Unless the Senate votes, $4.17 billion in construction projects won’t happen
The House of Representatives passed a state capital budget on a 92-1 vote. But unless the Republican-controlled Senate acts, Washington State won’t have a construction budget this year.
That state construction budget (House Bill 1075) funds $4.17 billion in construction projects around the state. Those projects are vital to our schools, universities, parks, environment and economy.
Here’s what is at stake:
- 75,000 jobs in construction, engineering and natural resources.
- A record $1 billion to build new public schools, which would help satisfy the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision to fully fund our schools—you can’t hire new teachers without building new classrooms for our state’s 1.1 million school kids.
- $800 million in projects at our colleges and universities.
- Local construction projects in every corner of the state.
- Affordable housing funding when the housing crisis is reaching its peak.
- Projects to bring safe, clean water to communities throughout Washington.
Local projects at risk
Here are some of the local highlights of the capital budget that passed the House on June 30th:
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- $24.0 million for ASARCO Cleanup of the Tacoma Smelter Plume.
- $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.
- 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.
- Housing Trust Fund (funds construction and preservation of affordable housing statewide) including $3 million for the Tacoma Housing Authority Arlington Drive Youth Campus.
- $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.
- $1.2 million for preservation at the Washington State Historical Society.
- $1.0 million for the Broadway 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.
To see a map and description of local projects, click here: fiscal.wa.gov/CapitalMaps.aspx and choose your county or legislative district.
That list is only the beginning. It doesn’t show school projects, for example, because those are funded in coordination with school districts.
What’s next?
Lawmakers are now in triple-overtime, the third special session. The House of Representatives has worked in an open, bipartisan fashion to write and pass a capital budget that puts a history making amount of funding into building schools.
Failing to pass a construction budget at all would make history of a different sort. Unlike other states, Washington has always managed to pass all three budgets: operating, capital and transportation.
We’ve passed the operating and transportation budgets. All that’s left to finish our job is for the Senate to vote on the capital budget.
And time is slipping away. This is the middle of the construction season, and we needed to be building classrooms two months ago to make sure all of our kids had safe, warm classrooms to learn in when school starts up again this September.
If you care about this issue, please call the Legislative Hotline (800-562-6000) and ask your senator to vote for a capital budget that builds a better Washington for our kids.
A no-cost learning opportunity this weekend
Harvest Pierce County: Edible Gardens Workshop Series
July 15, 10 a.m. to noon, Metro Parks Tacoma | 4702 S 19th St
Perennial Edible Gardens: Grow a garden that returns year after year. Learn strategies for self-seeding plants and polycultures (variety). https://www.co.pierce.wa.us/4703/Edible-Gardens-Registration-Form
What would a state government shutdown mean?
Dear friends and neighbors,
As most of you know, the Legislature is in the middle of a second special session to pass a new two-year budget for our state.
Because control of the Legislature is divided (Republicans hold the Senate, Democrats hold the House), negotiation and compromise are necessary to come up with a budget that can pass both chambers.
Unfortunately, time is running out. The current fiscal period ends on June 30th, and if a budget agreement isn’t reached by then, state government will shut down. That’s because by law, the state can’t spend money without a budget in place.
A shutdown – even for a few days – would have very real, very harmful consequences for families, communities, and our economy. Nearly every state service would be impacted in some way.
When I’m not working as a legislator, my job is in the public health sector. For the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, a shutdown would be devastating. It would affect critical front-line staff like public health nurses.
Click the video below for specific examples of cuts.
Even if we avoid taking the state off this cliff – and I remain hopeful we can avoid it – a lot of agencies, vendors, and employees (and their families) are experiencing stress and uncertainty right now. The ripple effects of this uncertainty are harmful to our state.
The only way a budget passes is if everybody – Democrats and Republicans – shows up at the negotiating table, willing to work. We’ve had two months since the end of the regular session, and although the House Democratic negotiating team has been in Olympia every day and asked the Senate Republicans to sit down, dig in, and negotiate the full budget multiple times, the request has not yet been accepted.
To be clear, I don’t expect either the current House or Senate versions of the budget will pass. I do expect that we will sit down at the negotiating table, COMPROMISE, and come to agreement on a budget that provides Washingtonians the services we expect and deserve. And while compromise is necessary, I’m also committed to work 24/7 to ensure the budget represents our state’s values. This means fully funding our K-12 schools without harming the most vulnerable in our communities.
I still believe we can get this done. But the clock is ticking.
If you have concerns or questions about the state budget, or a potential government shutdown, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We’re all in this together.
Sincerely,
Special session begins
Special Session Update
On Sunday, April 23rd, the Legislature adjourned without passing a new two-year budget for our state. The governor issued notice of a 30-day special session the next day. This means we are now going into overtime in order to complete our work.
Negotiating a budget for the entire state is complicated. It involves both parties and both chambers of the Legislature, as well as the governor. Everyone must come to the table to hash out their differences and reach a compromise. That’s why I’m disappointed that Senate Republicans have not made a good faith effort to begin negotiating.
House Democrats are focused on the state’s paramount duty: passing a budget that fully funds our public schools. And we want to do this in a way that upholds our values: putting families first and funding the critical human services that protect and care for our most vulnerable Washingtonians, like mental health services, public health, and housing programs.
Both the House and Senate agree more revenue is needed in order to fulfill our constitutional duty to fund schools without cutting the critical services mentioned above. But there is disagreement on where this revenue should come from. House Democrats don’t think working families, seniors, and our most vulnerable should have to shoulder the burden of the Senate Republicans’ proposed $5.5 billion property tax hike and massive cuts to state services.
Instead, we’ve proposed reforms to make our state’s regressive tax system more fair. This includes a capital gains tax proposal (see below) that I’ve sponsored in previous years. I’m pleased this option continues to be an important part of the revenue conversation.
