Tag Archives: olympia

A tally of 2026 Washington trans rights victories on International Transgender Day of Visibility

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While this year’s International Transgender Day of Visibility brings a legal setback for LGBTQ+ communities across the nation, there are better signs for civil rights protections here in Washington.

The 2026 legislative session included some important victories for transgender rights.

A key win was SB 6081. This legislation creates a public records exemption for sex designation information — including historical changes to sex designations—in vital records and Department of Licensing files.

The bill was designed to close a loophole that could be exploited to target transgender Washingtonians through public records requests, protecting them from the unauthorized disclosure of their gender history. Continue reading →

Sound Transit ‘cost-cutting approaches’ would ‘defer’ light rail to Ballard and West Seattle

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It’s the kind of news that could ruin a 10th birthday party.

As CHS is reporting on the predictable but still satisfying transit success of Capitol Hill Station’s first decade of service, officials are sounding an even louder alarm about the financial plight of Sound Transit in trying to delivery the plans for the ST3 package including light rail expansions to West Seattle and Ballard. Continue reading →

Washington’s push for state income tax on $1M+ earners nears next phase of challenges

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CORRECTION: Our original report contained an error regarding revenue allocation. The bulk of revenue will go to the state’s general fund

Washington’s push for an income tax is nearing its next phase — surviving legal challenges.

The Millionaires Tax proposal is at the center of a brewing political fight in the state’s 43rd District including Capitol Hill as Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen will face a reelection battle this summer with labor organizer Hannah Sabio-Howell over complaints of compromises and corporate carveouts under his leadership in Olympia.

While Sabio-Howell says the Pedersen-led compromise doesn’t go far enough by delaying funding until 2029, rolling back needed sales taxes, and not pursuing a broader wealth tax, even the compromise version brought a full 24 hours of debate in Olympia and loud complaints about what opponents say will only be the first step in extending an income tax to everyone.

Washington state lawmakers are advancing Senate Bill 6346, the new “millionaires tax” imposing a 9.9% state income tax on personal annual earnings exceeding $1 million. Continue reading →

43rd District political fight: A First Hill ‘tax the rich’ labor leader is taking on a Capitol Hill architect of the Millionaires Tax — Here’s why

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The 43rd

(Image: Hannah for Washington)

A “tax the rich” labor leader from First Hill will take on arguably the most politically powerful — and experienced — resident of Capitol Hill for his seat in Olympia. After years of mostly quiet stability, a political battle is taking shape in the state’s 43rd District.

Hannah Sabio-Howell announced Monday she will run to challenge State Sen. Jamie Pedersen, the current Majority Leader in the Washington State Senate and a veteran lawmaker who has been part of 43rd District leadership for twenty years.

The announcement comes as Pedersen is set to have led legislators to approve a new Millionaires Tax in the state that would impose a 9.9% levy on household earnings above $1 million per year and be Washington’s first-ever income tax. It is a tax progressive leaders like 43rd District Rep. Shaun Scott and Sabio–Howell in her role at labor advocacy group Working Washington have fought for.

Still, Sabio-Howell says she believes the 43rd District needs a “fighter” who will act with urgency to address the affordability crisis. While acknowledging Pedersen’s 20-year legacy including marriage equality, and the capital gains tax, Sabio-Howell says Pedersen’s approach is too slow for the current pace of change and too influenced by corporate interests.

“Washington State could be the best place in the nation to build a life, but right now, particularly in the 43rd District, people can’t afford it,” Sabio–Howell tells CHS. “Our affordability crisis needs to be addressed with urgency. Decades of lawmaking have let the biggest, wealthiest corporations set the agenda. I honor the work Senator Pedersen has done over his 20 years in office on marriage equality and overcoming Tim Eyman’s tax initiatives. But the pace of change over those two decades has been a little too slow for what we deserve and need right now. We need a fighter for our shared vision.”

Pedersen says the fight has already been underway. Continue reading →

Updates on ‘Millionaires Tax’ and more at Saturday’s 43rd Legislative District Town Hall

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Are you a Washington millionaire? You might want to make plans to be at Capitol Hill’s Kerry Hall this weekend to learn about efforts to create a new “Millionaires Tax” in the state and other updates from this year’s session in Olympia during the annual 43rd Legislative District Town Hall:

43rd Legislative District Town Hall
Saturday, February 21 1:00-2:30 PM
Kerry Hall, 710 E Roy
Join Sen. Pedersen, Rep. Shaun Scott, and me at a 43rd District Town Hall on February 21 at 1:00pm. We’ll be at Kerry Hall (710 E. Roy Street, Seattle, WA 98102) and we’d love to see you there. No RSVP is required!

This week, the 43rd’s Sen. Jamie Pedersen led his fellow legislators in a narrow vote approving a bill that would create a 9.9% tax on income above $1 million. The bill now moves onto the House of Representatives. If approved there, it would likely face more than a few legal challenges before becoming law in 2028.

