Budget & Spending

Center Square WA: WA facility that treats drug-addicted newborns at risk of closure due to budget cuts

Center Square WA: WA facility that treats drug-addicted newborns at risk of closure due to budget cuts

The Center Square Washington covered funding cuts at the Pediatric Interim Care Center (PICC) in Kent, which forced them to stop accepting new patients after 35 years. From the story: Since 1990, PICC has taken care of newborns born to mothers with substance use disorders. Up until this year, about half of PICC’s funding came from the...

Rep. Travis Couture in Seattle Times: A victim of Gov. Ferguson’s veto: Kent center for babies exposed to drugs

Rep. Travis Couture in Seattle Times: A victim of Gov. Ferguson’s veto: Kent center for babies exposed to drugs

Rep. Travis Couture (R – LD35) writes in the Seattle Times about budget cuts at the Pediatric Interim Care Center in Kent: On Wednesday, I toured the Pediatric Interim Care Center in Kent. There was no media, no speeches — just a bipartisan group walking through a place that has dedicated 35 years to quietly...

Discovery Institute: Time for Washington to Take a Lesson from Mississippi

Discovery Institute: Time for Washington to Take a Lesson from Mississippi

Though one could point to many areas in which Mississippi has struggled in the past, the state is clearly now on a roll. Washingtonians would be wise to compare what they are doing versus what our state is doing. Here are just a few immediately identifiable differences in trends between the two states in two...

2025 Snohomish County State Legislative Scorecard

2025 Snohomish County State Legislative Scorecard

Future 42 is releasing a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive scorecard highlighting key votes taken by the 24 legislators representing areas of Snohomish County during the 2025 legislative session. This information is critical in order to ensure that Washingtonians are informed on bills which were passed, how those bills will impact their lives, and who voted for/against those...

2025 Washington State Legislative Scorecard

2025 Washington State Legislative Scorecard

Future 42 is releasing a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive scorecard highlighting key votes taken by the 146 legislators during the 2025 legislative session. This information is critical in order to ensure that Washingtonians are informed on bills which were passed, how those bills will impact their lives, and who voted for/against those bills.  The 2025 Washington State...

2025 Washington State Legislative Scorecard

2025 Washington State Legislative Scorecard

Future 42 is releasing a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive scorecard highlighting key votes taken by legislators during the 2025 legislative session. This information is critical in order to ensure that Washingtonians are informed on bills which were passed, how those bills will impact their lives, and who voted for/against those bills. Note: This is special edition of...

Ferguson Signs Democrats’ 2025 Legislative Wishlist Into Law: Higher Taxes, Fewer Rights, and What You Need to Know

Ferguson Signs Democrats’ 2025 Legislative Wishlist Into Law: Higher Taxes, Fewer Rights, and What You Need to Know

When Bob Ferguson campaigned for governor and throughout the recently-completed legislative session, he positioned himself as a moderate Democrat who would govern pragmatically, resisting the tax-and-spend impulses of his party’s left wing. Yet, just five months into his administration, Ferguson has abandoned that promise, signing into law a series of bills that mark the largest...

Washington Lawmakers End Session with Flurry of Controversial Bills Awaiting Governor’s Signature

Washington Lawmakers End Session with Flurry of Controversial Bills Awaiting Governor’s Signature

A slate of controversial bills passed during the final hours of Washington’s 2025 legislative session are now awaiting action from Governor Bob Ferguson. The bills—ranging from new gas taxes to changes in emergency powers—are prompting concern among taxpayers, small business owners, and government accountability advocates who say the legislation will raise costs, limit public input,...

The Largest Tax Hike in WA History Just Passed — Contact Gov. Ferguson

The Largest Tax Hike in WA History Just Passed — Contact Gov. Ferguson

In a late-session scramble, Olympia just did exactly what Washingtonians have been begging them not to do… They passed a series of taxes, amounting to the largest tax increases in state history. It’s estimated to be around $12.5 billion over 4 years – that’s more than $4,000 per household. Those numbers don’t even include the...

Whatcom County 2024 Scorecard

Whatcom County 2024 Scorecard

Public Safety. Taxes and Fiscal Responsibility. Government Regulations. Agriculture/Environmental Policy Do these local issues relate to your life? These are issues the Whatcom County Council discusses on a regular basis. Future 42 Whatcom County has analyzed key 2024 votes in our annual scorecard linked below in order to help inform you how your local councilmembers...

Center Square: WA Senate Dems advance several tax hike bills as session enters last week

Center Square: WA Senate Dems advance several tax hike bills as session enters last week

The Center Square Washington breaks down legislative activity over the past weekend, including a flurry of tax hike bills that were advanced out of the state senate. Ahead of the last week of the legislative session, Democratic senators on Saturday passed several bills as part of a $12 billion tax package, including expanding the capital...

New polling: Washingtonians strongly oppose tax hikes being pushed in state budget

New polling: Washingtonians strongly oppose tax hikes being pushed in state budget

New polling from the Napolitan News Service shows strong opposition to tax increases and especially in using them to balance the state budget which includes record levels of spending.  Some key findings include: 80% believe slowing the growth of government spending is a better way to address Washington’s budget deficit, as opposed to 12% who...

Countdown to end of legislative session: Can We Kill These Bills in Time?

Countdown to end of legislative session: Can We Kill These Bills in Time?

Washington lawmakers are running out of time—and that’s a good thing. This week, including today’s committee meetings, are key legislative deadlines. If certain bills don’t advance out of committee by then, they’re done for the year. That means you still have time to stop some of the worst proposals on the table. Here’s What’s Still Alive:...

Olympia Madness: On to the Deadweight Eight

Olympia Madness: On to the Deadweight Eight

Round 1 of Olympia Madness is in the books. Washingtonians voted on the 16 worst bills lawmakers proposed this legislative session, and we now present to you: Round 2 kicks off today, with Rep. Jake Fey’s Vehicle Mileage tax going up against a double-team effort to raise your property taxes from Sen. Jamie Pederson and...