Gov. Jay Inslee’s final budget proposal includes new wealth tax

Despite low unemployment and solid job growth in May throughout the state and most counties, new figures from the Washington Employment Security Department point to slowing economic activity. 

The state posted a 3.3% unemployment rate in May, compared to 3.8% in May 2022, according to the figures released Tuesday. 

Among the state’s metropolitan areas, Walla Walla, which includes the southeast counties of Walla Walla and Columbia, reported the lowest unemployment rate at 2.9%, a drop from 4.2% in May 2022. In contrast, Yakima County, in south-central Washington, reported the highest unemployment rate among metropolitan areas at 4.2%, a drop from 5.6% in May 2022. 

The Seattle metropolitan area — which includes King and Snohomish counties — showed a 3.2% unemployment rate, an increase from 2.6% in May 2022. The job losses may reflect the thousands of layoffs at tech companies headquartered here. 

Asotin County reported the lowest employment rate among the state’s 39 counties, at 2.4%. The rural county, in Washington’s southeast corner, is part of the Lewiston, Idaho, metropolitan area. 

Ferry County, in northwest Washington, reported the highest unemployment rate, at 6%, though that was a decrease from 8.3% in May 2022. 

Employment Security reported seasonally adjusted unemployment rates, which account for occurrences such as holiday hiring, for the state and the Seattle area last week. Rates for the state and Seattle area, seasonally adjusted, were 4.1% and 3.0% in May, respectively. 

While unemployment dropped from April’s figures, it increased compared to May 2022, when the unemployment rate was 3.9% for the state and 2.9% for the Seattle area.

While the drops in unemployment in most counties are a positive indicator for the economy, Washington’s year-over-year job growth appears to be gradually slowing, according to the state.

In May, Washington reported 104,700 more jobs year over year, a 2.97% increase. However, that is a less robust year-over-year increase than April’s, when the state saw a 3.18% job growth rate, or 111,300. 

Job growth statewide has been slowing in recent months, especially compared to several months in 2022, which may serve as a lagging indicator of an impending recession or an economic slowdown. 

Among the most robust job growth in the state’s metropolitan counties was in Olympia, in Thurston County, which reported 5,200 more jobs year-over-year, a 4.1% increase. In contrast, the Wenatchee metropolitan area, which consists of the north-central counties of Chelan and Douglas, reported 200 fewer jobs year-over-year, a 0.42% decrease.

Six immigrants from India are on a hunger strike at the ICE Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, according to advocacy organization La Resistencia.

The immigrants are refusing food to draw attention to a number of issues, including lengthy and indefinite detention. They note that one man in the group has been held for eight months. Another striker says he has medical issues that have not been adequately addressed.

The Indian detainees, all vegetarians, also say their food has not been adequate and they cannot supplement their diet with food from the commissary because the prices are so high. The strikers also say their health has been affected by a lack of exercise outside, and that their immigration proceedings have not been handled properly.

A request for comment from the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, was not immediately returned on Thursday. La Resistencia says they are planning a protest at the Tacoma facility for Sunday, June 18.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act, which requires child welfare departments to prioritize adoption and foster care placement of Indigenous children with family or extended kin.

Haaland v. Brackeen questioned the constitutionality of this 1978 law, which also requires child welfare departments to give Native nations notice as soon as an investigation begins into a Native family to determine if the child needs services or removal.

The case involved three children with Native heritage and white families that either wanted to adopt them or were fostering them. They challenged the Indian Child Welfare Act as unconstitutional using several different arguments, including alleging that Congress lacks authority in those decisions.

The 7-2 decision, written by Amy Coney Barrett, lifts an especially sharp pen against the state of Texas for claiming with “creative arguments” that the ICWA harms Texas by requiring it to break its promise to its citizens that it will be “colorblind” in child-custody proceedings. Barrett writes that if this argument were legitimate, then states would be able to bring constitutional challenges every time they have to enforce a federal law.

She goes on, “Texas tries to finesse this problem by characterizing ICWA as a ‘fiscal trap,’ forcing it to discriminate against its citizens or lose federal funds.” Barrett dismisses this argument as vague and disconnected from reality.

The Seattle City Council voted 9 to 0 to send the $970 million Housing Levy to the November ballot for voter approval. The seven-year property tax renewal would help pay for construction and operations of new subsidized affordable housing, affordable homeownership, higher wages for workers in the sector, rental assistance and more.

Of the nearly $1 billion the levy is estimated to generate over seven years, $707 million would pay for construction of more than 3,000 units of subsidized rental housing. The Washington Department of Commerce projects Seattle will need to build 112,000 units of housing by 2044 to meet demand, and more than 64,000 of those units must be affordable to people earning less than 50% of the area median income. As of 2022, 50% of area median income was $51,800 for a two-person household. 

