Starting Gun For Three Races in Senate

Given the peculiarities of Washington’s system, benefits paid is the best metric for comparison. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services ranks premium rates among the states, but, as we have written extensively,

Washington gets mixed reviews from CEOs of the Roundtable, generally scoring well on quality-of-life issues and not so well on business cost issues. With workers’ compensation the CEOs have very deliberately chosen the National Academy for Social Insurance’s benefits-paid ranking, rather than a business-cost ranking.

Every public school principal is painfully familiar with being forced to send children to a classroom where she knows the teacher there is not the best fit, but the teacher’s placement has been forced on the school by higher-ups at the central district.

The Senate is failing at this. Instead of raising the additional revenue it would take to meet public needs, the Senate relies on over $600 million in “funny money,” hidden cuts, and other actions that weaken the whole structure.

Recently environmentalists have been claiming that coal dust poses an environmental risk to the region because coal transits the Northwest by rail. But there is no credible study to support this assertion, and I wonder what the true motivation for making such a claim might be.

State Auditor Troy Kelley released a performance audit which found:

Washington’s financial management system does not efficiently meet agency or state needs because of fragmented, outmoded technology. As a result, state agencies have implemented numerous stand-alone components, which are redundant, and financial managers, agencies, and legislative staff do not have access to the real time financial information they need to make informed decisions.

The state just got some good news about the improving post-recession financial outlook of Washington’s workers’ compensation system. And that’s bad news for Republicans’ special-session effort to revive legislation expanding the controversial lump-sum buyouts of injured workers.

In a little less than three months, Washington State’s largest cities and counties must start following new rules on how to manage dirty runoff that washes toxic metals, oil and grease, fertilizers, and other pollution into our streams, lakes, and ocean.

The House budget goes further than the Senate to preserve and strengthen state investments that protect seniors and children. On investments in clean air, water, and land, both the House and Senate make damaging cuts, but the Senate cuts to key environmental programs that maintain Washingtonians quality of life are far deeper.

The House– and Senate– passed 2013–15 operating budgets each rely on shaky assumptions on revenues, savings, transfers from the capital budget, and reserves. Legislators’ special session goal must be a budget that doesn’t rely on one-time transfers, increased business costs, unrealizable savings, or drained reserves.

In the coming days, this series, Special Legislative Session: The Big Picture, will look more closely at House and Senate budget proposals in each of the four value areas- economic security, thriving communities, healthy people and environment, and education and opportunity. The House plan clearly does a better job investing in our key values.

What’s the best way to make a case for a carbon pollution tax to conservative audiences? Why not speak their language? Just listen to the outspoken conservatives who favor a tax on carbon pollution.

SB 5843 is a strong first step towards increased transparency in our revenue system. While much more can and should be done moving forward, the Senate should approve these changes and begin to ensure that our tax code is held to the same level of scrutiny as our state budget.