So here’s where things currently stand: Senate Republicans have publicly and repeatedly said they won’t negotiate with us. Until they agree to come to the table and work in good faith, the clock will continue ticking on this special session without a final budget.
House Democrats are ready to get the job done for the 1.1 million kids in our public schools. I’m hopeful Senate Republicans will join us at the table soon.
In the meantime, the Senate will hold a public hearing tomorrow, April 26th, at 3:00 p.m. on a bill (SB 5929) identical to the House Democrats’ revenue proposal (HB 2186). While their intentions for introducing the bill may not be as positive as ours, it’s important to make your voices heard. I urge you to attend the hearing f you can make it.
Sincerely,
How would a capital gains tax affect you? Chances are, it won’t.
In Washington state, the poorest among us to pay the highest percentage of income into funding our state. It’s time we ask the wealthiest individuals, who have been enjoying record Wall Street profits, to pay their fair share.
That’s why House Democrats are proposing we tax corporate profits, not paychecks. We can do that by ending tax breaks and unfair advantages that powerful interests have built into our system.
Our state is one of the few that doesn’t tax capital gains, which are corporate stocks, bonds, investment property, and other high-end financial assets.
A capital gains tax would impact only 48,000, or 1.5%, of tax payers in the entire state. Our proposal exempts exempts the sale of single-family homes, retirement accounts, and the sale of livestock, timber, and agricultural lands.
It cleans up our regressive tax code without hurting middle class families.
This will help us build a Washington that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.
A capital gains tax is part of the House Democrats’ revenue package. Other parts of the package include small business tax relief, closing costly tax breaks, and reforming the real estate excise tax to help working families build wealth through homeownership.
Listening to You
Hello friends and neighbors,
Last week was House of Origin Cutoff. In order for a bill to survive this deadline, it must pass out of the chamber in which it was introduced (House or Senate). I’m pleased many bills promoting greater opportunity, stronger communities, and a better future for all Washingtonians passed the House and are now under consideration in the Senate.
With some exceptions – primarily, bills that are necessary to implement the budget – the House now turns its attention to legislation passed by our Senate colleagues. You can sign up for email updates from legislative committees, as well as look up specific legislation. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact my office.
Sincerely,
Town Hall Meeting Debrief
Last Saturday, over 300 residents of the 27th Legislative District attended a legislative town hall meeting with Sen. Jeannie Darneille, Rep. Jake Fey and me. More than half of those who showed up were attending this event for the first time. Click here to see the slides we presented on the state budget. Our primary objective, however, was listening to your questions and concerns. Here are some of the top issues we discussed:
Education – Washington’s constitution mandates the state provide public education for all kids in our state. While the legislature has added nearly $5 billion in new funding to our K-12 system over the last six years, the final piece is teacher compensation. Teachers from our district expressed concern over low salaries, underfunded cost-of-living increases, and inadequate support for new teachers, as well as class size and limited funding for things like more counselors and educational support for at-risk students. Questions were also raised around changed in education policy at the federal level. My seatmates and I are committed to ensuring all students receive a quality education in a welcoming environment.
Mental Health – As a public health professional, I understand the importance of access to mental health services. Too many Washingtonians with mental illness don’t get adequate treatment. Statistics show these individuals often end up in a cycle of homelessness, substance abuse, or even in our criminal justice system. It was encouraging to know our community understands the urgent need to address this issue.
Several bi-partisan bills have passed that help families get their loved ones the care they need, give law enforcement the tools they need to effectively deal with people experiencing serious mental health issues, and integrate our mental health and chemical dependency systems.
There is still more work to be done. Most notably, we need to invest more in community-based treatment. Those who get services in their own communities and stay connected to family and other supports experience the best treatment outcomes. Adequately funding these services is important for our entire state.
Regressive Tax Structure – Our presentation on the legislative budget sparked a great conversation regarding our state’s regressive tax structure. The term “regressive” means that poor and working families pay a higher share of their income in taxes than do the wealthiest families. People shared their frustrations on the unfairness of this system.
Those in attendance expressed support for progressive tax measures like a capital gains tax and closing certain tax loopholes. It shouldn’t be the case that those buying private jets in our state get a tax break for that, while seniors on fixed incomes and working families struggle to make ends meet.
Getting involved – The last question was from a boy named Aidan. He asked how young people could get involved in government. My answer to him, and to all of you, is to find the thing you love, and fight for it. Now, more than ever, we need young people involved in government to advocate for progressive policies that move our state forward.
Major bills bookend first half of legislative session
The first bill that passed the House this session was the Levy Cliff bill, which saves school districts from being forced to make drastic cuts next year, including issuing pink slips to teachers.The Tacoma School District was going to lose $2.6 million if the Senate didn’t also pass this bill. Fortunately, the Senate passed its own version of it – in fact, it was the final bill voted out of that chamber before cutoff. The House agreed to their bill, and it has since been signed by the governor, to the great relief of school districts across our state.
The final bill voted out of the House before cutoff was the Equal Pay Opportunity Act. Many women are taking home smaller paychecks than their male co-workers who do the same job. But they don’t even know it because their employers actively discourage—or outright ban—workers from discussing wages among themselves. Keeping women in the dark about pay differences limits their ability to negotiate for higher pay. This bill holds employers accountable and makes it harder to discriminate against women. It was an honor to speak in favor of this bill on the House floor – in fact, I ended up being the last speaker of the last bill before cutoff. Click on the image of the video above to watch my floor speech.
From the Levy Cliff bill at the beginning to the Equal Pay Opportunity Act at the end, the first half of the 2017 session was bookended by two major pieces of legislation supporting greater opportunity in our state.