In the House today

The House will continue the concurrence process this morning beginning at 10.

Additionally, fiscal committees will continue work on bills necessary to implement the budgets:

8:00 am Capital Budget
Public Hearing: HB 2020 - Relating to funding capital projects (hearing is on the proposed substitute by Rep. Dunshee)

Possible Executive Session: HB 2020 - Relating to funding capital projects.

10:00 am Floor

3:30 pm Ways and Means
Public Hearing:
1. HB 2083 - Concerning funding for the construction of a ferry boat vessel with a capacity of at least one hundred forty-four cars.
2. Bills referred to committee.

Possible Executive Session:
1. HB 1131 - Regarding student achievement fund allocations.
2. SHB 1132 - Reducing compensation for educational and academic employees.
3. HB 1548 - Concerning the implementation of long-term care worker requirements regarding background checks and training.
4. SHB 2033 - Consolidating arts and heritage programs for the purpose of streamlining government and improving efficiency.
5. HB 2043 - Increasing state revenues by allowing the sale of liquor-related products in state and contract liquor stores and by creating a pilot project for the co-location of contract liquor stores in grocery stores.
6. HB 2057 - Limiting payments for health care services provided to low-income enrollees in state purchased health care programs.
7. HB 2065 - Regarding the allocation of funding for students enrolled in alternative learning experiences.
8. HB 2069 - Concerning hospital payments.
9. HB 2070 - Determining average salary for the pension purposes of state and local government employees as certified by their employer.
10. HB 2072 - Consolidating revenues into the general fund.
11. HB 2073 - Concerning the contribution rate for the health care benefits for certain home care workers.
12. HB 2074 - Changing functions of the higher education coordinating board.
13. HJR 4219 - Addressing the state's long-term pension obligations.
14. SB 5119 - Canceling the 2012 presidential primary.
15. ESB 5638 - Concerning the exemption of flood control zone districts that are coextensive with a county from certain limitations upon regular property tax levies while protecting other levies from pro-rationing.
16. ESB 5907 - Implementing the policy recommendations resulting from the national institute of corrections review of prison safety.

Oly greets Wylie

This morning the House of Representatives welcomed its newest member, Sharon Wylie, who was appointed to succeed Jim Jacks as a representative from the 49th Legislative District.

"I am humbled and excited to serve the people of Southwest Washington in the state legislature. I pledge to the families back home that I will work tirelessly to represent their interests, and that I will utilize my background and experience to serve the needs of our district. I am eager to begin working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to tackle the serious economic challenges facing our state,” said the Vancouver Democrat.

Wylie was recognized on the House floor by Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, her fellow 49th District representative.

To read more, go here.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

WA Whiteboard: State spending

Rep. Marko Liias addresses claims that the state has a spending problem, and explains how our current budget compares previous years:

Governor signs Orwall’s Foreclosure Fairness Act

After two years of intense work with banks and housing advocates, state Rep. Tina Orwall can start thinking about her next mission now that Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed the Foreclosure Fairness Act of 2011 into law. Witnessing the event were community members, stakeholders and lawmakers, all very excited that the new law will bring relief and hope to struggling families across the state.

The law will go into effect in just three months, so those facing foreclosure can look forward to having access to housing counselors that will assist them in the process. Under the new law, homeowners will be able to meet with the bank and an independent mediator to review every available option to keep their homes.

“Having the opportunity to sit down face-to-face with the bank will give struggling homeowners a real chance to work out the best possible outcome for their specific situation,” Orwall said.

To learn more about the Foreclosure Fairness Act, please go here.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

Helping veterans find work

Imagine having spent years in the military as a physical therapist, helping soldiers recover from some of the worst battlefield injuries. If you later retired from the military and decided to become a civilian physical therapist, you'd have to go through a completely new set of state training and licensing requirements. The knowledge and training you gained from working with hundreds or thousands of soldiers wouldn't transfer to the civilian world.

Well that's about to change thanks to a new measure signed into law yesterday. Rep. Christine Rolfes and Sen. Derek Kilmer teamed up this session to help veterans find work more easily by allowing their military training to apply toward state licensing requirements for similar civilian professions. Yesterday the governor signed into law SB 5307, dealing with medical professions. House concurrence is expected soon on HB 1418, concerning a range of other professions, such as notaries public, real estate appraisers, security guards and more.

The result will be a streamlined professional licensing process that saves resources for both veterans and the state by reducing redundant training.

