Inside Olympia is posted early today! Watch as you wait for your favorite bill to be debated:

Tags: Inside Olympia

Beginning today, the Legislature is in special session. And beginning today, TVW will offer special coverage to keep you informed on what’s happening.

Tonight at 7 p.m., Jessica Gao will host a special edition of The Impact. She’ll explain how special session works and what’s at stake. Later, at 11 p.m., Legislative Review will recap the day’s events.

Tuesday through Friday, Legislative Review: Special Session will air at 6:30 p.m. and will include recaps of the day plus several exclusive interviews with lawmakers.

The Impact will air at its regularly scheduled time on Wednnesday at 7. And Inside Olympia airs Thursday at 7 p.m.

And, of course, you can read the blog all day every day to find out what’s happening. Right now, you can tune into the Senate floor session. And look for an update on the schedule soon.

Questions? Suggestions? E-mail nikir@tvw.org.

Tags: Inside Olympia, Legislative Review, special session, The Impact, TVW

Another busy week. Here’s a few videos you may have missed. That’s what the weekend is for.

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s tax package unveiling:

The intense Fish and Wildlife Commission confirmation hearing for David Jennings.

The hearing on the “Clean Water Act of 2010″ to triple the hazardous waste tax to 2 percent: (more…)

Tags: 960, Budget, governor's tax proposal, hazardous waste tax, Inside Olympia, The Impact

There’s too much good stuff in these interviews to summarize.

Tags: Inside Olympia, TVW

Austin Jenkins interviewed House Speaker Frank Chopp on tonight’s edition of Inside Olympia. It’s a great interview, and you don’t have to wait to watch it:

Tags: Inside Olympia

Tonight, don’t miss Inside Olympia at 7 and 10 p.m. Host Austin Jenkins interviewed Marty Brown, legislative affairs director for Gov. Chris Gregoire, and Victor Moore of the Office of Financial Management.

After the interview, I talked to Marty for an Off the Set segment. So: Watch Inside Olympia, then watch the video below for Brown’s thoughts on what the state will look like without a tax increase, how the state is working with the federal government and much, much more.

Tags: Budget, Inside Olympia, off the set, taxes

Gov. Chris Gregoire was interviewed by Austin Jenkins yesterday morning for TVW’s Inside Olympia — and she had quite a bit to say. Watch below to hear Gregoire discuss the need for a tax package, why Washington will no longer accept Arkansas parolees and much more.

Inside Olympia airs at 7 and 10 p.m. Thursdays on TVW.

Tags: Gregoire, Inside Olympia, taxes

Watch TVW right now for a live showing of the House Commerce and Labor Committee work session, where supporters and opponents of agricultural unionization are talking to committee members.

And tonight, don’t miss Inside Olympia, where host Austin Jenkins will talk to lawmakers about urban and rural politics and priorities in this state. Inside Olympia airs at 7 and 10 p.m.

Tags: agricultural unionization, Inside Olympia, TVW

That’s how Gov. Gregoire’s Budget Director, Victor Moore, characterized the challenge state lawmakers will face in January when they return to Olympia and have to patch what he predicts will be a budget hole of between $750 million and $1 billion.

“Inside Olympia” host Austin Jenkins interviewed Moore and top budget writers in the House, Reps. Kelli Linville (D-Bellingham) and Gary Alexander (R-Olympia), following this morning’s latest state revenue forecast.   Watch the interviews at 7 & 10 p.m. this evening. Here’s a link to the show’s home page.

How will lawmakers make those cuts?  According to Moore, the Governor’s budget will have to look at wholesale elimination of discretionary programs.  Are new taxes a possibility?  “We are not looking at new taxes right now,” rather he’s working on a cut-based budget.

Linville said lawmakers need to squeeze everything they can out of government reform and efficiencies before shutting down whole programs — she cited the state’s General Assistance Unemployable (GAU) program as an example of a program that should be improved rather than eliminated.  Are new taxes a possibility?  She said the public is the key: Voters will likely have the final say on any tax hike, and unless the public is convinced lawmakers have adequately reformed government, “I don’t think taxes will pass the public interest test.”

Alexander advocated for “smaller government”  and emphasized the need for lawmakers to act early on the budget in order to maximize savings from budget cuts.  He was frustrated by last year’s budget, which he said incorporated no major reforms.  He said lawmakers need to pursue such reforms, including funding the state’s core  responsibilities first — in particular, public schools — eliminating non-core programs like GAU, and privatizing or contracting out state services.

All agreed there’s no need for a special session before January.  Lawmakers convene in Olympia on Monday, January 11th, for a 60-day session.

Tags: cuts, Inside Olympia, state budget, taxes

TVW will broadcast Washington’s quarterly revenue forecast live today at 10 a.m. This is the quarterly update for lawmakers and the governor on how much the state expects to receive in tax collections over the next few months. At his last quarterly forecast in June, the state’s chief economist, Dr. Arun Raha, said the economy was no longer in a freefall but state tax collections were still below target.

Dr. Raha’s economic revenue preview in early September indicated the recession was over, but consumers were still clinging pretty closely to their wallets.   Find out what he reports today live at 10 a.m. on TVW.

For more insight into the forecast, don’t miss Inside Olympia, tonight at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Host Austin Jenkins will be joined by State Representatives Kelli Linville and Gary Alexander and Governor Gregoire’s Budget Director Victor Moore.

Tags: economy, Inside Olympia, Revenue forecast