WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

House OKs three budgets and a school-construction bill

The House of Representatives today passed three supplemental budgets — as well as a significant new classroom-construction measure that aims both to accommodate more full-day kindergartners and to reduce K-3 class-sizes:

These three 2014-legislative session supplemental budgets are updates for the underlying 2013-2015 biennial (two-year) budgets passed last year — in the 2013 legislative session. Those original budgets were written for the 2013-2015 budget-biennium, which is in progress — running June 30, 2013, through July 1, 2015. The supplemental budgets are meant to revise existing budgets to reflect any amended budget-milieu.

State Rep. Jim Moeller offered the following comments about the four bills that passed the House today:

“The supplemental operating budget is a small and prudent mid-course adjustment. It makes an investment toward meeting our “McCleary” obligation, which directs that by the year 2018 we need to increase school funding by almost $4 billion. We close at least some outdated business-tax incentives that are no longer needed to help our economy thrive. Putting an end to these obsolete tax preferences honors the hard work of the average tax-paying citizen of Washington.

“The supplemental capital budget is a truly bipartisan document. In communities all across Washington, projects are funded that will address the needs of our citizens. Construction projects aimed at keeping people working in dependable, good-paying jobs are emphasized in this budget. These capital-budget projects also reflect the goal of improving our natural resources and building a stronger infrastructure.

“The supplemental transportation budget includes no new projects. Just the same as the supplemental operating budget, this is basically just a small, mid-course correction. The supplemental transportation budget is needed to make sure projects currently underway are kept funded and on-course.

“However, this updated transportation budget does include a provision directing our Traffic Safety Commission to set up (at very little cost) a “Yellow Dot” program. I have sought this program for years. A yellow decal would be placed on the lower part of the driver’s side of a vehicle’s rear window. First responders and law-enforcement folks would then know to search the vehicle’s glove compartment for an envelope containing important and appropriate medical information about the driver or passenger.

“Another construction bill we passed in the House today (House Bill 2797) would help make appropriate space for full-day kindergarten and K-3 class-size reduction. Our children’s future in the highly competitive global economy is riding on this construction work. This new building is essential in many districts as a way to accommodate the larger enrollments. Building more classrooms is the way to meet our all-day kindergarten and K-3 class-size targets. In just our Vancouver-area schools alone, the measure would fund the building of almost 120 additional classrooms for K-3 students.”