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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 22 |
| 1860 | 4 |
| 1861 | 14 |
| 1862 | 16 |
| 1863 | 10 |
| 1871 | 2 |
| 1872 | 9 |
| 1876 | 12 |
| 1877 | 20 |
| 1878 | 19 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 28 |
| 1884 | 18 |
| 1885 | 15 |
| 1886 | 23 |
| 1887 | 16 |
| 1888 | 10 |
| 1889 | 30 |
| 1890 | 7 |
| 1891 | 67 |
| 1892 | 53 |
| 1893 | 87 |
| 1894 | 42 |
| 1895 | 96 |
| 1898 | 5 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 27 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 5 |
| 1909 | 98 |
| 1910 | 24 |
| 1911 | 8 |
| 1912 | 9 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 6 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 8 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 11 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 4 |
| 1929 | 3 |
871 stories matching legisl
- Judge Lewis Blasts Portland and Olympia Over Seattle's Canal
A Tacoma judge's letter urges Washington state to fund the Lake Washington canal, accusing Portland's Oregonian and a political 'combination at Olympia' of trying to strangle Seattle's growth.
- The Dairy Commissioner’s War on Adulterated Food
A Washington dairy official warns that fake honey, poisoned candy, oleomargarine and brewers’ grain are cheating farmers — and demands stronger pure-food laws.
- A Gavel, a Roar, and a Populist Ticket Born in Chaos
King County's People's Party convention at Turner Hall turned into a shouting, proxy-fighting, faction-splitting marathon—and buried Dr. J. Eugene Jordan and Jack McDonald on the way to nominating a ticket.
- When a Railroad Pass Was a Bribe in a Pocket
A Tacoma editor demands Washington's lawmakers enforce the constitutional ban on free train passes, arguing the 'courtesy' bought influence one legislator at a time.
- The 1895 Push to Split Seattle From King County
A Chamber of Commerce meeting with new state legislators turned into a drive to separate Seattle from King County—and to force the school board to live within its means.
- Three Bickering Land Departments, Millions in Tide Lands, and a Demand for Answers
A state land commissioner admits the tide-land situation is 'chaotic in the extreme' and calls for a no-whitewash legislative probe — warning that divided authority is an open door to corruption.
- The Price of a Free Pass
In 1885, Seattle’s press took on the corrupting influence of Northern Pacific Railroad’s 'free' travel gifts to legislators, arguing that such favors were nothing less than bribes intended to command political obedience.
- Olympia's Backroom Bargain Over a Senate Seat
Lawmakers arrive in Olympia pledging to organize fast, but the fight over a U.S. Senate seat and the speakership is already reshaping the session.
- The Coal Miner Who Took the Capitol: Labor's 1911 Push in Olympia
Four hundred union delegates descended on the legislature, and a soft-spoken miner made the case for workmen's compensation — while the federation set its sights on women's eight-hour work and direct legislation.
- The Push for Direct Legislation in Washington
State Federation of Labor President Charles R. Case advocates for direct democratic processes to curb corporate control of the state legislature.
- The Lawmaker Who Killed His Own Railroad Bill
Rather than let opponents gut it, Representative Hoole sends his railroad and steamboat measure to an indefinite grave after a day of parliamentary jabs.
- The Legislative Shuffle: How Power Really Worked at Olympia
A rare look behind the curtain of the 1923 state legislative session, where committee back-scratching, lobbyist influence, and alcohol fueled the fate of over 600 bills.
- The Political Pilgrimage to Steilacoom
In 1887, Washington Territorial legislators took a collective trip to inspect the state's asylum, but the solemn mission quickly devolved into a social affair that kept the real results hidden from the public.
- Two Weeks In, Still No Senator: Olympia's Republicans Tire of the Ankeny Fight
The legislature has been in session a fortnight and Washington still has no United States senator. A colleague's insulting letter blows up, the Wilson and Allen camps fold, and a caucus is called to force the thing to an end.
- The Disgraceful Scrawl of Territorial Law
A scathing editorial from the Weekly Dispatch reveals that the Territorial Legislature's laws were so poorly drafted, blotted, and grammatically mangled that the editor suggests burning them to avoid litigation.
- The Territory's Legislative Snake
A scathing critique from 1877 exposes the 'headless and tailless' chaos of newly minted Washington tax laws, exposing a system designed to strip residents of their property through administrative incompetence.
- The University’s Wish List: New Departments, New Money
In 1895, UW regents asked King County legislators for laboratories, professors and a geological survey—and argued that the whole state would benefit.
- Seattle’s Temple of Learning Rises Between Two Lakes
In 1895, contractors raced to finish a $200,000 campus between Union and Washington lakes—complete with copper finials, a gymnasium and a hillside observatory—before the September opening.
- The Tax Revolt of 1923
Legislators in Olympia face a political firestorm as they struggle to cut state spending while voters demand 'hands off' the schools and roads.
- The Last-Week Jam in Olympia: Liquor, Primaries and a Budget Nobody Counted
With the 60-day session expiring, Washington's lawmakers settle local option, rewrite the primary ballot, kill the initiative and abandon the joint budget committee — leaving taxpayers to foot a three-mill levy.
- The Ghost Legislature: How Congress Strangled Washington's Voice
In January 1893, the territorial assembly convened only to immediately adjourn because Washington had no federal funding for its own government. A local editorial decries this as a farce that leaves citizens paying taxes without representation.
- The First Legislative Assembly of Washington Territory Adjourns
After intense deliberation and the drafting of a new legal code, Washington’s first territorial lawmakers closed their session in Olympia.
- Washington's First Impeachment Trial Is Losing Its Charges to a Comma
Insurance Commissioner J. H. Schively's Senate trial drops twenty-six counts down toward half of them on a technicality, while the sixty-day legislative clock runs out Saturday at midnight.
- The Fight for Fair Wages and Honest Employment
Everett labor leaders outline a legislative agenda to target employment 'sharks' and secure a minimum wage for women workers.
- The Senate Kills the Railroad Rate Bill, and the Party Loses Face
An editorial lashes the state senate for 'slaughtering' the Helm bill regulating railroad freights and fares, despite the Republican platform and Governor McGraw's own demand for fairness to the public.
Also about this, in other words
- The Great Legal Squabble of 1871
A simmering territorial dispute over the 'Big Wigs'—the lawyers and judges—debating exactly when a law becomes a law.