Another $112 million will be spent on operations, ongoing maintenance and wages for workers in permanent supportive housing projects for people exiting homelessness. The affordable-housing and homelessness sector has struggled in recent years with high turnover and extended vacancies as workers burn out in the face of challenging work and low wages.

The tax will also provide $50.7 million for low-income homeownership programs; $30 million for rental assistance and other programs to keep low-income residents housed; $30 million to acquire and preserve existing market rate buildings that can be converted into affordable housing; and $60 million for administration costs.

If approved, the Housing Levy would charge $0.45 per $1,000 of assessed value beginning in 2024, costing about $375 per year for the owner of a Seattle home with the current median value of $831,000. Low income seniors, military veterans and residents with disabilities are exempt from local property tax levies, per state law.

Seattle voters have approved the Housing Levy six times since 1986, and approved a similar housing bond measure in 1981. The $970 million 2023 Housing Levy would more than triple the expected draw from the property tax compared to the $290 million 2016 Housing Levy set to expire this year.

Mayor Bruce Harrell proposed the significantly larger levy in March 2023 in recognition of Seattle’s growing and interconnected affordable-housing and homelessness crises.

Washington schools chief Chris Reykdal on Monday announced his intent to run next year for a third term to run the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The office, which oversees some elements of the state’s K-12 schools, is a nonpartisan position.

Reykdal is a former Democratic lawmaker from Olympia first elected to the statewide schools office in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.

In his announcement Tuesday, Reykdal touted endorsements by Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.

Among other things, his platform for a third term includes boosting mental health supports for students, expanding technical education, providing nutritious meals for all students and fully funding special education programs.

“The next four years, and beyond, need to focus on the transformational changes necessary for our children and grandchildren to live healthy, sustainable lives in the state of Washington,” Reykdal said in prepared remarks. “Our public schools are at the heart of that vision, and I will never stop fighting for the success of our students, our school employees, and our communities.”

Former state Rep. Brad Klippert, a conservative Republican from Kennewick who ran last year for Washington secretary of state, appears to be launching a bid for superintendent.

Monday’s announcement comes as candidates – including Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz – move forward with campaigns for governor in the wake of Inslee’s decision not to run again. Candidates will formally file election papers next May.

Those campaigns would create vacancies for both of those statewide elected seats. Meanwhile, Office of Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has announced his retirement, meaning that statewide seat will also be up for grabs.

After nearly 18 months, the state’s largest homeless encampment closed Friday after securing housing for its last resident.

Camp Hope, located on state Department of Transportation property in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood, sheltered up to 600 unhoused people last summer. As a coalition of service providers worked to relocate residents to other housing options, the population dwindled to fewer than 70 by early March.

Workers are now cleaning the site, including removing fencing and a portable office, according to WSDOT. No new individuals will be allowed to live there.

The encampment sparked political debate and several lawsuits. Local officials wanted the state to clear the encampment more quickly because of concerns over crime and drug use, but state officials and local homeless advocates said that while it also wanted to clear the encampment, it was necessary to address its residents’ underlying issues.

In March, a Spokane County Superior Court judge agreed that the city of Spokane had met the requirements to declare the encampment a nuisance property but allowed the encampment to continue operation while all parties worked on a closing plan.

Camp Hope started in December 2021 as a protest at Spokane City Hall over the lack of available shelter beds. Protesters then relocated to the WSDOT property off the Interstate 90 interchange.

While WSDOT did not grant permission to use the site, state officials said they wanted a gradual and “more humane” resolution to close the site. The state contracted with the nonprofit Empire Health Foundation to coordinate camp operations while simultaneously finding housing, mental health and other assistance for its residents.

Because the camp was on WSDOT property, the state agency was able to use $25 million from its Right of Way Safety initiative plus additional funds from the Department of Commerce to provide assistance and housing. That included a $15 million grant to Catholic Charities’ Catalyst Project to rehabilitate a hotel into temporary housing for nearly 100 people.

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, and Yakima physician Raul Garcia, a Republican, are the current front-runners in the 2024 race for governor, according to a new poll released today by the Northwest Progressive Institute.

But a third of respondents, as of this week, remain unsure, according to the poll, which was conducted on June 7 and 8. 

Ferguson, who has raised $2.4 million for his campaign according to the state Public Disclosure Commission, leads with 25%. Garcia, who has raised $44,000 so far, has 17% support.

Third in the poll was Richland School Board member Semi Bird, a Republican, with 10%, followed by Democrats Hilary Franz, the state Public Lands Commissioner, with 9%, and state Sen. Mark Mullet, with 7%. 

