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Washington

Amidst budget woes, new study points to savings from comprehensive health care reform

Austin Guest on January 29, 2009 - 1:14pm
01/29/2009

Olympia, WA — At a hearing today of the Washington State Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee, the actuarial firm Mathematica Policy Research will present a new study showing that Washington state could cut health care costs from $300 million to $800 million and boost economic activity anywhere between $370 million to $1.6 billion from a range of comprehensive health care reform initiatives proposed last year by state lawmakers.  

Set against the backdrop of devastating budget shortfalls in states and households across the country, the report bolsters the case for national and state health care reform playing a central role in ongoing economic recovery efforts.

Indexing Minimum Wage to Inflation Critical for Low-Income Working Families

Caroline Fan on January 8, 2009 - 3:42pm
Washington State minimum wage workers got a raise January 1st to $8.55 per hour -- now the highest minimum wage in the country.   Like nine other states, Washington automatically increases its minimum wage each year at the rate of inflation to make sure families don't face a de facto pay cut as rising costs eat into family budgets.  Because the federal minimum wage is not indexed to inflation in this way, we have seen a decline in its value from $9.34 in inflation-adjusted dollars down to just $6.55 per hour this past year.  This trend highlights why state efforts to index the minimum wage to keep up with inflation are so critical.

Policy Checklist for the New State Legislative Sessions

PSN on January 6, 2009 - 3:59pm
With legislative sessions getting underway around the country, this Dispatch provides a list of key bills and policies that we encourage legislators to consider introducing.  While not exhaustive of the range of needed reforms in states, they emphasize initiatives of strategic importance that are being considered in multiple states.  Working with our various partners, Progressive States Network is providing staff support for these policies and will work to use movement in multiple states to generate national media and attention.  This in turn will create greater momentum to assist individual states in pushing bills to passage.  The following is a quick checklist of key policies with links to model legislation and policy summaries.

Reforming the Ballot Initiative Process: Making Direct Democracy Work

Christian Smith-Socaris on October 20, 2008 - 2:27pm
Direct democracy through popular intiatives and referenda began a century ago as a grassroots, progressive reform aimed at circumventing corrupt legislatures and increasing civic involvement.  The long history of this reform indicates that in the whole this experiment in direct popular participation in the legislative process has been successful as an avenue for passing populist policies that maintains the favor of the public over time.  However, throughout this history there have also been attempts, sometimes successful, to manipulate the process and the electorate into passing legislation that would not garner majority support had voters possessed an accurate conception of its content and effect. 

Ballot Initiatives 2008

PSN on October 6, 2008 - 5:28pm
This Dispatch is a roundup of what ballot initiatives will appear on state ballots across the country this November.  Whether it's workers rights, energy policy, education, transit, abortion or health care, ballot initiates give voters a chance to directly vote on an issue.

Making College Affordable for All

PSN on August 25, 2008 - 10:06am
The benefits of a post-secondary degree are plentiful.  For example, an employee with a four year college degree earns 60 percent more than a worker with only a high school diploma. Paying for college, however, has become a daunting task and strain for many American students and families.  The cost of higher education across the country is rapidly increasing, at almost double the rate of inflation, outpacing increases in financial aid and many families ability to pay.  The combination of these factors result in too many students being unable to earn or complete their degrees due to financial constraints.

States Apply Pressure to Allow Voter Registration Drives in Veterans' Facilities

Austin Guest on July 17, 2008 - 6:03pm
The federal Department of Veterans Affairs for months has been embroiled in a controversy over its prohibition on voter registration drives in veterans' facilities.  Now 10 Secretaries of State and the Attorney General of Connecticut have stepped into the maelstrom, demanding that the VA reverse its policy.  Late last month, Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal attempted to register voters at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in West Haven.  They were prevented by staff from registering voters inside the facility, but they were able to register a dozen veterans as they were leaving.  One newly registered voter is 92-year-old WWII veteran Martin Onieal.

Bills that Made a Difference in 2008

admin on July 14, 2008 - 10:13am
Even with many states having short sessions, the 2008 state legislative sessions have already had some impressive milestone victories for families and communities across the country.  This Dispatch covers a few of the key issue victories this year -- and points out that states are still taking the lead on issue after issue.  Most of the bills highlighted became law, while a few, falling short of final passage, were innovative enough and showed enough movement to promise greater things for 2009.