Olympia Open for Bidness

Are you ready for a brand new state legislative session?…We can't hear you! We said, are you mo-fos ready for a new state legislative session? Wow, that was even quieter than the first time. Well, regardless of your enthusiasm, the 2006 Washington State Legislative Session is underway.

Sunday's Seattle Times provided its readers with a crash course on the session. The Stranger also published their own overview, and explained why this session may be tamer than last year's.

The session's biggest news could be bad news for bigots, as State Senator Bill Finkbeiner is expected to support gay-rights legislation which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.

As always, there will be partisan bickering, and this year it will revolve around the state's 1.4 billion dollar surplus. The arguments and spin will center on whether to fund more programs or cut taxes. Screw it, let's just buy some paint and make this the Evergreenier State.

On Tuesday Governor Gregoire will give her first State of the State Address Address (in a related note, Dino Rossi will spend Tuesday in line at Home Depot). A year ago Gregoire was sworn in amidst Republican outcry and a pending court challenge. Currently her approval ratings are between 40 and 50 percent, depending on whom you ask. Her idea for the surplus : spend $500 billion now and save the rest for a rainy day….SNORE, buy the paint Chris!