In Washington, the top two finishers in the Aug. 6, 2024, gubernatorial primary will face off in the November general election, regardless of political party. 

According to the Northwest Progressive Institute, both Ferguson and Garcia have strong backing from voters in their respective parties. But independent voters are more split, with 20% backing Ferguson, 17% backing Garcia, and 40% saying they are unsure. The rest of the independents were divided among Bird (9%), Franz (8%) and Mullet (6%).

Ferguson, state Attorney General since 2012, has successfully challenged a number of actions by the Trump administration. Garcia, the medical director at Astria Toppenish Hospital, ran for governor in 2020 as a Republican, but came in fifth in that primary. That year Loren Culp emerged from a crowded field of Republicans with 17% of the primary vote to challenge Gov. Jay Inslee in the general election.

The poll of 773 likely Washington state 2024 general-election voters was conducted by Public Policy Polling, over landline and text, and has a margin of error of 3.5%. The poll asked respondents to choose from the five candidates who have raised more than $50,000 in campaign contributions. Seventeen people have filed PDC paperwork to campaign for governor.

Inslee, who won re-election in 2020 with 56% of the vote, announced earlier this year that he will not run for a fourth term.

Washington’s second carbon auction at the end of May sold pollution for more than $500 million. The first auction of pollution allowances raised almost $300 million in February.

The Washington Department of Ecology announced this week that the May auction sold nearly 8.6 million 2023 allowances and another 2.5 million 2026 allowances. Each unit represents one metric ton of greenhouse gas emissions.

The price on carbon was also higher at the May auction, where bids were received almost entirely from energy companies and utilities. A few other kinds of organizations also were listed as qualified bidders, including the city of Ellensburg, Washington State University and Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc., a private equity firm.

During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers made decisions about how to spend the money raised through these auctions, focusing on projects to slow or adapt to climate change. Those investments include money to electrify buses and ferries and build a charging infrastructure, restore salmon habitat, accelerate clean-energy projects and help ease the burden of pollution on vulnerable communities.

This is the first year of implementing the state’s new Climate Commitment Act, which passed in 2021. Businesses generating more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon emissions must participate in the program or face fines up to $10,000 per violation per day.  

Researchers at the University of Washington went on strike Wednesday to put more pressure on the university in contract negotiations.

“We love our research but UW left us no choice. We will be striking until we get a fair contract. Our priority has always been ensuring that science at UW is sustainable and inclusive, and that means fair pay so we can all afford rent, take care of our families, and stay in the careers we love,” said Rebecca Bluett, postdoctoral scholar at UW, in a news release from the union, UW Researchers United or UAW 4121.

The union represents about 1,500 UW staff researchers and 900 postdoctoral researchers. The postdocs are negotiating a new agreement, and the staff researchers are in their first contract negotiations after forming a union a year ago.

Issues in the strike include pay, child care and a harassment-prevention program, according to the union.

UW spokesman Victor Balta said university officials are disappointed at the union’s decision to strike after significant progress had been made in negotiations in both contracts recently. He noted that the offers on the table include significant wage increases.

The University says its proposal includes increases for research scientists of about 10% over three years plus changes in the pay structure and a catch-up increase of 3.25% for those who did not get a merit raise last year. For postdocs, UW is offering an average 15% total wage increase this year, including 13% in January when new minimums were introduced, plus higher minimum salaries. 

“Our postdocs and research scientists are valued members of our university community and important contributors to our research mission,” Balta said in a statement Wednesday. “We all agree that fair and competitive compensation creates a more inclusive and sustainable scientific workforce and is needed to continue to attract talented postdocs and research scientists.”

Washington state has hired a leader from the Colorado tax department’s Marijuana Enforcement Division to be the new director of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Will Lukela, who will start his new job July 10, has 30 years of regulatory and leadership experience in the other state at the lead in legal cannabis, according to a news release from Gov. Jay Inslee’s office. Lukela will replace Rick Garza, retiring after 38 years of state service including serving as director of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Lukela is currently the deputy chief of licensing for the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, a job he has had since 2018. The department’s work included licensing as well as criminal and compliance investigations. According to a news release from the Liquor and Cannabis Board, Lukela helped transform the Colorado operation from a focus on enforcement to philosophy focused on collaboration, education and compliance.

“As the two pioneering states in the legalization of adult-use cannabis, Washington and Colorado face similar challenges. I will continue to build on the impressive work of the agency across all regulated industries and pledge to work collaboratively with staff and stakeholders to build their trust and support through transparency,” Lukela said in a statement.