Taking the bounce out of borrowing

Because of a provision in the state constitution, the downturn in state revenues in the Great Recession also has severely crimped the legal ability of the state to borrow money – money that might be used for stimulus projects at a time when the economy could use a boost. But last week, a state commission recommended changing the constitution so the borrowing limitation isn’t tied quite so tightly to recent revenue fluctuations.

The current rule sets the state’s debt limit at a percentage of the annual average of general revenues in the previous three years.  The commission, whose membership includes Rep. Hans Dunshee of Snohomish, would calculate the average based on the previous six years, reducing the impact of busts (and booms) and making for a smoother ride from highs to lows. The commission recommended some other changes, too, designed to improve management of the state debt.

The Crosscut web site has written about the issue and the commission posted its report online.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

National Governors Association: State governments are feeling the squeeze

The National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers released a report today confirming most state legislatures are still facing difficult economic situations.

The Fall 2011 Fiscal Survey of States shows overall general fund spending by state legislatures are still at pre-recession levels. While revenues have declined, demand for core government services like education, transportation, and public safety continues to increase putting states in a difficult position.

Washington is feeling the pinch too. Despite cutting over $10.5 billion from the state’s general fund budget in the past three years, we are facing another $2 billion budget deficit.

The governor laid out two different plans to address the budget shortfall – an all-cuts budget and an alternative plan that would “buy back” some of the cuts with a temporary sales tax increase. The new revenue would restore about $411 million in cuts to education, $42 million for long-term care and developmentally disabled services, and $41 million in public safety.

The Legislature held public work sessions this week to discuss the governor’s proposals.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

Election turnout up, but still low in off-year

The Washington Secretary of State reported this week that “turnout” in the Nov. 8 election came in at just under 53 percent of all registered voters (the SOS puts “turnout” in quotation marks because the election was conducted entirely by mail, a process designed in part to encourage voting).

That rate of participation was 6 percentage points higher than Secretary of State Sam Reed predicted – but it’s still, of course, barely more than half of all registered voters. And when the 1.94 million ballots cast are compared to the state’s total voting-age (18 and over)  population of 5.14 million, the participation rate drops to about 40 percent.*

Off-year elections without races for president or governor, like the one Nov. 8, yield relatively low participation rates. In the last presidential election, in 2008, turnout reached close to 85 percent – although, again, the percentage of participation among the voting-age population would be considerably lower.

*Those numbers yield a rate of under 38 percent, but the Census figures for the 18-and-over population include non-citizens not eligible to vote, so the turnout of the eligible voting-age population would be somewhat above that percentage.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go 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.

A one-stop link for services

State Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson and House Democrats proposed an exciting new idea in 2010—an “opportunity portal” to provide fast, efficient, one-stop access to a wide array of federal, state and local benefits that are available to Washington residents. The result was a new law and the nation-leading Washington Connection (www.washingtonconnection.org) portal.

An important milestone was reached yesterday when Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced that City of Seattle benefits and services can now be accessed through Washington Connection. He noted that it’s the “first partnership of its kind in the nation between a state and a large city.”

Thanks to Washington Connections, Washington residents can quickly learn about and apply for services and benefits that include food assistance, medical assistance, cash, education, veterans benefits, home care services, housing assistance and more. It is safe, secure and lightning fast.

Washington Connections is the best kind of public-private partnership. Thanks to state and local leaders and great partners like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, children, adults and families in Washington are getting help they need in record time.

Making government work faster and better for people is a leading priority of the HDC. Washington Connections shows how that leadership is helping residents and communities throughout our great state.

Want to learn more?  Take a look at Mayor Mike McGinn's press release and the Puget Sound Business Journal article: Gates Foundation helps fund centralized city/state public assistance website.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

State reforms lead to reduced business costs in 2012

Rep. Mike Sells

Thanks in part to legislation passed by the House and Senate last year, most businesses in Washington will see not only their workers' comp premium stay steady, but also a significant drop in unemployment insurance costs.

This would be the first time since 2007 that L&I rates have not increased, saving businesses $150 million next year. It is important to remember, however, that some businesses still might see premium increases based on their recent claims history and risk class. For example, restaurants and retail stores will see a 3% drop, but construction and forest products could see a slight increase due to the injury claims.

As far as unemployment insurance costs, most employers in the state will receive a lower tax rate in 2012, and all rate classes will drop. In fact, tax rates for employers that had no layoffs in the past four years will plummet by 71 percent, to an all-time low for that rate class (side fact: 91% of employers in rate-class 1 are small businesses with fewer than 5 employees).

In total, the tax-rate reductions will equal about $207 million, in addition to the $300 million in savings sponsored by Mike Sells, Chair of the House Labor & Workforce Development Committee, and passed by the Legislature last year. "Without the actions we took last year to bring relief to business owners still struggling through an economic slump, these rate reductions wouldn't have been possible," said Sells. "This news, combined with yesterday's 737 MAX announcement, show that the recent steps we've taken, and reforms we've implemented to respond to our businesses' needs, are paying off." 

Kris Tefft, AWB general counsel and government affairs director on employment law and workers’ compensation, agrees: “Today’s announcement reflects the value of the reform measures passed in 2011, without which employers would surely have seen rate increases next year. We’ve appreciated the opportunity to make our case that this is not the time for any sort of rate increase on business,” said Tefft.


Here's a handy fact sheet and FAQs from ESD's website on the adjusted rates.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

December again brings call for halting drunken and drugged driving

It's time to underline and re-underline that tried and true "None for the road" rule in living rooms, break rooms, barrooms, and other potential imbibing rooms all across America. In unhappy fact, however, these upcoming winter holidays will likely suffer a greater than usual number of impaired motorists thoroughly terrorizing our thoroughfares -- hence December's stature as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. Most every citizen knows the wrenching anguish of losing a loved one, a friend, a co-worker, or an acquaintance to drunken driving – or perhaps at least knows someone who has been either injured or involved in a DUI accident or arrest.

The MADD website notes that at any given hour of the day or night, two million repeat drunken drivers are driving drunk. Again.

The tragedy hit awfully close to home for one legislator this past July. A young father is gone, killed in a car accident involving a driver under the influence. The young father was a neighbor of state Rep. Roger Goodman, who has sponsored several successful anti-DUI bills in the Legislature. Goodman said that the gentleman left two kids behind and "our whole neighborhood is in trauma." He emphasized that a drunken driver should be required to pay child support for kids who've lost their parent. The Kirkland lawmaker is fine-tuning a child-support bill as part of a comprehensive anti-DUI package for consideration in the 2012 regular session beginning Jan. 9.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.