Legislative Dems launch new revenue proposals as WA budget negotiations continue
As Washington Democrats look to balance an upcoming budget shortfall, they’re continuing to lay out new tax proposals to bring in revenue.
Legislators introduced bills Tuesday that would increase sales tax on certain services, expand the capital gains and estate taxes, and allow for greater property tax collections by the state and local governments.
Other proposals include a surcharge on corporations with more than 250 million dollars in annual revenue.
The raft of taxes would bring in about $12 billion over the next two budget cycles.
Republicans are criticizing the proposals, with Senate Minority Leader John Braun saying in a statement that the tax bills are “bad governing” and that the Democrats are trying to “pile on” taxes to small businesses and the state’s residents.
These measures come after Governor Bob Ferguson rejected the idea of a so-called wealth tax, which had been in previous Democratic budget proposals.
Now it remains to be seen whether the governor will support the new revenue bills.
House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon told the Washington State Standard his caucus thinks the governor understands a balanced budget can’t be achieved by only cutting spending.
Gonzaga recognized for water quality management
A Northwest environmental group is praising Gonzaga University’s efforts to improve the water quality on and around campus.
The group Salmon-Safe has certified Gonzaga as a salmon-safe campus. Its executive director, Dan Kent, bestowed that honor during a ceremony on campus yesterday.
“We’re looking for water quantity and water quality to be treated onsite, to be managed onsite. Then we’re also looking at habitat on campus and opportunities for habitat restoration and that’s particularly important on a campus like Gonzaga, which is adjacent to the Spokane River, of course," he said.
Kent says his group develops market-based incentives to entice businesses, governments and others to improve their water quality. He says he believes the Lilac City, in general, is doing a good job in effectively managing stormwater.
Spokane hospital opens breast milk donor site
Spokane’s Deaconess Hospital has opened a new drop off service for breastfeeding mothers who have more milk than they can use.
“They drop it off here at Deaconess and then we can ship it to the milk bank for them so they don’t have to deal with FedEx or anything like that. We take care of that piece," said Kendra O’Brien, a registered nutritionist at the Deaconess Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
She told SPR News Deaconess will ship donations to the Northwest Mothers Milk Bank in Portland. There, the milk is tested, pasteurized and frozen until it’s ready to be shipped back to facilities that need them.
MultiCare has said it will accept milk from women whose milk has been vetted for safety. They provide blood work and have their milk tested to make sure that they aren’t taking any medications or don’t have any sort of pathogens that would make their milk unsafe.
O’Brien said breast milk is in demand in the Northwest.
“There’s really good research that supports use of donor milk for extremely premature infants. It helps with their lung development, their brain development, their gastrointestinal development and makes sure that they are getting the best start in life when they had a rough go from the beginning," she said.
O'Brien said Deaconess is the first donor site for breast milk in Spokane. Now, the hospital is looking for donor mothers. More information is on the Deaconess website.
Bundy is hiding assets after bankruptcy filing says St. Luke's
St. Luke’s Health System claims anti-government activist Ammon Bundy is hiding millions of dollars in assets from his bankruptcy proceedings in new court documents.
Bundy owes St. Luke’s nearly $52 million after an Idaho district court judge found he defamed the hospital and several of its employees.
Bundy staged protests at two St. Luke’s locations in 2022 claiming the hospital was trafficking children, eventually leading to a lockdown during which ambulances were rerouted to other facilities.
After the judgment, he moved to Utah and filed for bankruptcy in 2024, initially stating he only had $1.6 million in assets.
The new documents filed earlier this month by St. Luke’s say Bundy did not disclose a real estate sale in Arizona worth more than $487,000.
The health system also made new claims of friends and relatives helping hide another $720,000 in assets while destroying or failing to create documents related to the deals.
Bundy has yet to respond to the latest allegations, but has repeatedly maintained his innocence.
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Reporting by Owen Henderson, Doug Nadvornick and James Dawson.