“Our veterans need jobs, and they need them now—not weeks or months from now,” Rolfes said. “Whatever time they spend repeating unnecessary training amounts to lost salary and makes it harder for them to support themselves and their families.”

More information on the bills is available here.

What do Washington, Michigan and Minnesota all have in common?

The answer is that as of today, all three of these states have passed legislation limiting phosphorous in lawn fertilizer in order to reduce phosphorous loading into rivers, lakes and streams.

This morning, Governor Gregoire signed HB 1489, which was sponsored by Rep. Andy Billig of Spokane. It will remove phosphorous from most brands of fertilizer, but allows exceptions for situations where phosphorous is needed, such as when seeding a new lawn or for agricultural purposes.

Why is phosphorous so bad for our waterways? Because it's an important nutrient that algae need in order to grow and multiply into nasty toxic algae blooms. These algae blooms are having a detrimental effect on Lake Spokane, the Spokane River, and Lake Whatcom, among others. Because of the damage to marine life and water quality, the environmental community made HB 1489 a top priority for 2011.

You can read Rep. Billig's press release here, which includes a great quote from Bart Mihailovich of Spokane Riverkeeper that reminds us we are One Washington when it comes to clean water.

Legends of the Capitol: Navy and Beef

Yesterday the House honored the United States Navy for their service to the country and their role as neighbors in many Washington communities. House Resolution 4648 "Observing Navy Day to recognize the contributions of all Navy personnel and their family members," had a few sponsors and was adopted. Rep. Larry Seaquist, a man with a little experience with the Navy, supported the resolution with a speech on the floor: Many in the capitol then turned their focus to Beef Day, something many lawmakers and staff look forward to all session. It's put on by the Washington Cattlemen's Association to increase awareness of beef and its importance to the state.

In the House Thursday

Members of the House will welcome their newest member this morning at 10:00 when Rep. Sharon Wylie from Vancouver is officially seated. After she is recognized, the concurrence process will resume. Floor action is expected to end around 3:15 today so the Transportation and Ways and Means committees can meet.

Here is what you can expect to see in committee today:
3:30 pm HHR A Ways and Means
Public Hearing:
1. HB 2068 - Setting law enforcement officers' and firefighters' plan 2 contribution rates for the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium at the actuarially required rates.
2. HB 2071 - Eliminating the September 30, 2011, transfer to the local public safety account and clarifying the method of funding previously adopted benefits.
3. SB 5806 - Authorizing a statewide raffle to benefit veterans and their families.
4. HB 1250 - Transferring funds from the budget stabilization account to the general fund.
5. Bills referred to committee.

Possible Executive Session:
1. HB 1354 - Changing the apportionment schedule to educational service districts and school districts for the 2010-11 school year.
2. SHB 1371 - Addressing boards and commissions.
3. SHB 1720 - Reorganizing and streamlining central service functions, powers, and duties of state government.
4. HB 1742 - Addressing the alternate early retirement provisions for new members in plan 2 and plan 3 of the public employees' retirement system, the teachers' retirement system, and the school employees' retirement system.
5. SHB 1795 - Enacting the higher education opportunity act.
6. HB 1796 - Concerning recreation access on state lands.
7. SHB 1841 - Addressing management and consolidation of state information technology.
8. HB 1981 - Addressing public employee postretirement employment and higher education employees' annuities and retirement income plans.
9. HB 2021 - Limiting the annual increase amounts in the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.
10. SB 5852 - Addressing the public employment of retirees from plan 1 of the teachers' retirement system and plan 1 of the public employees' retirement system.
11. Bills previously heard by committee.

3:30 pm HHR B Transportation
Executive Session:
1. ESSB 5742 - Providing funding and cost saving measures for the Washington state ferry system.
2. ESSB 5251 - Concerning electric vehicle license fees.
3. HB 2053 - Concerning additive transportation funding.

As always, you can find information about these bills here.

This Saturday: free help with citizenship process

If you're one of the estimated 160,000 "green card" holders in Washington who are eligible to become US citizens, go to Citizenship Day this Saturday to find out what you need to do. Free legal clinics in three locations across the state will be available to guide you toward your dream of becoming an American. For more information, go here and to find out what you should bring to Citizenship Day, go here. To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

Unemployment still high, but Washington job growth gaining steam

The state Employment Security Department just released their latest data on job trends in Washington and the news, while mixed, is pointed in the right direction.

Washington added a seasonally adjusted estimate of 1,100 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate edged up from 9.1 percent to 9.2 percent.

