Tax loopholes: Did you know...

Washington State gives the oil industry about $3 million a year through a tax loophole based on how gasoline was transported back in the 1930’s. It’s completely outdated and even they have admitted they don’t want or need the exemption anymore.

Fifteen years ago, the Legislature tried to entice out-of-state prescription drug companies to build warehouses in Washington by giving them a tax break. The plan didn’t work out as originally intended. Out-of-state companies are getting the tax break even if they don’t have warehouses in Washington. In other words, we’re giving away $15 million in tax loopholes for no reason.

Washington State gives away $32 million a year to public utilities through a 1935 tax loophole. This exemption was created to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that has since been overturned.

When you travel to another state, you help support their schools and other needs when you buy goods and pay their sales tax. How much do out-of-state residents pay in sales tax when they buy items in Washington? ZERO. That tax loophole costs Washington taxpayers $32 million a year.

These are just a few examples of the 640 tax loopholes our state hands out to businesses each year. According to the Washington Budget & Policy Center, these tax loopholes cost Washington taxpayers over $10 BILLION per biennium – that’s about one-third of the total state budget.

Last week, the Senate unveiled a budget proposal that added 15 new tax loopholes to the books, which will cost taxpayers over $11 million. How many did they eliminate? ZERO.

Tax breaks themselves are not inherently bad things. Many serve the people well. But there are also several tax loopholes, like the 1939 fuel spillage loophole, that are outdated and unneeded. Because most do not have expiration dates, they’ll remain on the books unless the Legislature repeals them.

Budgeting is all about priorities. By preserving unneeded tax breaks, the Senate budget prioritizes corporate profits over kids and working families. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can do better.

House Democrats will unveil our budget proposal on Wednesday. In our proposal, you will see kids and working families come first.

Check out our website for a Top 10 list of reasons why the Senate budget is bad for kids, middle class families, and our future.



Read this story in Spanish.

Want to know what's in your couch cushions?

We're not talking about spare change, though.

Today from noon to 1:00 p.m. the Washington Toxics Coalition will be conducting free testing for flame retardant chemicals in foam products like couch cushions, strollers or car seats. Just bring them to Senate Hearing Room 1 during that time and let the toxics analyzer check them out.

Beginning at 1:30 p.m., the Senate Environment committee will hold a hearing on House Bill 1294 in Senate Hearing Room 4.  This bill, which passed the House two weeks ago, would ban the toxic flame retardant chlorinated Tris in home furniture and children's products.  The chemical is a known carcinogen and was removed from children's pajamas way back in the 1970's over health concerns. But it is still being used today in many children's products and upholstered furniture.

A couple of legislators decided to have their own couches tested recently, and the results were alarming.

House Bill 1294 has been nicknamed the Toxic-Free Kids and Families Act, because the goal is not only to remove these harmful chemicals from products and protect people's health, but to make sure that equally toxic chemicals are not being substituted in their place.

Read this story in Spanish.

It doesn't get any cuter than this in the legislature...

Once a year, normally in conjuction with Presidents' Day, the House celebrates Children's Day with a resolution on the House floor and speeches honoring children everywhere.

It is the only time during the legislative session that you'll see children on the House floor, sitting at (or on, or crawling under) legislators' desks.  Today's festivities also included a sing-along of three classic children's songs (Twinkle, Twinkle Litter Star, Pop Goes the Weasel, and She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain), led by Rep. Maureen Walsh and accompanied by HDC legislative assistant Marilyn Pedersen on fiddle.

So, here's your dose of cute for the week (or perhaps, for the session) - some photos from today's Children's Day celebration, and a video of Rep. Marcus Riccelli giving his floor speech honoring children, with his two-year-old son by his side.

For more Children's Day photos, check out our HDC Facebook page.

 

Read this story in Spanish.

Never say never

Rep. Dickerson with granddaughter
on Children's Day

Never call a Mary Lou Dickerson bill “dead” until the final gavel falls.  Such was the lesson taught, yet again, by the Friday afternoon House passage of the Toxic-Free Kids Act (House Bill 2821).

If the Senate follows suit, Washington could soon become the first state in the nation to ban children’s products made with a toxic flame-retardant known as “TRIS.”  With apologies to the cereal ads, “TRIS is not for kids.”

Concerned moms and dads joined experts ranging from nurses and doctors to firefighters in calling for the ban, because TRIS has been linked to cancer and other health problems—and the biggest risks are to the youngest kids. What is more, there are plenty of safe alternatives to TRIS.

Mary Lou and House Democrats are no strangers to leading the nation on children’s safety.  Our Children's Safe Products Act of 2008, was the first state law in the nation to ban lead, cadmium and nasty phthalates in toys and other children's products—but Congress soon followed our lead by passing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act to regulate lead and phthalates in toys.

Will the Senate join the House in passing the Toxic-Free Kids Act before the special session ends? Stay tuned... 

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Are our school children eating pink slime?

“Pink slime” is the nickname for waste meat – connective tissue and other beef trimmings – that is ground up, treated with ammonium hydroxide and put into hamburgers.

It’s also known, more euphemistically, as “lean finely textured beef.”

This is what it looks like:

This product has been going into American hamburgers, and schools, for years. Now many grocery stores and  restaurants are declaring that they aren’t using it.

Washington state school districts – and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Schools (OSPI) – are tackling this issue quickly and decisively.

They’re busy asking suppliers of school lunches about where they get their beef, and whether any of the beef going into our schools contains pink slime.

OSPI spokesman Nate Olson told the Associated Press that his office “is not aware” of any schools in the state using such meat, and that one of the state’s biggest providers, Kings Command, wrote to say it doesn’t use it, either.

The biggest district in the state, Seattle School District, also reported that it doesn’t use beef containing pink slime.

As this new story shows, local school districts are investigating their suppliers to find answers.
Some, like the La Connor School District, actually go so far as to own their own cows, making sure their students get fresh, local beef that the school knows is safe and healthy.

To read this post in Spanish, click here.

The state of children in Washington state

Coach Dave Quall – former chair of Education and longtime member of the House – always asked, “Is it good for the boys and girls?”

That was his test of whether a bill should pass.

The bigger question is, “How are the boys and girls doing?”

Children’s Alliance teamed up with the Washington State Budget and Policy Center to form KIDS COUNT and to take a look at how kids in our state.

Their new report, State of Washington’s Children, is a snapshot of data about kids, including information on education, poverty and hunger.

While our state has many advantages and strengths – including the nation’s top SAT scores – the report shows that we have work to do, especially in light of the global recession:

• One in five children do not graduate from high school

• More than 100,000 children still lack health insurance, despite a massive statewide effort to cover every child

• Since 2007, unemployment has doubled among working moms and dads

• 25 percent of children aren’t getting enough food

These problems are not unique to our state. But the children affected by these problems are unique to our state, our neighborhoods and our families.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.