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New COVID workplace restrictions, issued by Washington State Labor and Industries (L&I) late last Friday, May 21st, require employers to check employee vaccine documents before allowing relaxation of social distancing and mask requirements in the workplace. The new state rules require an employer to confirm, and have employees prove their vaccine medical status. The process used to verify vaccination, and the medical status of the employee’s vaccination record, including the employee medical i... Full story
I wanna tell y’all a true story that happened to a friend of mine. Big Jim was judgin’ the rodeo at Burlington last year. They call him Big Jim ’cause he’s big as a round bale and twice as tough. But he don’t move quite as fast as he did in his ol’ bronc ridin’ days. Big Jim always had a way with animals. He roped a skunk one time when he was a little boy and drug it home. His dad made him unsaddle a hundred yards from the house. Jim said his ol’ pony walked right into the pond and stuck his who...
The Opportunity for All Coalition filed a lawsuit today to overturn the new income tax on capital gains (SB 5096). This is the second lawsuit to be filed against the tax. The plaintiffs are April Clayton (Red Apple Orchards), Kevin and Renee Bouchey (former owners S.K.D. Farms, Inc), Joanna Cable, Matthew Sonderen (Sonderen Packaging), Rosella and Burr Mosby (Mosby Farms), Christopher and Catherine Senske (Senske Services), and Washington State Farm Bureau. All of the plaintiffs are Washington Policy Center members. It is no surprise to see so...
“Doctor, I’m here because I’m a . . . I’m a . . . “ “Relax. Many people have psychological conflicts. Lay back on the couch and tell me about it.” “Okay. It’s just that I don’t know if it’s normal or something I should worry about. I’m a . . . vegan.” “I see. It’s not an uncommon condition among the upwardly mobile. Something like three percent are afflicted at one time or another. The scientific name is Dysfunctional Alimentary Obsessive Behavior, or in layman’s terms, Carniphobia. “When did yo...
The 2021 legislative session produced a mixed bag of results for small business owners. Lawmakers attempted to solve some of the systemic problems with unemployment benefits, taxation policy and business restrictions, while simultaneously creating new, over burdensome, and in some cases, outright punitive regulations on small business. Much of the legislation passed this session was designed to penalize small business and create new ‘rights’ for disgruntled employees to retaliate against the...
“It’s for you,” his darlin’ told him as he lay back in the chair For a well deserved siesta. Ugh, it wasn’t really fair. It was Chuck, his nearest neighbor – did he have to call right now? Millard took the phone and listened, “Are you sure that it’s my cow?” As if he’d changed his brand last week or something equally absurd Like the F.B.I. was posing as a member of his herd Or an alien invasion took possession of his place And planned to infiltrate the earth as cows from outer space. But no easy...
OLYMPIA–Gov. Jay Inslee has signed bipartisan legislation sponsored by 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler that will provide temporary property-tax relief for Malden-area residents and other Washingtonians who are rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by wildfires last September. Under Senate Bill 5454, Washington residents who lost a home to wildfire between Sept. 1 and Sept. 19, 2020, will be exempt from paying property taxes on the full value of the original structure for three years, if the hom...
OLYMPIA–House Bill 1091, the proposed "high-cost fuel standard" to improve the climate. Was passed on the final day of session, April 25, 2021. During my long drive home to Ritzville from Olympia on Monday, I stopped in Cle Elum for a short break. As I watched other drivers fuel up their vehicles at gas stations, I felt bad for them. Most of them aren't even aware that buying gas or diesel will be much more expensive in the coming years. That's because the Democratic majorities in the L...
For those of you who forgot how easy it was to get started in farming let me tell you about my friend Con. Many years ago, he bought a farm in the wilds of Minnesota. The feller that sold him the farm had his farm sale the day Con arrived to take possession of the land. Now, Con had been a cowboy type all his life and, upon viewing the farm machinery stacked in the yard, he was hard put to identify anything other than the handy man jack and a tractor. But he thought if this stuff was good...
