By Jake Goldstein-Street | Reporter
A provision in President Donald Trump’s signature tax cut and spending law took effect Thursday, stripping Medicaid coverage for 10,000 refugees, asylees and other lawfully present immigrants, including people who fled the war in Ukraine and trafficking victims, for example. Some of them have disabilities and receive long-term care.
But a last-minute federal court ruling in Seattle provides a reprieve for a fraction of the affected.
Also in today’s edition…
• Democratic state Senate staff reject union contract.
• Korean officials dispute the president’s claim on investing in Alaska gas pipeline.
• And, new rules are out for the federal scholarship tax credit program.
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By Jake Goldstein-Street
A U.S. District court judge in Seattle on Wednesday ruled that immigrants who receive Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, are still eligible for Medicaid, despite rules from federal officials trying to flout this longstanding precedent.
The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Zilly allows an estimated 800 migrants to keep their coverage for the time being. The feds can appeal the preliminary order.
The Senate chambers at the Washington state Capitol. (Photo courtesy of Legislative Support Services)
By Jerry Cornfield
The union representing staff of Democratic state senators this week overwhelmingly rejected a new two-year contract, citing its lack of adequate protections for workers facing termination. Legislative staff are at-will employees, meaning they can be fired at any time. The union sought language to ensure there is a just cause for a dismissal. Negotiators for the Senate Administration wouldn’t budge on various proposals employees put forth, union officials said.
By James Brooks
President Donald Trump proclaimed on Wednesday that officials from South Korea had agreed to invest $54 billion in the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline. But the nation hasn’t pledged any money toward the project, officials say.
By Robbie Sequeira
Created through President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending law in 2025, the Education Freedom Tax Credit program allows individuals to claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to certain scholarship-granting organizations, also referred to as SGOs.
These contributions are meant to fund K-12 scholarships, primarily at private schools, though the scholarships can cover tutoring, books, supplies, extended-day programs and disability services for students who remain in public schools, and tutoring can take place during or after school.
So far, more than two dozen states have agreed to join the program. Washington isn’t one of them, with a spokesperson for Gov. Bob Ferguson saying last month that he wouldn’t decide whether to opt in until final rules were available. New guidance was released Thursday.
ICYMI
PSE’s new rate hike proposal draws ire at public hearing | by Aspen Ford
WA company has to pay $410K for withheld hospital charity care | by Jake Goldstein-Street
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