Shhh! It's an election year - Part II

Your House Democratic Caucus bloggers will be signing off for the next few months due to election year restrictions and whatnot.

We like people to know that official legislative activities are still going on during the interim, so though it's a bummer we can't tell you about them ourselves, here are a few non-partisan resources you can check out occasionally to stay on top of things:

• Calendars of legislative meetings here and here
• TVW's Capitol Record blog
• Daily roundup of news releases from state agencies
  

We'll be back post-elections. Have a great

• summer,
• back-to-school,
• Labor Day,
• Veterans Day, and
  
• Thanksgiving!
  

Web winners!

Many legislatures have good web sites to help people connect with lawmakers and vice versa, but only Washington state can boast that we have the best state legislative web site in the nation.

The National Conference of State Legislatures has just announced that Washington is the 2010 winner of the coveted Online Democracy Award, which is presented annually to the legislature, legislative chamber or caucus whose website stands above all others “for making democracy user-friendly."

We don’t want to be accused of bragging about this latest coup, so we’ll let the national experts do it for us. Here is what the NCSL says about why Washington has the best state legislative web site of them all:

“The Washington Legislature’s website won for providing extensive information that is simple to find and understand, for its easy and accurate search function, downloadable web services, and for student pages geared to different grade levels.

Some of the other notable winning features of the website include:

• Detailed explanations on web pages about available functions and features.
• Voluminous reports and data.
• Print and Spanish versions of web pages.
• Site accessibility and prominent information related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

Deputy Chief Clerk Bernard Dean spoke for the entire House when he responded to Washington’s triumph by saying: “Earlier, we received accolades from Congress.org for having one of the best legislative websites in the country, but this award is even more gratifying since it comes from our peers in other states.”

Washington's race to the top is not really over

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the semi-finalists in President Obama's Race to the Top competitive grant program.

Of the 35 states competing for grant money, Washington wasn't one selected to continue to the final round. But that doesn't mean legislators are finished working on the reforms already set in motion before the Race was even announced.

A committed, bi-partisan group of legislators worked hard the past two legislative sessions to pass the most comprehensive changes to our education system in more than 30 years, and the group tasked with following through on those changes will continue to do so, with or without Race funding.

It's worth noting that despite Washington's actions on many of the selection criteria (including adopting common standards and turning around low-performing schools), a significant number of points were awarded to states who have or are willing to launch charter schools. Washington voters have repeatedly rejected this approach, though our K-12 system currently operates numerous innovative schools such as Aviation High School in Des Moines, Tacoma School of the Arts, and more than a dozen skills centers.

You can read the joint statement from Governor Gregoire and Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn, and see coverage of the announcement here and here.

Two-thirds of states anticipate double-digit budget holes in 2012

Governor Gregoire's calls for ideas to transform Washington's budget have so far brought in more than 1600 comments and ideas.

These efforts are part of a strategy for dealing with the fallout of the national recession - fallout that left us with a $12 billion hole in the last budget cycle and that forecasters predict will keep us another $3 billion behind when legislators reconvene in January to craft the 2011-13 budget.

Well, as is said and as we've pointed out before, misery loves company. As reported by Stateline, The National Conference of State Legislatures just released a state budget update saying:

Nearly half of states reported fiscal 2011 gaps at 10 percent or more of their general fund budgets. The states with the largest gaps were Nevada (45 percent), New Jersey (28 percent), Arizona (27 percent), Maine (26 percent) and North Carolina (25 percent). Two-thirds of states already forecast another round of double-digit budget gaps for fiscal 2012.

The Stateline article also points out that the two views in Congress about extending the FMAP money so many states are waiting on. It's worth a quick read.

Hundreds show up to talk about state budget

Last night was the first of four public budget hearings hosted by Governor Chris Gregoire.

More than 450 people crowded the room UW-Tacoma to hear presentations from the Governor's budget guy, Marty Brown, the Governor herself, and staff from the Office of Financial Management.

Attendees were given a 10-page overview describing our budget situation and the six "values" driving budget decisions: student achievement, protect health and vulnerable people, economic development, effective government, public safety, and natural resources.

About 40 people were able to testify of the 140 who had signed up. Many of the comments were pleas to continue funding for various programs, though some people offered up ideas on how to address the budget shortfall. Suggestions included:

• Take away the $5 million tax exemption for the TransAlta coal plant and make more progress on climate change
• Close down state institutions for people with developmental disabilities and put resources in community
• Set up a state bank like in North Dakota
• Re-negotiate state employee collective bargaining contract and cut salaries
• Set up waiver programs and low-interest repayment plans for businesses that can’t afford to pay state taxes
  

The Governor has also set up a website where the public can post comments. It went up yesterday, and as this blog post is being written, there are nearly 400 suggestions. You can take a look and vote to agree or disagree or comment on the ideas posted.

You can also take a look at this morning’s News Tribune story about last night’s hearing .

Three public meetings remain:

• Tomorrow, July 21 at 7 p.m. – Everett (Everett Community College, Parks Building, Multi Purpose Room, 2000 Tower Street)
• Tuesday, July 27 at 7 p.m. —Vancouver (WSU-Vancouver, Administration Building Room 110, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue)
• Thursday, July 29 with time TBA—Spokane (Spokane City Hall, City Council Chambers, 808 W. Spokane Falls Boulevard)
  

Will there be a fish kill in Lower Hood Canal this year?

Recent media reports, like this one in the Kitsap Sun, describe oxygen depletion in Hood Canal. Researchers are concerned that if the oxygen deficit increases, fish kills may occur within “dead zones.”

This week, members of the House Ecology & Parks Committee got an update on current conditions in Hood Canal, and heard about ongoing research to track “dead zones” and determine what effect humans (mainly via residential on-site septic systems) have on lower oxygen levels in the water. Dr. Jan Newton, from the University of Washington, gave a presentation showing annual variations in oxygen levels at various spots along Hood Canal. Dr. Newton heads the Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program, which has determined so far that although the input of nitrogen into Hood Canal from residential septic systems is small compared to the marine input (nitrogen from ocean water coming into the canal),it is enough to potentially cause a “tipping point” depending on the background concentration of nitrogen for that year. In other words, some years it might not make a difference, and other years it most definitely could.

This year, oxygen levels in Lower Hood Canal are at the lowest levels based on record-keeping, which means 2010 could be the year of sudden fish kills within the Canal. It’s too early yet to tell if that will happen, but what is clear is that minimizing human input of nitrogen into Hood Canal is important. This is an issue that the Committee will continue to track during the interim, because the economies of many communities along Hood Canal are dependent on a healthy marine environment for fishing, shellfish harvesting, and recreation.

Unemployment rate falls to 8.9%; third straight month it’s fallen

Some good news for the state and those looking for work: the unemployment rate dropped to 8.9 percent.

The 8.9 percent rate for June is down from 9.2 percent in May. Here is more about where the jobs are coming from:

Industries that added jobs in June were education and health services, up 1,300; construction up 1,000; retail trade, up 900; professional and business services, up 700; leisure and hospitality, up 700; other services, up 400; information, up 300; and manufacturing, up 100.

Jobs were lost in government, down 8,000; financial activities, down 500; wholesale trade, down 300; and transportation, warehousing and utilities, down 100

More information can be found through the Employment Security Department’s press release and in the Seattle Times article.