Another Special Session in Olympia

The 60-day 2010 Washington State legislative session may have technically ended more than two weeks ago, yet lawmakers are still working on several important issues with immediate implications for top United Way priorities. For the second consecutive year, state policymakers faced unprecedented fiscal challenges which have proven very difficult to resolve. The House, Senate, and Governor introduced three different budgets with corresponding revenue packages, reflecting three very different approaches to balancing the budget. The result was a gridlock on the…

United Way’s Free Tax Campaign  can do just about anything (1040′s, Schedule A’s, cold fusion), but one thing we are limited in is our ability to prepare taxes for self-employed individuals. Thankfully, our good friends at Highline Community College’s StartZone are putting on a free tax filing event for self-employed individuals with a total combined household income of less than $50,000 who are required to include a Schedule C on their return.

The event will be held this Saturday, March 27th from 10AM-4PM at…

It’s week four of the 60-day legislative session in the Washington statehouse, which means policy crunch time in Olympia.

Lawmakers are facing deadlines this week to move bills out of policy committees and onto fiscal committees. February 16 is the last day to consider bills in their house of origin before they are sent to the opposite house for review.

Here is a brief summary of some of the bills that United Way of King County supports:

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Earlier today, UWKC board member and early learning advocate Janet Levinger testified before the House Early Learning and Children’s Services Committe in Olympia to push for the inclusion of pre-kindergarten education into the state’s definition of basic education.  Defining Pre-K as part of basic education would make funding for early learning much more secure. Why is that so important? Read her testimony below:

Good afternoon. For the record, my name is Janet Levinger. I am here today as a community volunteer and child advocate. I…

Local Updates:

City of Seattle accepting public comments on Housing Levy plan

In November, Seattle voters overwhelmingly voiced their support for affordable housing by renewing the Seattle Housing Levy (a United Way of King County policy priority). Now, the city must determine how to distribute those funds. The Office of Housing is accepting public comments on the Draft Administrative & Financial Plan (A&F Plan) for the newly approved 2009 Seattle Housing Levy.  The A&F Plan guides implementation of the levy for the next…

National Housing Trust Fund linked with House jobs bill

The House of Representatives is currently debating a $75 billion “Jobs for Main Street” bill that includes $1 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), as well as $65 million for project-based vouchers to be distributed with NHTF dollars.  Fully funding the NHTF would not only guarantee affordable housing for King County’s most vulnerable populations, but would also provide a shot in the arm for the state’s ailing economy. According to the National…

Earlier this morning, Governor Gregoire introduced the first draft of her 2010 Supplemental Budget, which as expected contained dramatic cuts to several UWKC priorities. A snapshot of some of the most important reductions is listed below. For the full budget document, click here.

It should be stressed that the governor is planning a second budget with a proposed revenue package that would ameliorate some of the cuts, and that she repeatedly stated that the budget did not reflect her values or those…

On Sunday, the New York Times featured a wonderful frontpage article on a program very near and dear to our hearts here at UWKC:  the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),  known colloquially as food stamps.

We’ve written a good deal about food stamps on this blog,  especially with regard to our new Bridge to Basics program (which incidentally has just wrapped a highly successful pilot run). But I thought it worth highlighting this article for several reasons, as it chronicles national trends we’ve…

Who said grassroots organizing has gone the way of tie-dye t-shirts and lava lamps?

Last week, United Way of King County’s Free Tax Campaign served up a fresh piece of democratic activism by participating in the National Community Tax Coalition’s first ever VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Day of Action.

Across the county, hundreds of programs like ours met with the district staff of local Congressional members to stress the importance of the work we do, as well as the critical role the Earned…

United Way of King County believes in a comprehensive approach to ending homelessness, including providing low-income individuals the means to keep a roof over their heads and save for the future. That’s part of the rationale behind our popular free tax campaign, which last year helped return $17.3 million in refunds back to those in King County who need it most (you can sign up for next year’s campaign here).

That’s also part of the reason…