Finance
House Finance Chair talks Millionaires Tax and likely legal, initiative challenge
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The chair of the Washington House Finance Committee says a public hearing on the proposed “millionaires tax” drew the expected mix of strong support and sharp criticism, but she now says the public sign-in process itself may have been manipulated.
Rep. April Berg (D) Everett, chaired a roughly two-hour House Finance hearing and heard from backers and opponents, describing moments as “a little spicy” and saying she would have preferred “a little less vitriol.”
But she disputes that over 100,000 people signed up to participate, heavily weighted against the tax.
Berg said she was contacted ahead of the hearing by people who said their names were listed even though they did not register, or were listed under a position they did not take. She said that grew from a handful of reports into something far larger by the weekend, prompting staff to search for exact duplicates and other irregularities.
Berg said staff found more than 19,000 exact duplicate entries, and the issue “calls into question” part of the democratic process of testimony. She says lawmakers have asked the House Clerk and Attorney General to investigate any impropriety. The Snohomish County Democrat, along with most of her colleagues, approved an initiative just two years ago that called for an outright ban on future income taxes.
The “Millionaires Tax” legislation, approved by the State Senate last week, is expected to be amended by her committee, and Berg believes a vote on the House floor could take place next week. Yet, she expects, as does Governor Bob Ferguson, that there will be a legal and initiative challenge to the tax proposal.
When asked if she thought it was correct to include the income tax in the House and Senate budgets with the expectation of a challenge, Berg said, “I do,” she continued, “Folks say, hey, we don’t think this is legal. They have a right to adjudication going before our courts to argue their case.”
“At this moment, as a policy maker, as a chair of house, finance, as a legislator, I believe this bill is absolutely legal,” she said.
There were suggestions in advance of the meeting that the bill could have impacts on professional sports franchises and players. An NFL Player’s Association representative was slated to testify during the hearing, but did not appear for reasons that are unknown.
“Forty-one other states have an income tax. 41 other states have a tax similar to this on high earners in their state. I think that argument just does not hold water. That is like saying that we clearly don’t have professional sports in California, which has a much more aggressive income tax. New York has a much more aggressive income tax than us. Illinois. I mean, the list goes on,” she said. “We are the outlier at this moment. I think we’re going to be just fine recruiting very talented athletes across the board with this tax, just as those other 41 states are as well.”
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A Mobile County grand jury has indicted the former finance director for the city of Semmes on ethics and theft charges.
Heather Renee Davis, who also previously served as city clerk for the city of Satsuma, faces a 12-count indictment. Ten of the counts are ethics violations.
Allegations
Prosecutors allege Davis improperly used her public positions in Semmes and Satsuma for personal gain, including misappropriating public money and resources.
Two counts accuse her of first-degree theft by deception involving amounts over $2,500. One count is tied to the city of Semmes and one to the city of Satsuma.
Arrest and bond
Jail records show Davis was arrested and later released after posting a $60,000 bond.
Copyright 2026 WALA. All rights reserved.
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* When it comes to campaign finance laws, both parties’ campaign committees have faced restrictions on how much money they could spend in coordination with candidates’ campaigns. Those limits are now effectively gone.
As MS NOW’s Jordan Rubin explained, “The Supreme Court’s GOP-appointed majority ruled for Republicans in their campaign finance challenge to restrictions on political parties spending on ads with input from the party’s candidate.”
A Punchbowl News report added that the ruling, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, “handed Republicans a massive win” and is likely to “usher in the biggest change to campaign finance law since the Citizens United decision.”
The same report went on to note that Tuesday’s high court ruling “allows for unrestricted coordination between candidates and party committees. That means committees, like the NRSC or the DCCC, can run unlimited TV ads with allied candidates. More importantly, they can also buy those ads at the much cheaper rate offered to candidates. … Tuesday’s SCOTUS ruling will also eradicate the need for independent expenditure arms at party committees.”
Republicans already enjoyed a significant financial advantage over Democrats. The Republican-appointed justices just made it easier for the GOP to capitalize on that advantage.
* In Colorado’s closely watched Democratic primaries, incumbent Sen. John Hickenlooper fended off a challenge from the left, but some of his colleagues weren’t as fortune: Democratic socialist Melat Kiros ended long-serving Rep. Diana DeGette’s career in Denver’s congressional district, while state Attorney General Phil Weiser scored a major upset by defeating incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet in a gubernatorial primary.
* In the race for North Carolina’s open Senate seat, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper leads former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley in the latest New York Times/Siena poll, 50% to 43%, pointing to a possible pickup opportunity for Democrats.
Google Cloud and FactSet, a provider of data and artificial intelligence solutions to the financial markets, plan to jointly develop AI agents designed to assist with portfolio operations, deal advisory and corporate finance.
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