Washington State Government

Three weeks before the start of the legislative session, the state Legislature has once again filed a lawsuit against Gov. Jay Inslee that claims he abused his veto power. Meanwhile, omicron has quickly become the dominant variant circulating in Washington state, and Republican state Sen. Doug Ericksen has died.

State health officials are investigating the three omicron variant COVID-19 cases confirmed in Washington so far. Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins and KNKX Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick look at that response and other issues facing state government right now.

The head of Washington state’s bipartisan redistricting commission that failed to meet its deadline for redrawing political maps urged state Supreme Court justices to still consider their work now that the high court will have to complete the process.

Gov. Jay Inslee overstepped his veto authority when he cut a sentence that appeared seven times in the 2019 transportation budget, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Democratic state Sen. Steve Hobbs as the state’s 16th secretary of state, marking the first time a Democrat will hold the office since the mid-1960s. Hobbs will replace Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who will leave office Nov. 19 to start a top election security job in the Biden administration.

Opponents of a mandatory payroll tax to fund Washington state’s new long-term care program have filed a class action lawsuit in federal court seeking to stop the January start of the payroll premium for most employees in the state. The suit was filed on behalf of three businesses in the state and six individuals.

We are less than a week away from a new COVID-19 requirement taking effect in Washington. Simultaneously, officials are preparing to vaccinate the state's 5- to 11-year-olds. The pandemic is also a factor in planning the next legislative session.

Approval to allow children ages 5 to 11 to get their COVID-19 vaccine is expected any day now. Is a K-12 vaccine mandate coming to Washington state? Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins joined Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick to talk about that and more.

Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday applauded numbers showing that some 94% of Washington state employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have received exemptions from his mandate, and 3.1% are waiting to get a vaccine or exemption.

The state operates 12 prisons, and not so long ago they were packed. But since COVID hit, there’s been a dramatic drop in the prison census. Might the state close yet another prison? KNKX Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins joined Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick live to talk about the state of the state’s prisons.