Paul Queary

Most importantly, Gov. Ferguson didn’t veto any significant part of the budget package and force lawmakers back to Olympia for a deeper round of cuts to both spending and taxes. In fact, he didn’t veto anything of real consequence.

Republicans who were looking for bipartisan cooperation on major issues of budgeting and taxation have been largely disappointed thus far.

We offer this selection of victors from this year’s session with the caveat that we know very little about Gov. Bob Ferguson’s enthusiasm for the veto pen.

In a move likely to prove popular with Elon Musk haters, House Democrats passed a tax on the sale of zero-emission vehicle credits, which will fall almost entirely on Tesla in the short term. 

The amount of money waiting in the wings looks like the front end of a ballot measure campaign to force a statewide vote on new taxes.

Uncertainty about the biofuel-production requirement is likely among the reasons that nobody’s pouring concrete for a new refinery yet. 

A few reruns from last session, such as that leg-up for striking workers will get their spotlight, but for now, here are some of the new(er) ideas lawmakers cooked up for 2025.

In the upcoming session, Washington lawmakers will weigh whether to end the sale of flavored tobacco and nicotine products beginning in 2026.

Voters rejected all three initiatives on Tuesday, affirming Governor Inslee's legacy and setting the table for a more progressive agenda in Olympia in the future, even as the nation re-embraced Donald Trump as president. 

Dave Reichert’s tactic can be viewed as a 2024 version of Republican Dino Rossi’s attempt to finesse this issue when he ran for governor 20 years ago.