Ross Hunter comments on the Senate Republican budget proposal

The Senate Republicans released their 2013-15 budget proposal today, and House Appropriations Committee Ross Hunter issued the following statement in response:

“While it is nice that the Senate Republicans have acknowledged our responsibility to fund the McCleary decision, they have done so with a budget proposal that relies on assumptions that are unconstitutional or unsustainable. The Supreme Court has been pretty cranky about this issue, and this budget will do nothing to improve their mood.

“In addition to being unsustainable, some of their decisions seem downright cruel. Providing child care subsidies for parents trying to get back into the workforce was part of the deal when we “reinvented welfare” two decades ago.  Cutting it now will not only force single moms back onto welfare, it will perpetuate the opportunity gap in our schools for years to come.

“I am also very concerned with some of the shaky assumptions made in the proposal.  There are $157 million in unnamed efficiencies, $40 million in an uncollectable use tax, and $166 million in a school trust transfer that is clearly unconstitutional.

“We have spent the last five years making our budget more sustainable with actions like reducing our long-term pension obligations and cutting staffing at all levels.  A budget built on unconstitutional actions and assumptions that are unlikely to come true moves us away from sustainability.”

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Good news: personal income jumps in state. Not-as-good news: Help for state budget diminishing

The total personal income for everybody in the state of Washington added together rose by 4.5% from 2011 to 2012, the fourth-highest percentage increase among the states, the federal government says.

So a lot of folks saw their income go up last year, which is certainly good news.

And you might think that would also be good news for the hard-pressed state budget, since a bit of those increased earnings might be spent on stuff that's covered by the state sales tax.

Turns out it's not such a budgetary boon. Why? Because over the last 20-odd years, state government has tapped an ever-declining share of that personal income to pay for education, the State Patrol, bridges and highways, foster care and all the other services the state provides.

Part of the reason for that is that the Legislature is very reluctant to raise taxes.

Another part of the reason is our revenue system – which, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, is the most regressive of any state's ("most regressive" means that in Washington, the rich pay less and the poor pay more than anywhere else, in terms of their shares of the total tax burden).

All of that makes balancing the state budget a tough job. That's the main task before the state House and Senate right now, and we will see their ideas for how to do it announced soon.

The Associated Press drops “Illegal Immigrant” from style guide

The Associated Press announced today that they would no longer be using the phrase “illegal immigrant” to describe a person without legal status in our country.

It might seem like inside baseball, but it’s actually a very important change. The AP stylebook is taught in every communications class, is used as a standard for journalistic writing, and directly or indirectly sets the tone for public discussion through the media.

By dropping the pejorative phrase, the AP has taken a step towards acknowledging the complexity of the issue and the important role of immigration in American culture and history. This excerpt from their announcement captures the weight of their decision:

“The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term “illegal immigrant” or the use of “illegal” to describe a person. Instead, it tells users that “illegal” should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally…

…Specify wherever possible how someone entered the country illegally and from where. Crossed the border? Overstayed a visa? What nationality?

People who were brought into the country as children should not be described as having immigrated illegally. For people granted a temporary right to remain in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, use temporary resident status, with details on the program lower in the story.”

The last paragraph is particularly important. The death of the DREAM Act, which passed the House with a strong bipartisan 77-20 vote but was killed in the Senate Higher Education Committee, was a blow to progress in equality and social justice in our state. But changes like this show that, even if polices falter this legislative session, broader and deeper cultural change continues to bend the arc of history towards justice.

Welcome home, Bertha!

Three and a half months ago we wrote about Big Bertha, the world’s largest-diameter tunneling machine who, after traveling 5,000 miles, is finally making her grand entrance into Elliot Bay today.  

Built in Osaka, Japan, the five-story-tall, 7,000 tons boring machine that will dig the SR 99 tunnel beneath downtown Seattle, had to be taken apart into 41 pieces to load her on the Jumbo Fairpartner and begin her two-week journey on March 19.  

As she was going through Port Townsend, at around 10:30 this morning, she tweeted (yes, Bertha has a Twitter account): 

She’s expected to reach Seattle at around noon so you could grab lunch in the area and witness her arrival. Check out the DOT’s viewer’s guide (click on the image for a larger map):

But if you’re not lucky enough to catch the action in person, the DOT will have a live webcam pointed at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 46, once the ship has berthed, so you can watch her journey unfold from anywhere.

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Wonder what a committee vice chair does? Rep. Ormsby explains it in new “Capitol Ideas” interview

We all know, or think we know, what the chair of a legislative committee does. But what does the vice chair do, besides call up witnesses?

The answer, at least for House Appropriations Vice Chair Timm Ormsby, is far more interesting than you might think, and for political junkies and policy wonks, this new Capitol Ideas podcast offers a fascinating insight into a rarely explored subject.

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Welcome home, Vietnam veterans

Near the Capitol Dome is our state's version of the Wall, with the names of the fallen written into the rock.

While the war has been over for forty years, the veterans who went to Vietnam still carry the memories of their service and the brothers and sisters who never made it back.

The House and Senate honored those veterans last week by establishing March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.  the last U.S. troops left Vietnam on March 30, 1973.

The measure was sponsored by Rep. John McCoy, at right wearing sunglasses, and Rep. Norm Johnson. 

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The $2 billion budget myth

Let's say you drive your car about 100 miles a week as part of your job responsibilities. Your boss gives you $50 a week to cover your gas expenses. Then one day your boss says, "Good news, I'm increasing your fuel stipend to $60, but we're also doubling your route to 200 miles."

While the stipend increase would be welcomed, is that really good news? The added miles would more than wipe out the extra $10 a week.

This is the kind of argument you'll hear from some lawmakers and advocacy groups over the coming weeks as budget negotiations heat up. They argue that the state has $2 billion more in revenue this budget cycle compared to the last one – like your gas stipend going from $50 to $60 per week.

Therefore, as the argument goes, we can balance the budget, meet our McCleary obligations, and avoid deep cuts to vital services all without new revenue.

While it is true that our revenues are up about $2 billion, only looking at this side of the equation is fiscally imprudent and misleading.

This argument conveniently leaves out the other half of the equation, like the part about adding more miles to your route. Our expenses have also increased by more than $2 billion since the last biennium.

We have more kids in public schools, more students enrolling in higher education that need financial assistance, and more low-income families and seniors that need medical care.

In other words, it costs more this year to run the state than it did last year. Despite having more money this year, our revenues are not keeping up with expenses.

Based on current expense and revenue projections, the state budget is about $1 billion short of paying for our obligations. When you add our McCleary obligations, we're about $2.3 billion short.

We are not going to find $2.3 billion in cuts alone. We've cut $12 billion from the budget since 2008. House Democrats are pleased to see Governor Inslee's call for closing some tax loopholes to balance the budget and fund education for our kids.

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