The Roundtable works to effect positive change on public policy issues that are most important to supporting state economic vitality and fostering opportunity for all Washingtonians. That work includes sharing news and analyzing policy developments affecting our state.

Latest News

Crosscut: What politicians can do to help business climate

June 3rd, 2013

Less than two weeks remain in the special legislative session and it’s time for lawmakers to finish the state’s business.  A recent update of the Washington Roundtable’s Benchmarks for a Better Washington – an annual report measuring our state’s economic vitality – underscores the need for action on education and transportation policy.   Two key takeaways: Washington ranks among the bottom half of all… Read more

Benefits paid – the best measure of workers’ comp costs

May 20th, 2013

The Washington Research Council has an insightful rundown on its blog, detailing the rationale for using workers’ compensation benefits paid to compare costs between states. We use  benefits paid for our Benchmarks for a Better Washington because it’s the most reliable, stable state-by-state metric for measuring a key business cost that impacts employer decisions about where to keep and create jobs.  The conclusion of that data is concerning… Read more

Yes on Mutual Consent Bill

May 16th, 2013

The Seattle Times today offers a strong endorsement for a key piece of education reform legislation up for consideration by the Washington State Legislature.  SB 5242 would require a mutual agreement between a principal and teacher before the teacher is assigned to a school. It gives principals a greater say in hiring a teaching staff that will meet the vision/mission of each school. … Read more

New Benchmark data underscores need for action during special session

May 10th, 2013

In 2011, the Roundtable put forward a vision for Washington state: Make it a top 10 state for quality of life and innovation and ensure it is not one of the 10 most expensive states in which to do business.  We established the Benchmarks for a Better Washington to measure progress on a discrete set of metrics that speak to this vision.  Updated… Read more