Town Hall

Thank you to the 200+ folks that turned out to our Town Hall events last weekend. We held two meetings: one at Shadle Park High School, and one at the Emmanuel Family Life Center.

On Saturday, we heard from community members about their concerns, and first and foremost was a request to support the continuum of education programs–from early learning to higher education–that invest in Washington’s students. Constituents also brought up many other issues, such as affordable housing, racial harassment in schools, and jobs for struggling households.

I really appreciate everyone who took time out of their Saturday to check in and make this day a success.

Legislative Update

Last Wednesday marked the “House of Origin” cutoff deadline in the legislative calendar. This means Wednesday was the last day for bills starting in the House to pass to the Senate, and vice versa. After days and long nights taking votes on the floor, we are back in committee meetings–this time for hearings on bills from the Senate.

Fortunately, most of the bills I sponsored passed out of the House before the cut-off:

• House Bill 1733, which increases transparency in Capital and Transportation investments;
• House Bill 1331, which would allow students to have greater oversight of tuition-setting policies at 4-year universities;
• House Bill 1645, which allows the state’s Higher Education Facilities Authority to carry out business more efficiently;
• House Bill 1654, which gives greater flexibility to Regional Fire Districts;
• House Bill 1534, which would establish a more sustainable funding mechanism for a program to assist dentists struggling with substance abuse; and
• House Bill 1471, which would streamline state and federal reporting standards for hospital infections.

 

The Revenue Forecast

So far, most of the activity in the legislature has centered on policy bills. But the everyday lives of people in our community are most significantly impacted by the priorities and values reflected in the budget.

The non-partisan Economic & Revenue Forecast Council released its latest update today. Washington state is required by law to maintain a balanced budget every year, so everything revolves around this estimate. You can see the official forecast here.

The Forecast Council anticipates that the state will bring in slightly more revenue than expected between now and the end of the next biennium. After a number of tough budget years and roughly $4.5 billion in spending cuts, our revenues have only just returned to their 2008 level.  But now, five years later, we have more kids enrolled in our school system and more families that have fallen back on social services in a tough time. Also, the state needs to meet new requirements for to provide additional funding for k-12 education.

This means that despite the optimistic news in the Forecast, we will still see a relative shortfall of $2.6 billion as the state attempts to fulfill its commitment to education and keep up with increased demand for services.

This shortfall will need to be resolved through some combination of new revenue or cuts to public investments. I support closing corporate tax loopholes, because I believe everyone should pay their fair share for the core services that keep our community strong.

Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as the House and Senate proposals are released. I am committed to crafting a budget that reflects our values, and I hope you’ll let me know what you think.

Best Regards,

Rep. Marcus Riccelli