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Back-to-School Update
August 24, 2017
Dear friends and neighbors,
It’s that time of year again when students and their families begin prepping for the upcoming school year. It’s hard to believe summer is coming to a close already.
Back-to-school can feel a lot like the turning of the New Year. I hope you share my optimism and hope about the educational possibilities that lie ahead.
With all that’s happening in our nation every day, it’s even more important than ever that young people learn about what constitutes scientific evidence, how to analyze assertions with critical thinking skills and have experiences understanding how people different from them are experiencing the world.
Whether you are just starting out, or about to graduate, I want to wish our students all the best as they begin their 2017-2018 academic year.
With that in mind, I’d like to address an important ‘back-to-school’ issue in this newsletter.
Tacoma School Funding
Last week the News Tribune printed a story I’m sure many of you read.
That story was about disagreements from various public sources over the amount of money certain school districts will receive.
The Tacoma Public Schools said in a recent statement, “Due to multiple funding formula changes, new mandates for how school districts can spend state monies and elimination of flexibility for spending local voter-approved levies, Tacoma will receive less money per student in education funding beginning in 2018. The effects of this lost funding will compound year after year.”
Tacoma is not the only district that has expressed concerns over the way the new funding formulas will affect their operations.
Over the next four years, Washington state will invest $7.3 billion in additional state dollars in public schools to fund the state’s program of basic education for 1.1 million children. More than half of the state’s operating budget is now dedicated to K-12 public schools. This is a historic increase in funding.
However, the taxes we adopted to fund education are complicated. There are certainly going to be challenging issues implementing such a big policy change in our state. I am working with members and staff to understand the impacts on Tacoma so I will be prepared to address them when we return to Olympia in January. I hope any problems are minor and can be worked out easily.
There will always be work to do when it comes to improving our public schools and it must be focused on addressing the needs of our kids first.
As a lawmaker and mother of a son attending our public schools, I know this issue affects all of us. When the House and Senate go back to work next session, I hope we can work together to find solutions.
Back-to-School history – Women’s Equality Day
97 years ago, on August 18th, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment to the constitution which guaranteed no person would be denied the right to vote on basis of sex.
Tennessee‘s vote gave the amendment the two-thirds majority of state ratification necessary for passage.
However, it wasn’t until August 26th when Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the certified record of the Tennessee vote that the amendment was officially made part of our Constitution.
In 1973, Congress approved a resolution stating August 26th would be designated as Women’s Equality Day. Congress stated that “the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation in commemoration of that day in 1920 on which the women of America were first guaranteed the right to vote.”
Every President since then (Nixon through Obama) has issued proclamations designating August 26th as Women’s Equality Day.
I hope you have a happy, active, and thoughtful Women’s Equality Day this year!
2017 session update
Dear neighbor,
Our 2017-19 state operating budget invests $43.49 billion in funding schools, higher education, public health, mental health care, children & family services, and many other programs Washingtonians expect and deserve.
Some would say we passed a Democratic budget with a Republican tax plan. My recent newsletter updated you on all of the services our new state operating budget provides. I thought you might be interested in more detail about how we’re raising the revenue to fully fund education and Washington’s other obligations.
Some have asked whether we look for efficiencies and consider eliminating programs that are no longer working as we develop the budget. We do both and my next e-newsletter will go into more detail about it.
Funding our public schools
To fully fund our public schools, Senate Republicans proposed a large statewide property tax hike. House Democrats preferred other revenue options that were more progressive and better for middle class families. In a divided government, compromise is necessary, so we negotiated a property tax increase of $0.87 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is much lower than the original $1.80 proposed.
The good news: this increase in the state property tax levy coincided with a change to local schools levies, resulting in future property tax reductions in many school districts including the Tacoma school district.
Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Schools.
Tax reform
While I’m pleased that we maintained our safety net and finally started fulfilling our moral and constitutional duty to educate Washington kids with this budget, we didn’t make much headway on making our tax structure fair. There is still far too much reliance on regressive taxes.
Below are some of the issues we did resolve this session.
Bottled water ($116.9 million)
Ending the bottled water sales tax exemption accomplishes three important goals. First, Washington state, especially Tacoma, has some of the cleanest, healthiest tap water in the world and moving away from bottled water moves us toward Washingtonians drinking some of the healthiest water there is. Second, we raise revenue for education to help meet our obligation to 1.1 million schoolchildren. Third, bottles flood our waterways and landfills and contribute to global climate change although Washington. This Legislature is committed to environmental policies that provide for clear air, clean water, and a better future for our children.
