March 28, 2012
BUDGET TALKS DRAG ON
One of my favorite cartoon characters is Wylie Coyote. This poor coyote spends all his time and effort trying to find a way to catch the crafty and speedy roadrunner. Right now, many legislators feel like Wylie Coyote; they work to find a solution to the budget impasse only to see it escape just beyond our fingertips. “Beep! Beep!” and off it goes.
One thing about the special session; it is not costing a lot of extra money. Nearly all legislators have gone home to await the puff of white smoke from Olympia signaling that a budget agreement has been reached. Extra staff (session staff) are no longer on the payroll. The budget negotiators work on and on in an effort to reach accommodation.
It all seems so easy when one reads about it in the paper. The operating budget is over $30 billion and negotiators can’t agree on the last $200-300 million. It seems they are close with an option to change the way state and local sales tax payments flow to counties and cities. But every time we get close, the Senate Republicans and their three Democratic allies want something else; there is what seems to be a growing list of bills they insist on passing before they will agree on a supplemental budget. (We are working on a supplemental budget this year because we are in the second year of the biennium.)
But those senators want to reconfigure the state retirement system, even though actuaries say it is one of the most stable in the country. They want to completely change the way K-12 employees’ health care is funded, even though it will initially cost us more money. The tired and unproven idea of charter schools (which Washington voters have defeated three times) keeps popping up on their list. There are at least eight bills I have heard of that are on their “hostage” list.
It is time to get the supplemental budget wrapped up and sent to the Governor. Enough with the other bills; the next session is nine months away.
SOME FAST FACTS
Some of our legislative staff have been looking at how our state ranks with others. Here are a few rankings from various groups in the jobs and economic development categories.
Washington state ranks:
#2 Best states to make a living
#1 Exports per capita
#2 Internet and broadband usage
#2 Patents per 100,000 inhabitants
#2 Air quality index
#3 Venture capital per capita
#5 Scientists and engineers as percentage of labor force
#6 Employment in High-Tech Industry as percentage of total employment
#5 Installed wind power capacity
#8 Quality of life
#8 Highest average wages
#1 in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Job Concentration
#5 in Small Business Survival Index
#9 in Economic Output per Job
In spite of the Great Recession and over $10 billion we have been forced to cut from the state’s budget for education, social services, environmental, and other programs, the state manages to do outstanding things.
Thanks for reading, and I remain ever optimistic that I will be able to send a session wrap-up in the next few days.