The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could change how Washington elects judges – especially those for the state supreme court.

The case – Caperton v. Massey – is summarized in this Washington Post article. It involves the owner of a big coal mine in West Virginia who was sued by the owner of a small coal mine for driving him out of business. The little guy won initially but lost in a narrow state supreme court ruling.

In between the lower-court ruling and the supreme court ruling, however, was a campaign that saw an incumbent defeated with the help of $3 million from the owner of the big coal mine. And it was that new justice that provided the swing vote.

The U.S. Supremes will decide how and when a judge in a state like ours and 38 others that elects top judges must recuse himself when his political backers are before the court.

The issue has come up a few times in Washington when interest groups that have been involved in court campaigns come before the court. Generally, our judges don't step down temporarily. This case may provide guidelines and will definitely give fodder to those who think Washington should move to some sort of appointed judiciary.

If past decisions are a guide, the U.S. Supreme Court justices don't look kindly on states that elect judges. In one decision overturning limits on what candidates can say and do in campaigns, former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote this:

"If a state has a problem with judicial impartiality, it is largely one the state brought upon itself by continuing the practice of popularly electing judges."

The promised credit for Tacoma Power customers should show up on the next bill.

Refunds equal to about half of a one-month electric bill will begin tomorrow and go through May 4, according to Tacoma Public Utilities spokeswoman Chris Gleason.

The amount will vary by customer and are based on electrical usage, Gleason said.

Tacoma Power customers who had open, active accounts in 2007 and on Dec. 31, 2008 should expect to see a refund.

The city-owned electric utility is passing along to customers $15 million that it received from the Bonneville Power Administration for overpayment.

For more information, click here.

(Photo via flickr user k4cay)

By an 11-1 vote, the House Education Appropriations Committee approved House Bill 2261 today. That keeps it alive past today's committee cutoff.

The bill is a place saver with a broad enough title to carry whatever compromise comes out before the end of session. It replaces House Bill 1410 which was the result of an 18-month examination by the Basic Education Finance Task Force.

Apparently the changes called for in that bill were too sweeping for the education community – the teachers union, the school directors, the school administrators and other education unions. While some endorsed the initial effort, others – led by the Washington Education Association – raised all sorts of objections.

At the same time, many groups outside the establishment – education advocacy groups and business leaders – were enthusiastic.

Rather than beat their heads against The Wall, the sponsors decided to take a step back and try to work through the objections. They figured that calling for an eventual 70 percent increase in ed funding would be enough for schools to come to the table and talk about increased accountability, transparency and fairness.

On Monday, no one objected though some had concerns. That led committee Chairwoman Kathy Haigh to say: "I'm much more encouraged that we're going to get the job done."

Here is how Rep. Ross Hunter, one of the so-called Gang of Six that wrote the bill, describes the process from now on:

We’re in the middle of a tumultuous period in the evolution of the bills. Our original bills (HB 1410 and SB 5444) were a 110 page first draft that we expected to engender a robust discussion. We were right about part of it - the discussion was robust, but unfortunately not substantive. The Olympia-based education groups have been very negative on the proposal, with most outside groups supportive. The legislation changes distribution of billions of dollars, and we were probably naive to expect change of this magnitude to go smoothly.

We’ve taken a new approach - we’re starting with a blank slate instead of a large first draft. We’ve introduced two bills with similar titles but no real content. The new bills are HB 2261 and SB 6048. We will move these bills through the system while we work on re-crafting a comprehensive bill. This is the strategy we used successfully in fixing the math standards last year.

That's actually up 2,300 from December 2008, despite the limited hiring freeze that Gov. Chris Gregoire announced during the summer.

The overall trend is down. The peak appears to be June 2008, when the average number of fulltime equivalents (two half-time workers equals one fulltime worker) was 117,109.

But thanks to seasonal workers -- more at parks and natural resources during the summer months, fewer at colleges during the summer -- the state work force is up and down.

Take a look at this chart.

The Legislature is to blame for part of that surge. They hired about 300 temporary workers in January when the session cranks up. Most of the increase, about 1,800 workers from December to January is in Higher Education, the colleges.

I'm told that quite a few faculty and student employees and others don't work in the month of December.

Other than that, our colleges seemed to operate in their own world. Much of the money they get is from federal research grants and tuition, so they can keep hiring even though their state funding is about to drop.

Transportation is holding pretty steady. There were an average of 11,302 state workers in that field for fiscal year 2008, and the average for fiscal 2009 (the past seven months) is 11,319.

That hiring freeze was lifted in December, but the Legislature reimposed a slightly stricter freeze that took effect in late February, so it's effects won't show up for awhile.

That's one of the things that House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, told reporters at last Thursday's media availability. That support comes from members of the 62-member Democratic caucus, he said.

There are two bills, SB 5816 and HB 1939, that would let auto dealers collect a higher fee -- $150 instead of the current $50 -- for handling all the paperwork associated with the purchase of a vehicle. One of Chopp's Democratic caucus members, Rep. Dean Takko, is the prime sponsor of one of them.

Both bills were advanced by their respective transportation committees, House and Senate, last week.

Here is the bill report for House Bill 1939, the house version of the measure to raise the document fee to $150.

I don't usually write about Seattle city politics, but what the heck. It's a regional world. Besides, Seattle council members have a lot to say about what happens down in T-town, Olympia, Pierce County and South King County. For example, Sound Transit, Puget Sound Regional Council, etc.

It’s Official: Sally Bagshaw Files for Seat Being Vacated by Retiring Jan Drago

Former Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, transportation leader and small business advocate, thanks Drago for tenure of service, moves forward with fast starting campaign that has raised more than $30,000 in first months of campaigning.

SEATTLE—Sally Bagshaw, the former head of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Civil Division, leader on transportation and transit issues and advocate for small business has formally announced that she will seek position #4 on the council—the seat currently held by retiring council member Jan Drago.

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House Bill 2194, which was approved last Friday by the House Ways and Means Committee, was sponsored by Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, at the request of Gov. Chris Gregoire. The governor thinks she can save about $1.5 million by letting out inmates who are pretty much physically incapable of committing any more crimes.

Here is a summary of what the bill does, followed by an even better explanation by The Associated Press. That story ran several weeks ago.

By RACHEL LA CORTE
Associated Press Writer

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) _ Sean Trigg spends his days relying on assistance from others.

Getting out of bed, getting dressed, picking up a dropped book _ all are impossible for the 41-year-old Leavenworth man to do on his own because multiple sclerosis has left him unable to walk or stand.

The main difference between Trigg and others suffering from the degenerative disease is that his days are spent in a dorm-like prison cell in the medical unit at Ahtanum View Correctional Complex in Yakima. Trigg is serving a 5-year sentence for dealing meth and carrying a firearm, and is due to be released in 2010.

Every three months he is driven across the mountains to the University of Washington in Seattle to receive chemotherapy; every six months he returns to receive new medication through a shunt in his stomach. But he no longer receives the regular physical therapy he had before his arrest, which quickly led to his need for a wheelchair once he was in prison.

"I just have to deal with it," he said. "I don't have much options."

Trigg is one of 44 prisoners in the state who could benefit from a proposal by Gov. Chris Gregoire to expand a program to release chronically or terminally ill prisoners, saving the state an estimated $1.5 million over the next two years.

=> Read more!