Marketplace Fairness ($1.036 billion)
The playing field is now level for businesses that do business in Washington. Out-of-state retailers will no longer duck collecting sales tax that is owed, an unfair advantage that hurt small businesses all across our state. Now, everyone’s obligation will be the same—without special advantages for online megastores when competing against brick and mortar stores.
Extending economic nexus for retailing Business & Operations tax ($23.7 million)
In order to tax a business transaction, there must be a “nexus” or linkage between the business and Washington. Nexus standards can put our Washington businesses at a competitive disadvantage compared to out-of-state retailers that sell to in-state customers without collecting sales tax or paying B&O. This establishes nexus for B&O tax purposes for retailers based on the “economic nexus” standard that currently applies to service businesses and wholesalers.
Ending a break for Big Oil ($48.9 million)
The extracted fuel exemption was never intended for oil refineries and it isn’t necessary for them to be successful. We removed the exemption, phased in over four years, and refineries will pay the brokered natural gas rate on the extracted fuel for the use of that fuel in the refining process.
What’s next
The only way to reduce the burden on low and middle-income families is to replace some of our regressive taxes with progressive taxes that target those who earn the most and pay the smallest percentage of their income on taxes. I think the capital gains tax is one of the approaches that could help transform our taxation system.
I’ll keep working on this issue during the interim and next session.
And now, the other Washington…
Over the last couple of days, we’ve seen some troubling reports from our nation’s capital, including threats to repeal the Affordable Care Act and prohibitions against transgender Washingtonians serving in the armed forces. Up to 15,000 transgendered soldiers already serve in our military.
It’s too soon to tell how these two issues will work their way out, but Washington state has had a commitment to providing ALL Washingtonians access to health care long before the Affordable Care Act was enacted. I will work to make sure this is maintained at the state and national level.
Likewise, Washington’s anti-discrimination laws have protected transgender people from this proposed form of blatant discrimination for more than a decade. I’ll do all I can to make sure Washington state’s values are upheld for all soldiers living and serving here and for every family who relies on the protections we’ve built into the laws of the great state of Washington.
Shutdown averted – here’s what’s in the new state budget
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
We are expecting to pass an agreed upon operating budget late tonight. It makes a historic investment in our K-12 system, keeps us from laying-off over 32,000 State employees and assures that Washingtonians continue to get the services they expect and deserve.
Regrettably, Senate Republicans have now refused to negotiate the capital budget, so there is still some work to do. Failure to act on the capital budget will prevent the State from building the new schools for classrooms funded in the operating budget and will result in over 2000 lay-offs. It will not result in a government shutdown but it has a severe negative impact.
2017 Budget Victories
When different parties both hold power, compromise is absolutely necessary.
We’re happy to report that we have a budget that makes extraordinary investments in several key sectors, while avoiding some of the more detrimental ideas the Senate Republicans wanted included.
Here is a list of some of the big victories in the budget.
Keeping our promise to 1.1 million school kids – Adds $7.3 billion into public schools, making key investments in teacher salaries, professional development, para-educators, class size reduction, learning assistance, special education, highly capable, transitional bilingual instruction, and low performing schools.
Investments in our earliest learners – Expands Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program slots by 1,800.
Making college more affordable – Additional investments are made to help 875 more students who qualify for the State Need Grant to get the financial aid they need to reach their dreams of a college education.
Striving for a healthier Washington – Invests an additional $12 million in public health, and secures over $1.5 billion in federal Medicaid waiver dollars, which will be used to fight the opioid crisis, integrate physical and behavioral health, reduce homeless rates, and increase support for in-home family caregivers.
Providing behavioral health care and treatment to those in need – Funding is provided for new beds and discharge placements, housing & supportive services, inpatient and outpatient psychiatric rate increases, and state hospital funding.
Helping families stay in their homes – Increase in funding for assistance programs, including youth homelessness and permanent supportive housing.
Providing high-quality care to our aging population and people with disabilities – Provider rate increases, nursing home direct payments, respite care, and employment services for transitioning students.
Supporting families in need – $200 million in additional Temporary Aid to Needy Families grants, WorkFirst, and Aged, Blind & Disable assistance. A 6% rate increase for Working Connections Child Care.
Doing what’s best for kids – Fully funding the new department of Children, Youth, and Family Services.
Keeping our communities safe – Funds additional Basic Law Enforcement Academy Classes per year and civil legal aid.
