Have a yen to watch some legislating?

It's a cold, blustery Saturday in Olympia! 

OK, not nearly as cold and blustery as it is in this picture, but still not a great day for enjoying our great outdoors.

However, it is a fine day for watching your Legislature move some important bills one more step along the road to become laws.

The House Ways and Means committee is meeting right now and among the bills they are considering is the 2012 Supplemental Operating Budget.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Budget hearing at 3:30 today

A bipartisan plan to close nearly one-fourth of the projected $2 billion state budget gap was set for a hearing Monday in the House Ways and Means Committee.

The bill, by Chair Ross Hunter of Medina, spells out $480 million in cuts and savings in the 2011-13 biennial budget, which was initially adopted by the Legislature last spring. Since then, the economy’s sluggish growth has resulted in official forecasts that revenues will fall $2 billion short of what’s outlined in the budget, plus necessary reserves.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Special Session begins at noon today

Legislators are back in Olympia today for the start of the special session, which officially begins at noon today.


This afternoon, the House Ways and Means committee will hold a public hearing on the House supplemental budget proposal, HB 2127.  The hearing begins at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Hearing Room 4 of the Cherberg Building.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

House Ways and Means starts at 9:00 this morning

House Ways and Means will meet this morning in Senate Hearing Room 4 to tackle this agenda:

Public Hearing:
1. HB 2119 - Requiring another one-time sum due by beneficiaries for reporting certain notices of default.
2. SSB 5114 - Streamlining competency evaluation and competency restoration procedures.
3. SSB 5587 - Expiring an underutilized deferral program in the department of revenue under chapter 84.37 RCW.
4. ESB 5873 - Concerning the sales and use tax exemption for qualifying businesses of eligible server equipment.
5. SB 5891 - Relating to criminal justice.
6. SSB 5912 - Expanding family planning services to two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty level.
7. ESSB 5924 - Regarding the running start program.
8. ESSB 5931 - Reorganizing and streamlining central service functions, powers, and duties of state government.
9. SB 5960 - Concerning medicaid fraud.

Possible Executive Session:
1. HB 2080 - Modifying tax refund and interest provisions.
2. HB 2119 - Requiring another one-time sum due by beneficiaries for reporting certain notices of default.
3. SSB 5587 - Expiring an underutilized deferral program in the department of revenue under chapter 84.37 RCW.
4. ESB 5873 - Concerning the sales and use tax exemption for qualifying businesses of eligible server equipment.
5. SB 5891 - Relating to criminal justice.
6. SSB 5912 - Expanding family planning services to two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty level.
7. ESSB 5931 - Reorganizing and streamlining central service functions, powers, and duties of state government.
8. SB 5960 - Concerning medicaid fraud.
9. SJR 8206 - Requiring extraordinary revenue growth to be transferred to the budget stabilization account.

For information on these bills, click here.

A flurry of committee activity this morning, then back to the floor

The House will resume floor action today at 1:00 pm, and is expected to continue late into the evening. But we start the day with some (hopefully) final committee meetings.

For information on these or any other House bills, click here.

8:00 am Senate Hearing Room 1: Ways and Means
Public Hearing:
1. ESSB 5581 - Concerning nursing homes.
2. SSB 5935 - Addressing adoption support payments for hard to place children.

Possible Executive Session:
1. HB 2088 - Creating the opportunity scholarship board to assist middle-income students and invest in high employer demand programs.
2. ESSB 5581 - Concerning nursing homes.
3. SSB 5935 - Addressing adoption support payments for hard to place children

11:00 am Senate Hearing Room 3: Business and Financial Services
Public Hearing:
SB 5956 - Concerning the prohibited practices of collection agencies.

Possible Executive Session:
SB 5956 - Concerning the prohibited practices of collection agencies.

12:00 pm Senate Hearing Room 2: Capital Budget
Possible Executive Session:
SSJR 8215 - Concerning the debt reduction act of 2011.

House Ways and Means tackles a long agenda today

There is no floor action planned in the House today because Ways and Means is meeting most of the day. The committee will convene at 9:00 am in Senate Hearing Room 4 (Cherberg Building) with this revised agenda:

Public Hearing:
1. HB 2088 - Creating the opportunity scholarship board to assist middle-income students and invest in high employer demand programs.
2. HB 2111 - Implementing selected recommendations from the 2011 report of the quality education council.
3. SB 5289 - Concerning a business and occupation tax deduction for payments made to certain property management companies for personnel performing on-site functions.
4. SSB 5534 - Concerning the business and occupation taxation of newspapers.

Possible Executive Session:
1. HB 2048 - Concerning low-income and homeless housing assistance surcharges.
2. HB 2078 - Funding K-3 class size reductions by narrowing and repealing certain tax exemptions.
3. HB 2080 - Modifying tax refund and interest provisions.
4. HB 2082 - Making changes to the disability lifeline program.
5. HB 2088 - Creating the opportunity scholarship board to assist middle-income students and invest in high employer demand programs.
6. HB 2111 - Implementing selected recommendations from the 2011 report of the quality education council.
7. E2SSB 5182 - Establishing the office of student financial assistance and the council for higher education by eliminating the higher education coordinating board and transferring its functions to various entities.
8. SB 5289 - Concerning a business and occupation tax deduction for payments made to certain property management companies for personnel performing on-site functions.
9. SSB 5534 - Concerning the business and occupation taxation of newspapers.
10. 2ESB 5764 - Creating innovate Washington.
11. ESSB 5921 - Revising social services programs.

For information on these bills, click here.

House resumes floor action at 9:00

The House will convene at 9:00 am today for another full day of floor action. Among the items tentatively scheduled are a couple transportation bills and the capital budget. Follow us on Twitter (@hdccomm) for instant updates throughout the day.

