May 08, 2015

The curse that haunts the Legislature

This post originally appeared on the leadership blog of the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus, Exit 105. It’s one of the facts of political life: Whenever good times return, some people want to spend as though they’re going to last forever. Happy days are here again. Turn that frown upside down! Only...
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April 24, 2015

Follow the breadcrumbs to a government shutdown

This post originally appeared on the leadership blog of the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus, Exit 105. Last week, when there was still a chance for us to finish our business in Olympia on time and adjourn this weekend, we were flabbergasted by an argument we heard from our Democratic colleagues...
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April 17, 2015

Senate passes Schoesler resolution honoring AgForestry leader Dave Roseleip

  Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler today led the Senate in honoring Dave Roseleip, who will retire June 30 after 30-plus years as president of the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation. The foundation, better known as AgForestry, administers a well-respected leadership-development program for Washington’s agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries....
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April 16, 2015

Majority Leader: ‘Troy Kelley has damaged public trust – time to resign’

OLYMPIA… Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, released this statement in reaction to the federal indictment of state Auditor Troy Kelley. “The damage has been done and it’s time for Troy Kelley to resign immediately. There is nothing he can do to restore public trust given his evasion and silence on...
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April 15, 2015

Schoesler: ‘Senate holds the line on last minute projects adding $128 million’

OLYMPIA… Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, released this statement as the Legislature passed an important deadline for passage of bills from opposite chambers, and entered the final phase of the 2015 session: “Today is Tax Day for thousands of Washington taxpayers. I think it’s fitting that to mark this day,...
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April 06, 2015

A no-new-tax Senate budget proposal points the way – again

This post originally appeared on the leadership blog of the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus, Exit 105. For the last year our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been saying we can’t avoid a tax increase — a head-bobbing consensus that seems to have been taken by many...
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March 31, 2015

Senate delivers a ‘no-new-taxes’ budget proposal, cuts college tuition 25 percent

OLYMPIA…”This is a bold budget proposal that delivers on the promise to make education the top priority and to live within our means. The Senate budget delivers tax relief for families, fully funds K-12 education and protects the most vulnerable – all without raising taxes. “This budget sends the message...
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March 24, 2015

Auditor needs to come clean

This post originally appeared on the leadership blog of the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus, Exit 105. What do you do when the state’s top investigator finds himself under investigation? That’s the uncomfortable question before us this week as state Auditor Troy Kelley hunkers down in his office and addresses enormous public...
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March 18, 2015

Will House budget play by the rules?

This post originally appeared on the leadership blog of the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus, Exit 105. Some things go without saying. It’s a good idea to obey traffic signals, you ought to pay your taxes, and you should always eat your vegetables. Some things here in the Legislature are just...
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