Dear Friends:
I have just completed my freshman term representing you, and counting the one day special session on April 11, I have sat through six sessions. I am delighted to be back home and look forward to spending the summer with my family, friends, neighbors and community.
The two 2012 special sessions were dominated by the supplemental operating budget. By the end of the regular session, the House and Senate were unable to agree upon a supplemental operating budget, resulting in Governor calling us back to work the following Monday. The majority of legislators, including myself, did not return to the Capital until we were close to an agreement.
The legislature passed a budget in the wee hours of Wednesday, April 11 and now awaits the Governor’s signature. I am pleased to report that both the operating budget and the capital budget/Jobs Now Act is balanced, responsible, and sustainable. Thanks to the many hundreds of you who either e-mailed or called my office, there are no cuts to K-12 and higher education. The budget also reflects the feedback from you requesting that the legislature protect our vulnerable citizens by maintaining funding for important safety net programs, including the Basic Health Plan, Disability Lifeline, and family planning grants.
The capital budget/Jobs Now Act fosters prosperity and invests in our future. The Jobs Now Act is anticipated to generate over 22,000 jobs statewide, funding construction investments that are essential for the long-term prosperity of our communities and our state.
Last November when the Governor called us into a special session, we began work on a supplemental budget to close an early $2 billion hole. How did we solve it?
In December 2011 we started with a “down payment” that addressed $480 million of the problem that included administrative cuts across broad areas of the budget.
In early February, we received favorable economic news:
- In the current biennium, revenues are expected to grow by about $87 million.
- Due in very large part to tighter eligibility requirements, the demand for state services dropped by around $340 million.
That left us with a shortfall of around $1.2 billion to fill in the final negotiated budget. We did that with a combination of things:
- $340.3 million in maintenance level changes
- $295.4 million in policy changes
- $238 million from the Local Sales Tax Working Capital Reserve
- $177.3 million in additional revenues
- $120 million in reversions
- $28.4 million in fund transfers
There are individuals who believe that there have been no cuts in the state operating budget in the past four years – that the “cuts” have really only been a decrease in the increase that would have otherwise been made. As a gentle reminder, the voter-approved obligations to increase spending for education (Initiatives 728 and 732) have not been funded. We count these as “cuts” since they are expenditures we ordinarily would have made.
State spending is actually lower than it was a few years ago, both in real dollars and in per-capita spending. In fact, today the per-person spending in Washington, adjusted for inflation, is back down to 1985 levels.
Below is a chart of individual budget items that many of you contacted me. I have included the amounts as recommended by the Governor Budget (column 2), the House Budget (column 3), the Senate Budget (column 4) and the Final Budget.
|
Budget Item |
Governor Budget |
House Budget |
Senate Budget |
Final Budget |
| Adult Day Health |
|
(1,247) |
0 |
0 |
| Basic Health Plan |
(44,484) |
0 |
(5,000) |
0 |
| Behavioral Rehabilitative Services program |
(12,000) |
(6,721) |
(6,721) |
(6,721) |
| Boater Fees / RRA |
0 |
0 |
(4,100) |
(3,300) |
| Breast cancer screening |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| CASA |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Chemical dependency services |
(24,200) |
(7,300) |
(10,058) |
(2,306) |
| Child Advocacy Centers |
(6,938) |
(2,194) |
(809) |
0 |
| Children’s Health Program |
0 |
1,000 |
0 |
500 |
| Critical care access hospitals |
(27,200) |
(13,536) |
0 |
0 |
| Dental care for pregnant women |
(8,600) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) hatcheries and fishing access sites |
(1,500) |
(296) |
(3,087) |
(3,000) |
| Developmental Disabilities supported living |
(11,600) |
(7,375) |
0 |
0 |
| Disability Lifeline |
(89,600) |
0 |
(40,597) |
0 |
| Drug Courts |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Early Learning |
(4,350) |
(3,313) |
(4,618) |
(4,218) |
| Family planning |
(1,800) |
0 |
(6,000) |
0 |
| Farmers market nutrition program |
(1,500) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Heart disease prevention services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Higher education |
(160,600) |
(59,064) |
(30,404) |
0 |
| Home Care Services – Reduce Eligibility |
(8,268) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) |
(45,678) |
0 |
(52,958) |
(5,000) |
| Housing Trust Fund | ||||
| K-12 public education |
(318,300) |
(96,596) |
(43,878) |
12,037 |
| LEP Pathways/refugee services |
(1,700) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Long-term Care Agency Rates |
(7,306) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Malpractice insurance for retired volunteers |
(739) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Medical interpreters |
(5,400) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Neurodevelopmental Centers |
(964) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Reach out and Read |
(300) |
0 |
(300) |
(300) |
| Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group (RFEG) |
0 |
0 |
(1,500) |
0 |
| Senior Citizens Services Act |
(1,565) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| State Energy Policy Office |
(112) |
(262) |
(1,118) |
(112) |
| State Library |
0 |
0 |
(5,000) |
(5,000) |
| TANF Program Reductions |
(24,704) |
0 |
(24,704) |
1,567 |
| Tobacco prevention |
1,700 |
1,700 |
1,700 |
1,700 |
| Weatherization programs (Dept. of Commerce) |
(3,348)* |
0 |
(3,348)* |
0 |
| Working Connections Child Care |
(50,000) |
0 |
(50,000) |
15,757 |
| Youth Suicide Prevention Program | (624) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Here’s a brief summary of my work during the 2012 regular Legislative Session and the Special Sessions:
A. House Committee Assignments
Transportation
Community Development & Housing
Business & Financial Services
Rules
B. Other Committee Assignments
Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Trade Policy
Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation
C. House Democratic Caucus Assistant Whip
D. Bills Introduced:
HB 1191 Changing the expiration dates of the mortgage lending fraud prosecution account and its revenue source.
SHB 1217 Authorizing local authorities to establish maximum speed limits on certain non-arterial highways.
HB 1407 Allowing the negotiated sale and conveyance of all or part of a water system by a municipal corporation to first class and code cities.
HB 1916 Concerning business services delivered by associate development organizations.
HB 1917 Directs the department of transportation to undertake a corridor study to address the needs on the state route number 523 corridor.
HB 1937 Authorizing local improvement district funding to benefit innovation partnership zones for the purposes of economic development.
SHB 2188 Regulating air rescue or evacuation services.
HB 2225 Designating July 25th as patient safety day.
HB 2242 Requiring the department of licensing to adopt rules regarding online learning for training in cosmetology, manicuring, barbering, esthetics, and instruction.
HB 2445 Regulating mileage-based insurance.
HB 2662 Authorizing community economic revitalization board funding to benefit innovation partnership zones.
HB 2663 Authorizing use of sales and use tax proceeds for certain public facilities in innovation partnership zones for economic development purposes.
HB 2725 Concerning the agency council on coordinated transportation.
- My voting record
411 votes cast out of 415 total votes taken on the House floor.
All in all, I believe we made responsible, thoughtful and sustainable decisions given our revenue realities. These are the sites for a review the 2012 Supplemental Operating Budget (3ESHB 2127):
- Complete Budget As Passed by the House: 3ESHB 2127
- Summary As Passed by the House: Summary
- Agency Detail As Passed by the House: Agency Detail
I would like to thank each and every one for taking the time to reach out to me, either through e-mail or telephone calls. We may not have agreed on all the issues during my first two years of serving you. However, your concerns and compassion for your fellow citizens have provided me much guidance for each and every vote I made on your behalf. It is indeed a privilege to be the representative for the 32nd District.
Best wishes to all,