Industries that posted gains in March were professional and business services, up 2,700; wholesale trade, up 1,900; manufacturing, up 1,600; financial activities, up 1,300; mining and logging, up 200; and leisure and hospitality, up 200.

Dragging those gains down, however, were job losses primarily in government, education, health services, and construction, as well as retail, transportation, and warehousing, for a combined loss of 6900 jobs.

Still, the line slowly arcs upwards - Washington has added an estimated 33,100 jobs since March 2010.

“We’re picking up a little steam,” said Employment Security Commissioner Paul Trause. “The consistent job growth we’re starting to see now is really encouraging.”

An estimated 340,325 people (not seasonally adjusted) in Washington were unemployed and looking for work, and 228,911 people received unemployment benefits from Washington in March.

Employment Security is a partner in the statewide WorkSource system, which offers a variety of employment and training services for job seekers, including free help with interviewing skills, résumés and job referrals. WorkSource also can help employers recruit and screen for qualified workers, apply for employment tax breaks and qualify for subsidized employee training.

Click here for more information, locations, and job listingsat your local WorkSource office. Assistance also is available by phone at 877-872-5627.

Comparison of House and Senate budget proposals

Last night, Senators Murray and Zarelli released their 2011-13 operating budget proposal which will be heard in the Senate Ways & Means Committee this afternoon.

The Senate leaves a smaller ending fund balance at $738 million and spends $327 million less. You can see a detailed comparison here but here are a few highlights.

Similarities - both proposals:

• Suspend automatic retirement Plans 1 increases + increase minimum benefits ($360 million)
• Reduce salary for state and higher ed employees by 3 percent ($177 million)
• Fund LEOFF 2 at actuarial rates + suspension of benefits enhancement fund ($20 million)
• Suspend Initiative 728 ($860.7 million) and Initiative 732 ($212 million) - these are the classroom size and teacher raise initiatives
  
• Reduce State Need Grant awards to private college students ($19.6 million)
• Change hospital rates ($110.4 million)
• Delay mandatory training for home health care workers under I-1029 ($22.1 million)
• Reduce agency/individual provider health care ($10.4 million)
• Reduce personal care hours ($97.5 million)
• Include Discover WA Pass for state parks ($68.7 million)
• Suspend presidential primary ($10 million)
  

Major differences - The Senate proposal:

Compensation:

• Reduces all K-12 salaries by 3 percent (House eliminated step increases for certificated staff) – saves $251.2 million
• Includes additional temporary layoffs for all staff (represented and non-represented) making over $50,000, includes higher ed
  

K-12 - overall K-12 spending is about $30 million lower:

• Reduces school district funding by $95 million by changing average daily attendance allocation
• Spends more on K-3 class size and K-12 formula conversion
• Assumes that a new school employees benefits organization will be created (House calls for a work group to examine and make recommendations)
  

Higher education:

• Higher across-the-board reductions with higher tuition increase assumptions: 16% at UW, WSU and WWU; 14% at CWU and Evergreen; 12% at the community and technical colleges and 11% at EWU
• The community and technical colleges are reduced an additional $15 million and then $15 million is re-directed to worker retraining
  

Health care:

• Lower enrollment/freezes in the Basic Health Plan, Disability Lifeline Medical, ADATSA and Children’s Health – additional $74 million in reductions
• Healthy Options Rate Reductions - $21.4 million in additional reductions
• Drug co-pays for $10.3 million in reductions and premium increases of $8.8 million for Apple Health
• Reduces $4.5 million (half) of family planning grants
  

Human services:

• Eliminates the Disability Lifeline cash grant – reduction of additional $84.3 million
• Assumes that Rainier School, the DD institution in Buckley, will close
  

Statewide reductions:

• $16 million in worker compensation costs due to ESB 5566
• Across-the-board management efficiency reductions of $14.8 million
• Assumes the state will contract out mail services, the motor pool, printing and real estate management
  

House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan and House Ways & Means Chair Ross Hunter issued short statements about the proposal last night. The next two weeks will be spent with House and Senate leaders hunkered down in meetings, negotiating and coming to a budget agreement.

It's concurrence time!

Today the House will begin the concurrence process for House bills that have been amended by the Senate. (See #6, here, for explanation.)

We also have a lot of committee activity going on:

8:00 am HHR D Higher Education
Work Session:
Teaching Excellence in Higher Education: award winning faculty members share their work.

3:30 pm HHR A Ways and Means
Public Hearing:
SHB 2033 - Consolidating arts and heritage programs for the purpose of streamlining government and improving efficiency.

