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Washington: Lynn Kessler

March 11, 2009 - 07:17 am
NEWS FEED: News Tribune

House votes 91-5 to give struggling newspapers a tax break

By Joe Turner

House Bill 2122 would reduce the business and occupation tax for people in the business of "printing or publishing a newspaper" to the same rate paid by The Boeing Co., Weyerhaueser and Microsoft, according to industry lobbyist Roland Thompson of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

That's a 43 percent cut from where it is now. The reduction would take effect July 1 and apparently would last indefinitely. The summary of testimony before the House Finance Committee indicated newspapers said they needed the tax break until about 2015.

The bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, would cost the state about $3 million to $5 million in lower tax collections over the 2009-11 biennium, Thompson said.

Read More at News Tribune >
There have been 24 comments posted in response to this story.

February 10, 2009 - 12:13 pm
NEWS FEED: News Tribune

Washington lawmaker wants huge porn tax to restore GAU cuts

By Joe Turner

State Rep. Mark Miloscia, D-Federal Way, is prime sponsor of House Bill 2103, which would levy an 18.5 percent tax on all visual or audio pornographic materials.

But he's not the only one.

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, has signed on. So have Reps. Al O'Brien, D-Mountlake Terrace, Bob Hasegawa, D-Seattle, John McCoy, D-Tulalip, and Marilyn Chase, D-Shoreline.

I don't know yet how much they hope to raise from the porn tax because there is no fiscal note for the bill yet. I don't think it would solve the entire $6 billion budget shortfall, but I'm assuming Miloscia arrived at the 18.5 percent figure for a reason.

Read More at News Tribune >
There have been 20 comments posted in response to this story.

Thu, 12/04/2008 - 17:41

House Democrats choose committee chairs

By Bryan Bissell, PolitickerWA.com Reporter

Washington state House Democrats chose their committee chairs at a meeting in Olympia today, assigning leadership for twenty-five different committees.

"We have a terrific team of chairs," said Majority Leader Lynn Kessler (D-Hoquiam).  "They are experienced and excited, and ready to take on the challenges of the upcoming session."

Read More >
There have been 31 comments posted in response to this story.
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 18:58

House Democrats retain leadership

By Bryan Bissell, PolitickerWA.com Reporter

The Washington state House Democratic Caucus opted to retain its leadership today, affirming six key roles.

Rep. Frank Chopp (D-Seattle) will return to his role as the speaker of the House, Rep. Lynn Kessler (D-Hoquiam) will remain majority leader, Rep. Bill Grant (D-Walla Walla) will be caucus chair, Rep. Jeff Morris (D-Mount Vernon) will be speaker pro-tem, Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-Seattle) remains the majority whip postion, and Rep. Jim Moeller (D-Vancouver) is the deputy speaker pro-tem.

There have been 35 comments posted in response to this story.
Thu, 09/11/2008 - 18:52

Olympia's big spenders

By Bryan Bissell, PolitickerWA.com Reporter

To find out some of the top contributors to state legislative races, look no further than the halls of the statehouse. Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald has compiled a list of the top contributors to their respective state caucus committees, including the House and Senate Democratic and Republican Campaign Committees.

Mulick reports that sixteen state legislators have given more than $50,000 from their own campaign war chests to caucus committees for a total resulting in more than $1 million. That money can then be spent on battleground races.

There have been 33 comments posted in response to this story.
Tue, 07/01/2008 - 18:45

Rural House Dems speak out against Seattle gun ban

By Bryan Bissell, PolitickerWA.com Reporter

[img_assist|nid=1576|title=State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=122|height=162]A number of Democratic state Representatives posted a letter on Monday speaking out against the city's recent ordinance to ban guns from city property. Recently Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels issued an executive order calling for Seattle "to adopt and enforce policies, rules, and contractual agreements that, consistent with state law, prohibit the possession of dangerous weapons, including firearms, on City property."

There have been 31 comments posted in response to this story.