It’s an old saw in Olympia: A lawmaker’s job is not so much to pass good bills, but to kill bad ones (because there are just a lot of bad ones).

Good or bad, this time of year is “Bill Killing Season” at the state capitol, having just passed two deadlines for the hundreds of policy and fiscal bills introduced this session. Bills that haven’t passed out of committee by then are generally considered deceased.

Olympia correspondent Jeanie Lindsay joins host Scott Greenstone to say an elegy for a new state flag, a bill to measure methane from cows and a resolution to the age-old geoduck vs razor clam debate.

A push for universal free school lunches failed to thrive. A measure to offer unemployment insurance for undocumented immigrants didn’t make it. And an effort to revoke preferential treatment for Tesla withered on the vine (liberal Tesla drivers, as Scott found, are not OK right now).

We run down the legislative casualties – and note a few survivors! – on this week’s episode of Sound Politics.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Olympia, the Democrats' honeymoon with Gov. Bob Ferguson was short -- and it's now over, says Rep. Kristine Reeves, the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus.

Ferguson has laid out his plans for closing a multi-billion dollar shortfall while still boosting spending on hiring police and largely avoiding new taxes. But plenty of his fellow Dems are not yet onboard with a plan that leads with cuts instead of new revenue.

The party is also fractured on how and whether to make those investments in law enforcement. The Legislative Black Caucus, for one, wants two new dollars spent on community services for every dollar that pays for more police.

Kristine Reeves represents south King County in the state House and is chair of the Legislative Black Caucus. She joins Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone to break down the budget talks, and spill a little tea on how the various Democratic factions are getting along in Olympia.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From closed trailheads to power outages, the firing of federal workers could have a big effect on us here in the PNW.

KUOW investigative reporter Ashley Hiruko joins Sound Politics Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann to discuss the potential impact of the firings, and what it’s like inside federal government buildings right now -- from Seattle’s VA hospital to the National Labor Relations Board.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Sarah Leibovitz.
Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you have a right to? Your data? Your gender presentation? Your child’s health information?

Between DOGE sifting through our personal data, tech companies tracking our location, and executive orders weighing in on kids’ medical care, local and national politics are challenging Americans’ ideas about privacy and personal autonomy.

We talk through what the implications are, and what lawmakers are proposing to do about it, on this week’s episode of Sound Politics.

Joining host Scott Greenstone this week are Austin Jenkins, a staff writer at Pluribus News covering state legislatures, and Vivian McCall, staff writer at The Stranger covering queer culture and politics.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Sarah Leibovitz. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politics right now it feels like everything is shifting all the time. Federal agencies dismantled? Educational funds frozen? Tech broligarchs breaking into data stores of private citizens? A lot of it is hitting home in Washington.

On today's Sound Politics, hosts Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann talk about how the changes at the United States Agency for International Development are trickling down to Seattle, a global health hub. Then — a discussion about how some legislation here in Washington -- regarding Tesla -- could mess with an Elon-opoly… a Musk-opoly? Plus, a local far-right figure just got nominated to run the National Counterterrorism Center.

But not everything is shifting sand and deep chasms of division. The pod takes a detour to one bipartisan Washington state tradition that has, improbably, withstood the test of time. It involves an ugly duckling and the inventor of pickleball. Lastly, the pod answers a question from a listener about a different shift -- LGBTQ+ representation among lawmakers.

KUOW Olympia correspondent Jeanie Lindsay joins the show for this grab bag episode.

Read Scott's story on "The Chick" here: https://www.kuow.org/stories/washington-s-congressmembers-have-been-sharing-one-ugly-painting-for-50-years

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes.Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Our editor is Gabe Spitzer. Our producer this week is Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a special election coming up in Washington state on February 11. And in Seattle, there’s something big to decide on: a new way of creating and paying for housing. Voters approved the formation of a social housing developer in 2023, and now will decide how to fund it and whether to put guardrails on the nascent developer. We break down the options with the host of KUOW's Booming, Joshua McNichols.

Plus, we take a look at the White House directive that froze potentially trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. That order was first halted by a judge, and then rescinded a day later, but not before causing panic at agencies and non-profits across the Pacific Northwest.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Our editor is Gabe Spitzer. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump technically has only been in office for 72 hours – but our state is already feeling the shockwaves.

So today, we want to talk about how the President’s flurry of executive orders, pardons, et cetera, have hit home here. Democratic leaders here are responding in all kinds of different ways. Some are suing him, some are speaking out – others are laying low or a little quieter than last time around.

To get into all of that, we’re joined today by two reporters who covered Trump and Washington the first time and are back for more: Jim Brunner with The Seattle Times and Melissa Santos with Axios Seattle.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Our editor this week is Gabe Spitzer. Our producer this week is Sarah Leibovitz. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor Bob Ferguson was sworn in as Washington’s new governor on Wednesday.

Off the bat, his term has been me with shade from outgoing Governor Jay Inslee, who was critical in his farewell address of Ferguson's recent budget proposal -- one containing billions of dollars in new cuts.

Sound Politics talked last week about the $12 billion shortfall in the state’s operating budget, which is looming over absolutely everything lawmakers plan to do this session.

But there's also a gap in the transportation budget -- “...at least $6.5 billion through 2031, if significant action isn’t taken,” according to reporting by Ryan Packer at The Urbanist.

Like all budget issues, there are a lot of factors that are causing the gap, like gas tax and carbon auction are not bringing in as much as expected. But one factor caught Sound Politics host Scott Greenstone's attention. And it has to do with salmon.

Mike Reicher, Seattle Times investigative reporter, joins the show to explain the latest in the state's ongoing mandate to replace salmon culverts.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor this week is Jed Kim. Our producer this week is Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.