The Speaker’s Scoop: The challenge of governing
It’s great to be in the majority, and be able to pass good policies that help people thrive and move Washington forward. Democrats in the state legislature have gotten to do a lot of that over the past few years. But when there’s a budget shortfall, like this year, it’s also the majority that decides what gets cut from the state budget. This is not simply about numbers on a spreadsheet; it’s about people and families that will be directly impacted.
The Speaker’s Scoop: A really hard, hard week: Policy Cutoff is here
In this week’s installment of The Speaker’s Scoop, Speaker Jinkins talks about two hard deadlines legislators are facing — policy cutoff and fiscal cutoff — and the impact they have on the fate of bills. She also talks about every lawmaker’s fear: the dead bill.
The Speaker’s Scoop: A $12 billion budget shortfall. Exactly how did we get here?
Is it a “spending problem?” This year, budget writers in Olympia are contending with a $12 billion shortfall in the state budget. Speaker Jinkins’ self-described “wonky take” on this question covers the unpredictability of revenue growth when balancing the state budget over four years, and how Washington’s regressive tax structure falls heaviest on working families and households with the lowest incomes. Listen here
The Speaker’s Scoop: The only budget proposal Gov. Inslee was required by law to release
Before he left office, Governor Inslee released two budget proposals. His “Book 2” proposal is the one the media has focused on. This budget proposed $12 billion in new revenue, and around $2 billion in cuts. But the only budget proposal a governor is actually required under state law to release is one with no new revenue. This is called a “Book 1” budget, and so far no one has really been talking about what Gov. Inslee’s “Book 1” budget looked like. Speaker Jinkins looks at some of the details. Listen here
The Speaker’s Scoop: Working with the new Senate Majority Leader
Washington Senate Democrats have a new Majority Leader: Sen. Jamie Pedersen. He and Speaker Jinkins have actually known each other for 30 years, going back to when they were both (in her words) “…young whippersnapper advocates.” In this episode, she talks about what it’s like to work with him as her leadership counterpart in the state Senate. Listen here