As I gladly readjust to normal life in Ritzville after spending nearly every day of the past four months in Olympia, I have good news and bad news to report. The good news is that the 2021 legislative session ended on time last Sunday. April 25, 2021. In fact, we finished for good early that evening, before darkness fell on Olympia. In my nearly 30 years as a legislator, there have been only a few times when a legislative session adjourned in daylight. Unfortunately, this session was very bad...
Public records show lawmakers plan to use the capital gains income tax to set up a lawsuit to try to impose a broad-based graduated income tax. They’re going to get not one but two lawsuits from citizens fighting the unconstitutional income tax. It could be years, however, before we know if the state Supreme Court decides to uphold its numerous rulings saying that you own your income or if they’ll instead reverse course and take the bait from income tax supporters. Just days after the legislature adopted SB 5096 (income tax on capital gai...
Chris Salcedo interviewed A.F. Branco on the national conservative network, Newsmax, discussing the Biden Address, LeBron James, the Rudy Giuliani raid and Wokeness. Salcedo opened the segment, which aired on Newsmax on May 2, pointing out that Nielsen ratings of president Joe Biden's address to Congress last week had less than 27 million tuned in over 16 networks, while many 2017 addresses by former president Donald Trump pulled viewership of 50 million, on 11 networks. He then introduced A.F....
By Sen. Mark Schoesler, Rep. Mary Dye and Rep. Joe Schmick OLYMPIA–The 2021 legislative session is now in the history books, finishing on Sunday evening, April 25. It was truly a session like no other in the history of the state, conducted remotely behind computer screens where we sat for some days as long as 18 hours, listening to testimony, debating issues and voting on bills in the virtual committee rooms and virtual House and Senate floors. Even before the session began January 11, Gov. Insl...
I grew up in a county that was 65% Spanish-speaking. The biggest distinction between races was not color, it was Catholics and Baptists. My first experience with prejudice was the summer I spent on a job in Kansas City…1978… the year after the city burned itself down. Years ago in Kansas City, I set out one night to find one of them ‘down home’ guitar blues pickers that I had read about in the Sunday paper. I was drivin’ around Saturday night lookin’ for Walter’s Crescendo Lounge. I had some rib...
Truly unbelievable. A Senate floor vote to impose an income tax has occurred before the March 17 Revenue Forecast and budget release. The state Senate has taken the first step towards imposing an income tax with a 25-24 Saturday vote on SB 5096 (income tax on capital gains). The House is expected to quickly approve the bill and send it to the Governor. The emergency clause was removed, however, meaning lawyers will have time to perfect their legal briefs with the expected court action taking a detour this fall for a referendum vote. Despite...
OLYMPIA–By the time you read this, the Washington Legislature's 2021 session will be in its final week. Our 105-day session is scheduled to adjourn, or finish, on Sunday, April 25. While many bills already have been passed, and many more "killed" so far this session, there is still plenty for legislators to do between now and the time we leave Olympia. The highest priority will be for the Senate and House to agree on a new two-year state operating budget. The operating budget funds the d... Full story
“Where were you born?” The reporter asked one of my Colorado cowboy friends. “Iowa,” he answered. “Iowa!” she said. “Why did you move?” “Because it’s hard to be a cowboy in Iowa.” Well, it might be harder to be a cowboy in the Midwest but they’ve got a bunch of good ones anyway. No matter how much dependence modern cowmen place on man-made mechanical devices, there are times when nothin’ beats a good roper a’horseback. Illinois is an anthill of bovine activity. They have an abundance of cow-ca...
Washington Policy Center and three other prominent groups call on Governor Inslee to veto a series of bills mandating public employees attend "Critical Race Theory" sessions. The message was delivered via an open letter sent to the governor and published in newspapers statewide including The Seattle Times, The Everett Herald, The Bellingham Herald, The Spokesman-Review, the Tri-City Herald, The Yakima Herald Republic, and The Columbian. Washington Policy Center (WPC) was joined by other...
OLYMPIA–Since first taking office in 2013, Gov. Jay Inslee has had little success pushing his carbon reduction schemes. Conservatives have been able to fend off the legislation, citing the extreme expense and harm to the state's economy with little results to show for it. But this year may be different. With a remote "virtual" session, in which lawmakers aren't next to each other in the same room, Democrats are emboldened to advance some very concerning bills, including a low-carbon fuel s...