Here at Fuse we have very little patience for corruption, abuse, and incompetence, as you may have already noticed. Fuse has been working hard to support Senate Bill 6035. The bill closes a gaping loophole that allows conservative business associations to divert millions of dollars from a public worker's compensation program to fund political campaigns and negative attack ads.
Making matters worse, the State mistakenly overpaid these trade associations by as much as $200 million over the last 15 years. And now there is compelling evidence that suggests the State's biggest conservative bully, the Building Industry Association of Washington, is illegally skimming funds owed to its members under the program.2 We think this program is long overdue for some serious reform.
But before we allocate our organizing resources for the last month of the legislative session, we wanted to check and see if this issue is important to you as well. Can you please let us know if you think this should be a priority?
Click here if you think Fuse should make it a priority to organize public support for reforms that prevent these abuses:
http://www.fusewashington.org/page/s/yescampaign
Click here if you don't think it's an issue we should focus on:
http://www.fusewashington.org/page/s/nocampaign
Conservative business associations are pulling out all the stops to defeat the reform bill.
But if we decide to tackle this together, we can ensure that legislators are listening to the public when they decide how to vote rather than corporate lobbyists.
Thanks for weighing in on this one.
Today our state is facing a budget deficit of historic proportions. If we let it, this shortfall could turn back years of progress towards protecting our quality of life and building a strong future.
As state lawmakers wrestle over what to do, we wanted to give you the opportunity to balance the budget yourself. How will you do it? Will you increase class sizes or cut teachers' salaries? Will you raise taxes or knock thousands off of health care?
The budget process isn't as mysterious as it seems, but it's full of tough questions and hard decisions. Click on the link below to use our new online game, YouBudget. Let's see what you decide.
Legislators and the Governor have already enacted common-sense belt-tightening measures like a hiring freeze, travel ban and cutting many boards and commissions. They are now moving forward with more painful cuts. But with an $8 billion shortfall, belt-tightening is not enough.
Before you balance the budget, check out the video from Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, where she talks about the decisions facing the legislature in light of the budget crisis. Then, take some time to balance the budget yourself using our online game. It should only take you about 10 minutes.
Finally, after you've balanced the budget let your legislators know how you did it - and what you hope they'll do. How we handle this budget crisis is going to impact all of us, so we all need to weigh in.
Thanks for taking the time to balance the budget.
I can't believe what the State Senate just did. I'm one of thousands of volunteers who gathered signatures and made phone calls to help pass the Clean Energy Initiative - Initiative 937 - into law two years ago. Voters required Washington's utilities to develop new sources of renewable energy.
Late Tuesday night the State Senate voted 27-21 to remove the Initiative's teeth, approving a bill (SB 5840) which could cut the clean-energy requirements by as much as 73 percent.
There's a reason President Obama is stepping up to repower America and launch a clean energy economy in our country. We simply cannot afford the consequences of global warming and our dependence on fossil fuels.
Now is not the time to turn our backs on clean energy! We need your help to stop this roll-back. We can't let Washington become the first state in the nation to turn back the clock on clean energy progress.
Click here to sign our petition urging the House of Representatives to defend I-937, and forward it to your friends and family as well.
http://www.fusewashington.org/page/s/937rollback
In the next week we will also ask you to help us hold the Senators who voted to go backwards on clean energy accountable. But the first step is to stop this terrible bill in its tracks.
I honestly can't understand why the Democrats who control the State Senate are spending time and resources on rolling back a voter-approved clean energy initiative. Washington has an $8 billion deficit, a major economic crisis, serious health care problems and major education and environmental challenges.
We need our lawmakers to solve problems, not undo solutions. Please help us protect clean energy in the House. Click on the link below to join thousands of Washington residents in sending a strong message to House leaders that we are counting on them to stand up for clean energy!
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