HB 2043 - Increasing state revenues by allowing the sale of liquor-related products in state and contract liquor stores and by creating a pilot project for the colocation of contract liquor stores in grocery stores.

HB 2057 - Limiting payments for health care services provided to low-income enrollees in state purchased health care programs.

HB 2065 - Regarding the allocation of funding for students enrolled in alternative learning experiences.

HB 2069 - Concerning hospital payments.

HB 2070 - Determining average salary for the pension purposes of state and local government employees as certified by their employer.

HB 2072 - Consolidating revenues into the general fund.

HB 2073 - Concerning the contribution rate for the health care benefits for certain home care workers.

HB 2074 - Changing functions of the higher education coordinating board.

SB 5119 - Canceling the 2012 presidential primary.

ESB 5638 - Concerning the exemption of flood control zone districts that are coextensive with a county from certain limitations upon regular property tax levies while protecting other levies from pro-rationing.

ESB 5907 - Implementing the policy recommendations resulting from the national institute of corrections review of prison safety.

3:30 pm HHR B Transportation
Public hearing:
ESSB 5742 - Providing funding and cost saving measures for the Washington state ferry system. (If measure is referred to committee.)

Exec session:
ESSB 5251 - Concerning electric vehicle license fees.

HB 2053 - Concerning additive transportation funding.

For information on these bills, go here and enter bill number.

Rep. Andy Billig talks closing loopholes

Rep. Andy Billig sat down with TVW's Niki Reading today, to talk about the bill introduced by the 11 House freshman Democrats to close certain tax exemptions to fund smaller class sizes for Kindergarten-3rd grade classes.

Here's an excerpt:

Billig: Banks have revenue from different sources. One of the sources is from mortgage interest. So when you pay your mortgage, part of what you’re paying is interest and that is revenue. So all businesses – I have a business, and I pay B&O tax on all of our income, and the banks don’t. They don’t pay B&O tax on the interest that they get on first mortgages. So this would basically cap that exemption so that they would be paying B&O tax just like any other business.

Q: And where would that money go?

Billig: It’s about $160 million would be generated and that would be enough to fund smaller class size – basically buy back smaller class sizes in K-3 across the state. And we know that class size matters, class size makes a difference.

Check out the rest of the interview here.

It's cut-off day!

Yes, it’s the final big bill cut-off of the session. No bill may be started on the floor after 5:00 pm. Which doesn’t mean we will be done right at 5:00, but it does make it likely we’ll finish before dinner time. The list of bills for the day will be decided as we go, and you can follow the action here.

We also have a few things on the committee calendar:

8:00 am HHR D Capital Budget
Possible Executive Session:
1. HB 2040 - Providing for assistance for financing infrastructure and economic development.
2. HB 1348 - Concerning state general obligation bonds and related accounts.
3. HB 1497 - Adopting a 2011-2013 capital budget.

Coal-Free Washington Clears House

Washington is one step closer to weaning itself off of coal-based power. With an 87 to 9 vote, the House yesterday approved Senate Bill 5769 which will close the state's only coal plant in 2025.

Rep. Marko Liias sponsored the House version of the legislation and explained the idea in a WA Whiteboard.

On the floor, Liias urged support for the agreement:

It's time to move onto the next chapter in Washington's history. It's time for us to double-down on that clean technology that will help us build the next wave of industry in this state...We're charting a new path for our state. A path that is clean, healthy and renewable.

You can view his full floor remarks here:

Freshman Dems: Ready to trade tax breaks for education

It appears there's one thing the newest class of Democratic legislators agree on in the House - session isn't going to end without talk of ending some tax exemptions that could otherwise fund education.

The "11 in 2011" introduced a bill today to end two tax breaks worth $170 million and direct the funding for smaller class sizes in kindergarten through third grade. The legislation would reduce the B&O tax break for Wall Street banks and the sales tax exemption for out-of-state tourists.

With 48 co-sponsors already signed on, it appears their proposal may have some legs. You can read more about it here.

Cut-off minus 2

All non-budget related Senate bills must be passed out of the House (and vice-versa) by 5:00 pm Tuesday. We will convene on the floor this morning at 10:00 for a full day of bill activity. You can follow the action here.

For the early crowd, we have:
8:00 am HHR B Transportation

Public Hearing:

1. ESSB 5251 – Concerning electric vehicle license fees.
2. HB 2053 – Concerning additive transportation funding.