Looking ahead to Wednesday, the House Ways and Means committee will hold an executive session at 9:00 in Senate Hearing Room 4. Among the bills to be considered:
1. HB 2048 - Concerning low-income and homeless housing assistance surcharges.
2. HB 2080 - Modifying tax refund and interest provisions.
3. HB 2082 - Making changes to the disability lifeline program.
4. E2SSB 5182 - Establishing the office of student financial assistance and the council for higher education by eliminating the higher education coordinating board and transferring its functions to various entities.
5. ESSB 5921 - Revising social services programs.
Other bills may be added.

House Ways and Means Committee meeting today, but not in-house

The House Ways and Means committee is meeting in temporary digs over in Senate territory today, Hearing Room 4 of the Cherberg Building. The House office building (JLOB) has been turned over to contractors who are retrofitting it for earthquake safety.

Nevertheless, the committee will work through an extensive agenda today.

Public Hearing:
1. HB 2048 - Concerning low-income and homeless housing assistance surcharges.
2. HB 2080 - Modifying tax refund and interest provisions.
3. HB 2082 - Making changes to the disability lifeline program.
4. E2SSB 5182 - Establishing the office of student financial assistance and the council for higher education by eliminating the higher education coordinating board and transferring its functions to various entities. (If measure is referred to committee.)
5. ESSB 5921 - Revising social services programs.
6. ESSB 5927 - Limiting payments for health care services provided to low-income enrollees in state purchased health care programs. (If measure is referred to committee.)
7. SB 5941 - Concerning judicial branch funding. (If measure is 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 1250 - Transferring funds from the budget stabilization account to the general fund.
4. HB 2065 - Regarding the allocation of funding for students enrolled in alternative learning experiences.
5. HB 2074 - Changing functions of the higher education coordinating board.
6. E2SSB 5182 - Establishing the office of student financial assistance and the council for higher education by eliminating the higher education coordinating board and transferring its functions to various entities. (If measure is referred to committee.)
7. ESSB 5927 - Limiting payments for health care services provided to low-income enrollees in state purchased health care programs. (If measure is referred to committee.)
8. SB 5941 - Concerning judicial branch funding. (If measure is referred to committee.)

For information on these or any other bills, please see here.

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.

Linville: reforms underway, more needed

State government needs to realign itself with today’s new economic reality—that’s the message Rep. Kelli Linville (Bellingham) delivered in an op-ed over the weekend to the Bellingham Herald.

The Ways & Means Committee leader notes that reform is actually an ongoing practice in the budget process, although it rarely grabs the headlines. Reforms in recent years for long-term care, childhood vaccine purchasing, business permitting, and the juvenile justice system have sought to wring more value from taxpayer dollars.

That being said, the severity of today’s worldwide economic crisis means reforms must go even further, Linville says. “The Legislature's top priority now is realigning government with today's new economic reality so that it works better for the people we represent,” she writes.

To that end, the Ways & Means Committee is engaged in a substantive reform effort this legislative interim. As we mentioned earlier today, the committee is meeting to discuss reform efforts on education, health care, performance-based contracting, information technology and more. In May, the committee held two reform work sessions (agenda one, agenda two) open to all members of the House, where budget and audit experts presented potential reform methods, and legislators discussed their own reform ideas.

Interested in receiving notice of meeting dates and agendas? Sign up for the committee’s email list here.

Ways & Means meeting now - focus on reform

The House Ways & Means Committee is meeting this afternoon covering a full agenda including the latest revenue projections, an update on agency efforts to increase efficiency, education reform, and a discussion of possible budget reform ideas - fiscal note process, standard approaches to reviewing the budget and agency budget requests, and adding performance measures to the budget.

You can watch it live online at TVW.

Live from Olympia, it's Saturday night!!

Yes, it's 9:30 Saturday night here at the Capital, and the House Ways and Means committee just finished their 12th straight hour of work -- and they aren't done yet. Twenty-three Senate bills have received a public hearing, and now tired members are working their way through a list of nearly 30 bills up for executive action (which means amending and voting them out of committee.)

Twenty-two hearty members sit on the Ways and Means committee, most of them chairs or ranking members of other committees. Hard to believe on a day like this, but an assignment to "Ways," as it is affectionately called, is highly-coveted by folks on both sides of the aisle.

After all, that's where the money decisions are made!

Today's committee meeting line-up

Assembly Days continues with a full slate of committee meetings. A few meetings that might be of particular interest to folks:

This morning the Committee on Health and Human Services will talk about sustaining public assistance services to clients during difficult economic times. Topics include the primary care safety net and food programs in the safety net.

Later this morning, the Education Appropriations Committee will focus on higher ed, looking at how to keep the Guaranteed Education Tuition program solvent, tuition policy issues and more.

The Transportation Committee will meet this afternoon for an update on tolling operations, the SR 410 mud slide and the transportation budget.

Ways & Means will meet at 3:30 for a 2010 budget outlook. TVW will air the meeting live.

Today's committee meeting line-up

Today at 1, the Early Learning & Children's Services Committee will meet to discuss promotion of early literacy and the Quality Improvement Rating System (also called "Seeds to Success").

At 1:30 the Environmental Health Committee will talk about unwanted drugs (as in their effect on the environment, not a lack of demand) and airborne pesticides.

Finally, at 3:30 the Ways & Means Committee will review the recent caseload reports and revenue forecasts, how we're doing on the new 2009-2011 budget, state employee health benefits, and an overview of health care proposals.

If three meetings just isn't enough to curb your legislative appetite, check out the several other joint committee meetings (Senate + House) taking place today too.