WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Rep. Lytton’s Legislative Update: Week 7

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Here we are in Week Seven and Friday marks the Fiscal Committee Cutoff date – the last day to vote bills out of the Appropriations Committee; Capital Budget Committee; General Government and Information Technology Committee; and Transportation Committee. This means that if a member’s bill arrives late from a policy committee, enough time may not exist to hear it, brief the fiscal committee, draft any amendments and move the bill forward with a hearing.

I’m excited to report that most of my bills made it out of their policy committees before last week’s cutoff. I am now working to get them through their fiscal committees and to the House Floor for a vote. You can monitor my bill sponsorship here.

Budget Update

I am pleased to announce that the House and Senate approved the supplemental operating budget I discussed in an earlier newsletter with strong bipartisan support. The Governor signed the bill last week and it will make small but important adjustments to our current budget. It addresses critical needs in mental health and foster services, and pays for the extraordinary costs we incurred with the Eastern Washington wildfires and the Oso landslide. The Legislature will make additional changes to the current budget before the session is over, but the much bigger challenge will be writing the next two-year operating budget.

The House Appropriations Committee Chair, Rep. Ross Hunter, has an excellent summary of our budget problem here.

So what’s the bottom line? In order to balance our budget, we’re likely looking at some budget cuts and some new revenue. Cuts alone will not solve the problem. We’ve cut more than $12 billion over the past six years and the state is paying the price for those cuts. The chart below shows that about two-thirds of our state budget is protected from cuts, which narrows our options to other major services like higher education, corrections, and human services.

Talking Taxes in Washington

USA Today recently reported that Washington had “by far the most regressive tax system nationwide.” In the video below, the Committee Finance Chair, Rep. Reuven Carlyle, outlines Washington’s broken and regressive tax structure, and explains how  Washington’s high reliance on a sales tax has placed an unfair tax burden on its poorest citizens. Our system isn’t working, and it’s unfair to the middle class. According to the data in the USA Today story, the poorest 20 percent of Washington families pay nearly 17 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the wealthiest 1 percent in Washington pay just 2.4 percent — “one of the highest such ratios nationwide.” This disparity drives home the point that we need an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.

Welcome to the Capitol!

Over the past weeks, the Capitol has been buzzing with visitors. I welcomed groups from around the district for various lobby days. Student groups, environmental champions, reproductive rights advocates, public employees, and many more have filled my office in  recent days.

I was especially excited to meet with students from many of the district’s high schools. Below is a photo with CTSO students from Mount Vernon high school in the House gallery.

As bills continue to move through the process, I encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts and concerns. Feel free to email me (Kristine.lytton@leg.wa.gov), call my office (360.786.7800). I truly appreciate the input that I receive.

All the Best,