Tag Archives: 2021 Washington State Legislative Session

Voices

A Highly Compelling Session: An Evaluation of the 2021 Washington State Legislature

by John Stafford

“The Legislature has just wrapped up an historic and truly extraordinary session. It has been the most innovative, having produced unprecedented and legacy making advances as all-encompassing as any session in the last 25 years.”

— Governor Jay Inslee, April 25, 2021

The Washington State Legislature has just completed its 2021 session — a 105-day event charged with passing three state budgets (operating, transportation and capital) and hundreds of policy bills, conducted exclusively online. From a liberal perspective, this has been an exciting and momentous session, with major legislative achievements in a wide range of areas.

I’ll evaluate the 2021 Legislative Session in 14 different areas: state budgets, tax reform, pandemic response, economic relief, housing and homelessness, K–12 education, health care, racial justice, criminal justice, gun control, labor, climate change, growth management act, and other, and give the session an overall grade. 

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News

The Morning Update Show — 1/11/21

The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and whereweconverge.com.

We’ll also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.

Morning Update Show — Monday, Jan. 11

LIVE — Mayoral Candidate, Lance Randall | OPA Investigating SPD Officers Who Were in Washington, DC | Local Man Arrested for DC Riot | National Guard Secures State Capitol in Olympia | State Legislative Preview | Writers Block Special

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Features

A Preview of the 2021 Washington State Legislative Session

by John Stafford

INTRODUCTION

The Washington State Legislature will begin the 2021 legislative session on Monday, Jan. 11. The legislature operates on a biennium basis: it conducts 105-day full sessions in odd-numbered years (like this year) and 60-day short sessions in even-numbered years. In the odd-numbered years, three budgets are created – the operating budget, the transportation budget and the capital budget; in the even-numbered years, these budgets are modified.

This article will discuss the upcoming legislative session. There are three sections: a review of the background issues that establish the context for the session, a summary of legislative priorities, and a discussion of themes.

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