In their first week of the legislative session, Southwest Washington lawmakers worked on bills that would amend the constitution to limit state spending growth, change liquor licenses for theater pubs, create a sales tax holiday for back-to-school shopping, and impose fines for harming a police dog, to name a few.
• State Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, is pushing a bill to create a constitutional amendment solidifying the 1993 Initiative 601, which set spending limits based on the state’s population and the rate of inflation. Benton said the initiative no longer has teeth after being slowly dismantled by Democrats and Republicans alike.