Fully funds the Clean Air rule.
Recruiting and retaining a high-quality workforce – As one of the largest employers in the state, we must be in a position to compete for high-quality workforce. Our budget fully funds the collective bargaining agreements, with non-represented parity, and does not reduce employee health benefits.
Senate Republicans agreed to raise taxes by $5.3 billion– a move they’ve staunchly resisted for a generation.
Don’t forget what the GOP proposed
While there were many Democratic priorities that did not end up in the final product, we think it is important to remember what the Senate Republicans budget proposal was. We beat back some very regressive ideas in our negotiation.
The Senate Republican Budget proposal:
· Cut existing health benefits for state employees
· Rejected over $1.5 billion in federal Medicaid funding – a rejection that would worsen the opioid crisis, delay mental and physical health integration, and increase homeless rates
· Rejected collective bargaining agreements, cutting pay for critical staff and jeopardizing employee and patient safety at state hospitals
· Failed to fund supplemental costs for state hospitals – potentially leading to the loss of federal accreditation and funding
· Inadequately funded salary increases and health care coverage to long term care providers – jeopardizing care to elderly and disabled Washingtonians
· Imposed stricter TANF eligibility requirements, deeply cut state food assistance and eliminated the Housing and Essential Needs program
· Restricted access to preschool slots for kids from low-income families
This list goes on.
The point is, democratic values prevailed and while we were not able to fully fund all the programs that Washingtonians expect and deserve, we were able to eliminate deep cuts to many, many important programs. This is a big win!
Local projects at risk without capital budget agreement
While most of the press attention has been on passing an operating budget to avoid a government shutdown, we now face another hurdle with Senate Republicans.
Along with an operating budget, the Legislature passes a Capital Budget that funds local construction projects, civic works, and improvements to community buildings and resources. This year, the House proposed a new Capital Budget totaling $4.15 billion for new schools, investments in clean drinking water, environmental programs like salmon recovery, improved mental health facilities, and housing programs.
Here are some of the highlights of the capital budget that passed the House in the regular session, that the Senate Republicans are now refusing to negotiate on:
K-12 School Construction:
- Over $1 billion for the School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP). (This includes an increase in student space allocation for K-6 schools to help reduce class sizes)
- $30 million for rural and distressed schools
- $15 million for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) grants
Other Education Construction:
- $800 million for higher education construction projects, of which $433 million is for community and technical college projects, including $3.1 million for the new Bates Technical College Medical Mile Health Science Center. This new building will replace the West Annex building at the downtown Tacoma campus, providing space for Allied Health and STEM programs.
- $15.5 million for early learning facilities
Mental Health Construction:
- $76 million for Community Behavioral Health Capacity in communities across the state, including $3 million for the Multi-Care Franciscan joint venture psychiatric hospital to be built in Tacoma
- $58 million for construction, renovation, and upgrades at state facilities (Western and Eastern State Hospitals)
- $24 million for supportive housing (a combination of affordable housing and support services to help families and individuals in recovery or transitioning from homelessness, involuntary mental health commitment, and other crises)
Housing and Other Investments:
- $105 million for the Housing Trust Fund (funds construction and preservation of affordable housing statewide)
- $65 million for clean energy, solar, and energy efficiency projects
- $54 million for maintenance and preservation projects in our state parks (an increase of $2.5 million over last biennium)
- $18 million for forest health/wildfire prevention
In addition to the above statewide investments, the following construction/renovation/remediation projects in our district received capital budget allocations:
- $2.5 million for the Tacoma Community House
- $2.5 million for the Eastside Community Center
- $1.2 million for the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound
- $1.0 million for the Broadway Center
- $1.0 million for the Intrepid Spirit Center
- $1.0 million for the Tacoma Art Museum
- $1.0 million for soil remediation at the UW Tacoma Campus
- $330,000 for the Peace Community Center
- Nearly $150,000 to expand SeaMar dental clinic capacity, which will help low-income and Medicaid-eligible people access much-needed dental health care
To find a more detailed explanation of each project, visit this website.
This delay is unnecessary, unwarranted, and will negatively impact our economy at the local and state level.
We will continue to push Senate Republicans to come to the table and negotiate a fair and robust capital budget that will build a better Washington for generations to come.
Please don’t hesitate to contact our offices with any concerns or perspectives you have. We weigh your input heavily as we navigate these difficult issues.
Your voices in Olympia,
Laurie & Jake