Dear Friends,
We left the last session with a big divide between the House and Senate budgets. I wanted to update you on where we are at in the special session.
Yesterday afternoon I was pleased to support the passage of legislation that will ensure children on Apple Health (Medicaid) have the same access to “Bright Futures” developmental and autism screenings as other kids.
Families on Apple Health already have a tougher time than most, and it doesn’t make things any easier when their children could be growing up with a developmental disability without treatment because no screening ever caught the issue. This is a basic guarantee we should make so that every child can get a fair start. I sponsored the House version of this bill, and it is rewarding to see the underlying legislation head to the Governor.
While we agree on many things, the differences in the House and Senate budget proposals remain extensive. This disagreement is not just about numbers–it’s about whether our state should work for everyone, or just the wealthy few.
I believe in building a strong foundation for our community by fully-funding education and investing in other core services like mental health, early learning, and food assistance. The House Democratic proposal would also help fix our state’s unfair tax system by making corporations and the very wealthy pay their fair share.
The Senate Republican proposal does not address our regressive and unfair tax system. Instead of closing corporate tax loopholes or asking the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share, they’re underfunding programs that ensure kids get a great start, like early learning, K-12 education, and state food assistance. They’re also ignoring the need to fund some aspects of mental health mandated by the state Supreme Court, underfunding our state parks system, and cutting funding to the state Health Care Exchange, raising health care costs for consumers.
I am frustrated by the current stalemate, but I was elected to stand up for our community’s values, like shared responsibility, economic security, and a better world for our children.
The first special session came to a close yesterday, but a new round of negotiations has started today. As we move forward, I will continue to stand up for shared prosperity and opportunity for all in Spokane and across the state.
As always, it is an honor to serve you.
Best Regards,
Representative Marcus Riccelli
3rd Legislative District – Spokane