Olympia Weakly Report

Judge rules Democrats’ bank tax unconstitutional

In 2019, Democrat state lawmakers passed a bank tax increase. Democrats rushed the tax to the floor on the last day of session. Despite warnings from Republicans—and a handful of Democrats—Jay Inslee signed the bill into law. Republican Sen. Braun warned of the lack of meaningful public vetting and legal analysis as the bill never received any while in committee. On Friday, a King County Superior Court Judge ruled the tax increase unconstitutional. The judge ruled that the tax violates the “dormant commerce clause as it was discriminatory in its effects on the specified financial institutions.”
       
State refuses transparency on unemployment fund

State officials remain evasive about the amount left in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. As the Washington Policy Center’s Mark Harmsworth points out, record payouts resulting in the highest jobless rate since the Depression for the leaves no doubt that the unemployment fund is being rapidly depleted. Yet, the state refuses to be transparent. The ongoing shutdown adds up to a “multibillion-dollar problem for the state.” Harmsworth writes, “Legislators and the public need accurate information so they can start addressing the fix.”
       
Inslee’s reopening plan remains largely ambiguous

The rules will allow retail stores to resume very limited operations during Jay Inslee’s “Phase 1” of reopening our state’s economy. The new rules “allows employees to return to work but doesn’t let customers in the stores to shop.” Customers will be able to order products online or over the phone and pick-up via the curbside. Inslee is also allowing landscapers and dog walkers to resume working. Details of Inslee’s reopening plan—e.g. indications of when other small businesses can resume operations—remain largely unknown.
       
New lawsuit alleges PDC ignored union’s violations of campaign finance laws

The Freedom Foundation is once again suing the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) in Thurston County Superior Court over its “failure to hold labor unions accountable for breaking state election laws.” The lawsuit comes after the PDC dismissed a December 2018 complaint filed by the Freedom Foundation “alleging the Amalgamated Transit Union Legislative Council of Washington (ATULC) failed to register with the PDC as a political committee and disclose its political expenditures.” The Freedom Foundation seeks to prove that the unfounded dismissal is just another action—in a long list of actions—that provides evidence of PDC staff willing letting unions off despite serious violations to campaign finance laws.