Dear friends and neighbors,

As your State Representative, I will be one of 98 House members and 29 Senators who will be voting on our state budget. It won’t be final until both chambers and the governor agree on one budget. Washington does not do deficit spending, we can’t adjourn unless our budget is balanced, and we budget on a four year outlook. That means we do not assume that at the end of the two years everything will be better.

In our community, you tell me about your lives, your problems, your concerns about government, your fears, the neighbor you worry about and your hopes and dreams for your kids. You also tell me what you don’t like about the other Washington and that often turns into a long conversation.

But many of you also share your experiences with some of the programs and services—funded with state dollars, that your family relies on. Those of us who have been here for a while have seen evidence that making smart investments in the right programs, for example, those that help children, result in stronger communities, and save the state and society money in the long run.

AN ALL-CUTS BUDGET?

In simple terms, our outgoing governor proposed a no new taxes budget with cuts to match the revenue gap we face. Visit this new website to get a glimpse of what an all cuts budget would mean for Washingtonians.

In short, we’d be looking at a very bleak scenario that would hit our most vulnerable people the hardest, here are some examples:

• Major cuts to behavioral health services and corrections.
• Severe cuts to human services and early learning programs, including the elimination of some programs and major reductions in others.
• Significant reductions in services for seniors and people with developmental disabilities.
• Eliminating essential services like adult dental care, kidney dialysis, and family planning or abortion services for Medicaid recipients.
• Deep cuts to state colleges and universities, weakening our ability to train our workforce.

CONSIDERATIONS

You will be hearing lots of proposals and opinions on the budget in the weeks to come; there are many elements to those conversations as we look for solutions and answers to the questions people are asking.

But let’s look at the bigger picture and not forget that our state is economically healthy. In fact, we consistently rank among the top states in many categories, don’t take my word for it, check out this Washington by the Numbers page.

I’d like to share some of my own thoughts and considerations on the budget challenge:

• We have a big budget hole for many reasons this year, including the fact that we have a strong safety net that protects many Washingtonians.
• We have a very awkward and regressive tax system that limits our options.
• Some of the new programs we have invested in are necessary for the future, such as early childhood education, family leave, long term care, climate change and the green economy.
• Responding to wildfires, earthquakes, droughts and floods is essential, and all of it costs money.
• Reforming our criminal justice system, as well as addressing mental health and addiction treatments is important, these are necessary investments.
• Our state is still dealing with impacts from the pandemic: supply chain problems, increased costs, family income disruptions, childcare gaps, workforce, federal assistance for families and government, and more.

Our new governor held a press conference last Thursday (watch it here) to discuss his plans to produce a budget with cuts first and revenue discussions to come later.

We, in the House and Senate, are hearing from each other and the public about what is needed to address education, the environment, transportation, public safety, public health, drug addiction, mental health and more. As a member of the House Finance Committee, I am working with my colleagues to explore options. Nobody wants to raise taxes unless and until we see exactly what we need, and that will be determined by our next revenue forecast, which comes out in a few weeks. If after the forecast we’re still in a huge hole, I believe the only realistic way to get through this budget crisis is with a mix of cuts and new revenue. The cuts must be made carefully and with a scalpel to minimize the damage, and any new revenue must be sensible and prudent.

QUICK UPDATE ON MY BILLS

As you know, this past Friday was fiscal cutoff, so any of the bills that did not pass the fiscal committees are considered dead, however, since they will be reintroduced next session, we can continue working on them.

Most of my bills are now in the Rules Committee, where they will be considered for the next step, which is the House floor where we vote on bills and send them to the Senate.

HB 1043 Extending the commute trip reduction tax credit – (Passed Finance on Feb 26). I wrote about this bill here.

HB 1244 Training as an alternative to driver license suspension – (Passed Transportation on Feb 20, went through Rules and is on the floor calendar). I wrote about this bill here.

I discuss both of these bills in my latest video update:

HB 1044 County fees for administration of the Real Estate Excise Tax – (Passed Finance on Feb 26). I wrote about this bill here.

HB 1341 Medical cannabis authorization database – (Passed Consumer Protection & Business on Feb 5). I wrote about this bill here.

HB 1384 Providing a tax exemption for the first 20,000 gallons of wine and cider sold by a winery in Washington – (Passed Finance on Feb 25). We are losing more wineries than are starting up, which is bad news for the second top wine producing state in the nation. We need to recoup our losses to remain at the top. While this is a minor tax break, for small wineries it will be substantial.

HB 1841 Own Your Own Art Purchase Program – This program, to be administered by the Washington Arts Commission, would provide interest-free or low-interest loans between $1,000 to $12,000, to purchase art created by Washington state artists or Washington-based indigenous artists. This program is based on successful programs elsewhere and would be funded through non-government sources. The arts are important and they play crucial roles in our daily lives: they encourage discourse, preserve our cultural heritage, stimulate imagination, promote critical thinking, communication and innovation, and they are also drivers for our economy as they create jobs and attract tourism.

HB 1702 Authorizing counties to impose a public utility tax – (Passed Finance on Feb 26). My legislation gives counties another tool to make sure they have enough money to fund law enforcement so they are able to fight crime; as well as mental health and public health services so they can treat people who are sick or struggling with addictions. Because right now counties are barely funding those services by pulling from other sources that don’t have enough money. This measure is just leveling the playing field, cities can tax public utilities, this bill just gives counties the same ability.

My bill was featured in TVW’s Legislative Review last week, click here or on the image below to watch that segment:

TOWN HALLS & STAY IN TOUCH

Your 49th Legislative District delegation held a town hall the Saturday before session convened, and we will have another one after we adjourn. We will also hold a telephone town hall on the evening of March 27, keep an eye out for an invite with all the details soon. If you want to come to Olympia, or you’d like to meet via Zoom, please connect with my office, I prioritize meetings with constituents to welcome you to the People’s House. And don’t hesitate to call or send me an email with your feedback or concerns. Sincerely,