Transforming Washington's Budget

Browse Ideas with tag 'revenue':

• Recent Ideas (7)
• Popular Ideas (7)
• Hot Ideas (0)
• In Review Ideas (0)
• In Progress Ideas (0)
• Complete Ideas (0)

• I agree

  Voting is Disabled

  898 votes

  I disagree
  This idea is active.
  Effective Government »

  Legalizing Marijuana

  I have never ingested marijuana or any illicit drugs, but you could help the budget by legalizing a fairly benign substance in marijuana as i-1068 would have done. The polling data is fairly neutral regarding this topic in Washington state. Both state polls I have seen show legalization favored by slightly over 50% though. You would be doing this in two ways. 1.) Not having to waste money on law enforcement, judicial ...more »

  I have never ingested marijuana or any illicit drugs, but you could help the budget by legalizing a fairly benign substance in marijuana as i-1068 would have done. The polling data is fairly neutral regarding this topic in Washington state. Both state polls I have seen show legalization favored by slightly over 50% though.

  You would be doing this in two ways. 1.) Not having to waste money on law enforcement, judicial proceedings, and incarceration. 2.) Potentially collecting taxes from those that sell it. Another interesting way to go with that would be to treat it like alcohol by selling it in a regulated manner as they do in Amsterdam (despite it not being legal). Interestingly, use in Amsterdam is the lowest in Europe despite how easy it is to obtain. Why? Drug dealers do not check for I.D.

  I became interested in this topic ever since the state held a committee hearing in Olympia in January of this year. I have done the research and it has changed my mind from disagreeing with legalizing to thinking legalizing is probably the way to go.

  Thank you.

  « less full details »

  199 comments for Idea: Legalizing Marijuana

  Submitted by Guy B. Anonymous 2 years ago

• I agree

  Voting is Disabled

  229 votes

  I disagree
  This idea is active.
  Natural Resources »

  Hemp as a cash crop

  Hemp is a useful material with a rich history. It can be used for clothing, for food (high in protein and omega-3), and bio-fuels among other things. It CANNOT be ingested to get you high. So why is it essentially illegal to grow? It has a close association with Marijuana. It is, technically, a marijuana plant. However, since other countries can grow industrial hemp legally, why can't we? Currently, we import millions ...more »

  Hemp is a useful material with a rich history. It can be used for clothing, for food (high in protein and omega-3), and bio-fuels among other things. It CANNOT be ingested to get you high. So why is it essentially illegal to grow? It has a close association with Marijuana. It is, technically, a marijuana plant. However, since other countries can grow industrial hemp legally, why can't we?

  Currently, we import millions of pounds of hemp into the United States. How much money can we save if we grew it ourselves? A lot. In fact when googling hemp us import the first result is a USDA report from late '99. The first sentence of the second paragraph is extremely telling. "Imports of raw hemp fiber have increased dramatically in the last few years, rising from less than 500 pounds in 1994 to over 1.5 million pounds for the first 9 months of 1999 (table 1)."

  I do not have current import numbers unfortunately, but I can only assume that they have followed the trend.

  As mentioned earlier it is essentially illegal to grow hemp in the U.S. It isn't really illegal, but it might as well be. You need special permits from the DEA which are very expensive and that alone makes it nearly impossible for anyone to grow hemp at a profit. Is there any way Washington state could look into superseding the DEA? As long as there are people regulating the hemp and making sure THC levels are near 0% there should be no problems.

  If you are interested to learn about the history of hemp I have included some information below. If not you can stop here.

  -------

  Quick history lesson. In colonial times people were asked to grow hemp on their properties. George Washington grew hemp. The sails and rope of the ships that first landed here were made out of hemp.

  We threw it all away because of a smear campaign by DuPont (google DuPont and Hemp).

  Interestingly, our government decided we should grow hemp again during WWII due to material shortages which prompted the video "Hemp for Victory" -- Which is on youtube.

  After WWII our troops burned all hemp fields.

  That's all. Knowledge is power.

  « less full details »

  14 comments for Idea: Hemp as a cash crop

  Submitted by Guy B. Anonymous 2 years ago

• I agree

  Voting is Disabled

  9 votes

  I disagree
  This idea is active.
  Effective Government »

  Fiscal note review

  Have non-partisan review of revenue generating fiscal notes.

  Add your comment for Idea: Fiscal note review

  Submitted by desiree Carson 2 years ago

• I agree

  Voting is Disabled

  4 votes

  I disagree
  This idea is active.
  Effective Government »

  State Lottery

  Do something about the lottery commission. I dont know exactly how the system works but from the looks of it the state pays 290 mil a year but the lottery commission only produces 162 mil from sales. From what I can see this is a problem. The lottery is supposed to bring money into the state.

  6 comments for Idea: State Lottery

  Submitted by Caleb Ruzicka 2 years ago

• I agree

  Voting is Disabled

  -10 votes

  I disagree
  This idea is active.
  Economic Development »

  Sell Advertising on State Agency websites

  Sell Advertising on State Agency websites I believe current law forbits it but maybe that could be temporarily set aside by the Governor until the next session. Putting an advertisor's logo with link in the top right hand corner would take an hour or two depending on if it is rotating between advertisors or just one. PLUS there is ZERO material costs and ZERO maintenance. Direct all revenue to supporting social programs. ...more »

  Sell Advertising on State Agency websites

  I believe current law forbits it but maybe that could be temporarily set aside by the Governor until the next session. Putting an advertisor's logo with link in the top right hand corner would take an hour or two depending on if it is rotating between advertisors or just one. PLUS there is ZERO material costs and ZERO maintenance. Direct all revenue to supporting social programs. This should be a no brainer. Every $$$ helps!

  « less full details »

  1 comment for Idea: Sell Advertising on State Agency websites

  Submitted by r scott 2 years ago

• I agree

  Voting is Disabled

  -22 votes

  I disagree
  This idea is active.
  Economic Development »

  Comcast and the Alaskan Way Viaduct-MONEY

  I suggest the governor work with tvw tv and create a documentary of the Alaska Way Viaduct being built start to finish and sell advertisement and work with Comcast and the Science channel to sell the documentary, Other documentaries could also be sold to cable including a COPS type show on the Washington State Ferries. Sell these documentaries specific to Washington State to a cable channel. If they can be syndicated ...more »

  I suggest the governor work with tvw tv and create a documentary of the Alaska Way Viaduct being built start to finish and sell advertisement and work with Comcast and the Science channel to sell the documentary, Other documentaries could also be sold to cable including a COPS type show on the Washington State Ferries. Sell these documentaries specific to Washington State to a cable channel. If they can be syndicated this could be big money for the state, Think about how much money COPS probably makes. A documentary of the Alaskan Way Viaduct could help pay for its construction!

  « less full details »

  1 comment for Idea: Comcast and the Alaskan Way Viaduct-MONEY

  Submitted by E Bates 2 years ago

• I agree

  Voting is Disabled

  -34 votes

  I disagree
  This idea is active.
  Economic Development »

  Generate Revenue off of Motorcyle Riders

  Change the motorcycle helmet law so those who wish to ride with out a helmet can.

  Charge a hefty fee for a special license plate or tag for those who wish to ride helmet free.

  Alter the traffic law so that anyone who causes an accident with a motorcyclist not wearing a helmet receives a lighter penalty.

  Add your comment for Idea: Generate Revenue off of Motorcyle Riders

  Submitted by Jerrod Smith 2 years ago

Displaying all 7 Ideas