“The Department of Revenue estimates that the Millionaires Tax would generate $3.7 billion annually by asking roughly 20,000 of the wealthiest households in the state to pay a 9.9% tax on income above $1 million,” Pedersen said in an announcement of the passage. “Households with incomes of $1 million and below would pay nothing.”

CHS reported here last year on a town hall from 43rd District Rep. Shaun Scott at Seattle First Baptist Church raising support for a new tax on high earners. In December, Scott unveiled a “Well Washington Fund” proposal that would spread a tax similar to Seattle’s JumpStart tax across state.

Scott has said he supports the Pedersen bill though it falls far short of more aggressive progressive revenue alternatives like his Well Washington proposal.

You can ask them both to elaborate Saturday at Kerry Hall.

 
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Seattle’s Gender Justice League helping lead pushback against Washington anti-trans initiatives

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By Domenic Strazzabosco

A leading advocate for transgender rights, and organizers behind Capitol Hill’s annual Trans Pride celebrations, the Gender Justice League is working across the state to help push back on two Washington initiatives headed for the November ballot.

“It’s unique in that it’s a trans organization and trans people funding a campaign to defend ourselves,”  Gender Justice League’s Danni Askini told CHS earlier this year about its efforts to donate thousands of dollars and help raise awareness about the damage the initiatives could carry.

“Trans people have not been in this political fight, in terms of being able to come up with the money and the staff support and the time to defend ourselves against these attacks,” Askini said. “I think it is an important sign of the strength and health of the trans community in Washington state.”

Askini has taken on a new role beyond Capitol Hill, Seattle, and King County to help, serving as co-chair of No Hate in WA State, a statewide group formed to oppose the initiatives.

The Gender Justice League says it has already put $100,000 toward the effort.

At the center of the debate are two initiatives powered by the conservative Let’s Go Washington organization that has been aggressively collecting signatures for the fall ballot. Continue reading →

Suspicious letter determined harmless in hazmat response at Capitol Hill Community Services Office

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An area Washington State Department of Social and Health Services center providing access to programs including food, cash, and medical benefits that suffered a 2024 closure from damage in a bizarre shooting incident was the site of a hazardous material response Friday afternoon.

Officials say a suspicious letter delivered to the state’s Capitol Hill Community Services Office in the 1700 block of E Cherry was determined to be harmless. Earlier that afternoon, an employee called 911 to report the suspicious envelope and possible toxic material.

Seattle Fire responded and evacuated the building before determining it was safe to reoccupy. Continue reading →

43rd Rep. Scott unveils ‘Well Washington Fund’ proposal that would spread Seattle’s JumpStart tax across state

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(Image: @scott43ld)

43rd District Rep. Shaun Scott has unveiled his proposal for a new “Washington Wealth Tax” modeled on Seattle’s JumpStart payroll tax that would raise more than $2 billion a year across the state.

Scott said this week his “Well Washington Fund” proposal is needed to counteract the latest budget cuts and federal tax package “passed by Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump.”

Under Scott’s proposal, Washington companies with more than 50 employees, payroll above $7 million, and gross receipts of more than $5 million would be taxed 5% on workers who earn more than $125,000 a year.

Seattle employers who already pay the city’s payroll tax would be exempt. Continue reading →

Tax the rich? 43rd District’s Rep. Scott at the center of debate over a Washington wealth tax

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Saturday’s town hall (Image: CHS)

By Kali Herbst Minino, UW News Lab

“Tax the rich” might seem like something you see scrawled in Cal Anderson graffiti or on a Pike/Pine hipster’s ironic t-shirt. Against a backdrop of now fully uncertain federal support, the slogan a part of core 2025-era political debate in Washington and its largest city. This past weekend, it was the center of the discussion on First Hill.

People gathered at 43rd District Rep. Shaun Scott’s town hall Saturday at Seattle First Baptist Church to hear panelists from Working Washington and Seattle Democratic Socialists of America talk about turning the “tax the rich” slogan into real world legislation.

Advocacy group Balance Our Tax Code took videos of personal testimonies about the benefits of progressive policies and someone handed out “Tax the Rich” buttons. Continue reading →

43rd Rep. Scott holding ‘Tax the Rich’ town hall on First Hill

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Rep. Shaun Scott is holding a town hall on First Hill this weekend as his office prepares for the legislative session ahead.

The 43rd District representative says the “Tax The Rich”-themed town hall will be “a great opportunity for community members to gather, get loud, and voice their support for progressive revenue before the January 2026 legislative session.”

The town hall comes amid calls for more belt-tightening after Gov. Bob Ferguson’s previous budget depended on spending cuts and new taxes to reach a balance. The storms of financial uncertainty and Trump administration threats have further clouded forecasts. Continue reading →