New audit: Employment Security Department may have lost as much as $1.1 billion in the 2020 fraud scheme (Seattle Times)
According to the State Auditor’s Office, the state Employment Security Department (ESD) may have understated the total fraud losses from last year’s fraud scheme. Originally, ESD claimed to have lost more than $640 million in taxpayer dollars during the surge in jobless claims. But a new audit suggests the actual number could be nearly $1.1 billion after “all claims flagged for investigation are reviewed.”
Audits conducted thus far have also exposed serious cyber-security vulnerabilities – which resulted in thousands of stolen Social Security numbers – at the ESD. Despite cyber threats, the ESD failed to address these security vulnerabilities.
New reports also expose customer service failures at ESD. In 2020, call-wait times reached as long as two hours for thousands of Washingtonians with legitimate unemployment claims.
All of the losses occurred when the ESD was led by Suzi Levine, an Inslee appointee whose chief qualification was that she raised a lot of money for the governor and other Democrats.
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Inslee uses emergency powers to roll back three counties to Phase 2 (Seattle Times)
It’s been well over one year since Governor Jay Inslee used his emergency powers to issue executive orders in response to COVID-19. Despite Republicans calling for a special session in 2020 and presenting bills to limit the governor’s use of emergency powers, Inslee has run a one-man show since the start of the pandemic. And that continued this week.
On Monday, Inslee ordered Pierce, Cowlitz, and Whitman counties back to Phase 2 of his arbitrary reopening plan, which refuses to acknowledge that 75% of the most vulnerable people in those counties have received at least one vaccine shot and their hospital systems have healthy capacity. That means businesses and residents of these counties must – once again – live under restrictions, including lowering capacity limits for indoor spaces from 50% to 25% occupancy.
Responding to the heart of the matter, Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, and Rep. J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, stated, “What’s particularly frustrating is the governor made these decisions alone despite the fact we are in a legislative session. That means state lawmakers who represent these counties had no say in the matter. This is wrong. And it’s why we need emergency powers reform this legislative session – to bring the voices of state lawmakers and the constituents they represent to the decision-making process.”
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House Democrats propose "emergency clause" amendment to state capital gains income tax (Washington Policy Center)
House Democrats have proposed an amendment on the state income tax on capital gains that – if the Senate concurs – will remove any tax relief (no funding for working family rebate) and prohibit a referendum by the people. Talk about the Democrats being anti-democracy when it serves them.
The Washington Policy Center’s Jason Mercier describes, House Democrats’ amendment is “essentially a back-door emergency clause in an attempt to deny the people their right of referendum on the proposed income tax.”
The Senate debated a similar emergency clause on the floor prior to Democrats’ voting to pass the state income tax on capital gains. Ultimately, the Senate decided not to adopt the amendment. If the House moves forward with its version of an emergency clause, it is unclear whether or not the amendment will be a deal breaker in the Senate where the income tax passed by a narrow 25-24 vote.
Question: How can they enact an unconstitutional income tax, even if there is an emergency?
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Democrats pass a ban on gasoline cars (electrek)
Washington Democrats continue to reward their special interest donors at the expense of everyday people. By the end of the session, the Democrat-controlled state House and Senate will have likely agreed on and passed a cap-and-tax scheme and high-cost fuel standard (HCFS) that raises the gas tax to $1.23. Both policies are expected to only minimally reduce CO2 in our state. They will, however, fill the coffers of special interests.
This week, Democrats added another victory for special interests to their 2021 roster. Legislators passed a new bill that seeks to end the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2030. The bill’s passage makes Washington State the first in the nation to pass a ban on gas cars legislatively. Also it imposes the earliest deadline to ban gas cars. Both California and Massachusetts have plans to ban gas cars by 2035, imposed by executive order.
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Democrats propose 33 tax and fee hikes for transportation (Seattle Times)
Democrat lawmakers proposed 33 tax and fee hikes to fund a new transportation package.
The fees include:
- a 9.8 cents per gallon increase
- a cap-and-tax scheme
- a carbon fee
- a tax on new construction ($150 per $100,000 value residential $100 per $100,000 on manufacturing $300 per $100,000 for commercial zero for farms and timber)
- a 50-cents per trip fee on food deliveries taxis and ride-hailing services
- a sales-tax increase of 1% on auto parts
- a fee increase to $42 from $24 for an enhanced driver’s license and ID
- a fee increase to $60 from $54 for a standard driver’s license (six-year card)
- a fee increase to $15 from $10 for car-plates
- a car-rental tax increase to 6.9% form 5.9%
- a $10 weight-fee increase for cars and pickups
- a doubling of the taxes on boats over 16 feet
and much more.
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