SEATTLE – (AP) — Attorney General Rob McKenna says private companies should be able to bid to provide more government services, the number of state workers should be reduced and employees should pay more for health insurance premiums.
The Republican who is running for governor released updated plans for the state at a Tuesday morning campaign event in Bellevue. McKenna said the state workforce could be reduced by up to 10 percent in the next several years and state workers should pay 25 percent of their insurance premiums, as Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire has already suggested. State workers now pay 15 percent.
McKenna also reiterated calls to spend more on education and said tax laws should be changed to ensure that out-of-state companies that do business in Washington state pay “their fair share.”