow Constantine says he'll be forced to cut "essential services" unless he's allowed to break the cap on how much more he can tax King County properties. Constantine held his 2023 state of the county address in which he warned of potential cuts to services. The county's primary funding source is the property tax, but Constantine blames a 1% cap on property tax revenue for creating a gap in the general fund. Washington state voters passed the cap in 2001. Notably, the majority of King County votes were against the legislation. The amount of property taxes levied by counties against assessed property value can increase by only 1% per year, plus revenue from new construction. Since the cap was passed in 2001, the King County population has grown nearly 30%, and Constantine said consumer prices are up 70%.

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

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Despite a surprising turn of events Wednesday that saw legislation pass the Senate giving police in Washington state more discretion in engaging in vehicular pursuits, the ultimate fate of the bill remains to be determined. Engrossed Senate Bill 5352, which passed on a 26-23 vote, would let police pursue if they have reasonable suspicion that a person in the fleeing vehicle has committed or is committing a violent crime, a sex offense, a vehicular assault, domestic violence, an escape, or driving under the influence. Amendments to the bill call for extra training and communication with local law enforcement during chases to protect bystanders.

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

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Two bills seeking to exercise some legislative oversight of the governor’s powers during an emergency appear to be dead in the Washington State Legislature, with neither receiving a public hearing halfway through the legislative session. Senate Bill 5063, cosponsored by Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, and Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, is known as the Bipartisan Approach to Legislative Authority Necessary in Continuing Emergencies, or BALANCE Act of 2023. Join The Center Square's Jeremy Lott and Brett Davis.

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

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The top Republican in the Washington state Senate expressed some optimism Tuesday about the prospects of a bill to ease restrictions on vehicular pursuits by police in the state. “One, the study bill in the Senate died in Ways and Means, which I think is frankly a good outcome,” Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, said during Republican leadership’s weekly media availability event to discuss the legislative session. “Nobody who is thinking about this thought studying it for two more years was a good idea, and that bill had limited ability to amend it.” The Senate Republican leader's comments were a reference to Senate Bill 5533 that would keep the current pursuit restrictions in place and give the state Criminal Justice Training Commission until the end of October 2024 to study the issue and come up with model legislation. Join The Center Square's Jeremy Lott & Brett Davis.

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

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