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The Green Sheet — Week of February 15, 2016

Last week fiscal committees shuffled through a long list of bills. As expected, many of the bills with large fiscal impacts are not moving forward due to new budget constraints as a result of increases in costs from the Health Care Authority and other agencies. However, just because a bill is dead doesn’t mean that there won’t be a fight over supplemental budget money. The next cutoff and the last day to consider legislation from the house of origin is Wednesday, February 17th.

Tensions are high this session, and it’s not just because cutoffs are around each corner. Last week was fraught with back and forth over the ousting of (now former) head of Department of Transportation, Lynn Peterson. Many denounced the vote as an election year stunt, including Governor Inslee. The most nuanced editorial regarding the issue came from the Seattle Times, which said, “By going too far — and failing to provide basic, standard courtesies, such as a heads-up to Peterson — the Senate Republican majority enabled Inslee and others to dismiss the incident as an election-year stunt.”

Later in the week, INRIX revealed a study showing that the frustration felt by drivers making their way on I-405 shows up in the data. The I-405 tolls were one of many delayed or botched projects that Senators cited as a reason for denying Peterson’s confirmation 3 years into her tenure.

Tensions flared again when two of the year’s most controversial bills failed to pass the Senate. The first was a bill that sought to overturn a Human Rights Commission ruling on gender identity and restroom facilities. The second, Senate Joint Resolution 8211, which would have allowed Washington voters to decide in November whether a two-thirds vote of the Legislature should be required for tax increases. A flurry of press releases ensued.

A long-awaited Senate hearing on Initiative 732 took place on Tuesday. The initiative filed by Carbon WA, if passed or enacted through a vote, would tax carbon emissions in Washington State starting at $15 per metric ton of CO2 starting in July and rising to a maximum of $100 per metric ton. Testimony from key business groups indicated willingness to push for an alternative.Carbon WA says they expect to get a hearing in the House Finance Committee on the 19th. Meanwhile, we may see alternatives to Carbon WA’s initiative brought forth by Senator Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, and possibly Senator John Braun, R-Centralia.  However, like budget bills these alternatives are exempt from the Wednesday cutoff facing all other bills.

In the continuing saga of legislation to address the state Supreme Court’s McCleary ruling on K-12 basic education funding, the Senate Ways & Means Committee approved its version of a fix for reducing reliance for funding on local levies. The Senate version differs from the House version, which more closely mirrors the recommendations of a bipartisan group of legislators who worked on the issue in the interim. This week the House bill will be heard, but no hearing has been scheduled for the Senate’s version.

A quick update on the Senate investigation of the Department of Corrections: the investigator hired by the Republican-controlled Senate says that Governor Inslee appears to have been telling the truth when he said he didn’t know until December about the accidental release of over 3,000 inmates. However, it looks like the the Department of Corrections knew about the problem earlier than it said it did. Now that the investigation is rolling, more regular updates are expected.

In election news, Nearly half of Washington’s 295 school districts asked voters for more money in the special election. Voters across Washington passed most local school levy and bond measures.

Quotes:

“Some people shoot and then aim. We think we should aim and then shoot,” said Governor Inslee regarding which DOC staff members bear the most blame in the early release of over 3,000 prisoners.

“For some reason, every other member of my party thought it was unimportant that Washington has voted for this rule six times. Never have we seen an idea so popular with the people of this state. They want us to think twice before we reach deeper into their pockets.” -Senator Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, following the Senate vote on SJR 8211.

A snippet from One America’s editorial opposing I-732: “…while proponents argue that cutting the sales tax by 1 percent will make the State’s tax system less regressive, this is no comfort to the families, schools and communities that a billion dollar shortfall would harm.”

“The Senate took up the issue today of who we are as a state – are we a Washington that acts on fear, or values equality? Equality won out. That is Washington,” said Senator Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, following the vote on the transgender restroom bill.

Calendar:

On Tuesday the Legislative Ethics Board will hold a hearing on the “Meal Rule.” The Board is considering changes that would further clarify the 12 meal limitation for legislators on meals paid for by lobbyists.

On Wednesday at 10 AM the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council will present an updated State Revenue Forecast.

The House bill concerning the McCleary basic education funding plan will be heard in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education at 8:00 AM on Thursday.

On Friday the 19th at 8 AM at 12:15 PM the House Finance Committee is set to hold a hearing on I-732, the Carbon Tax initiative..

Also on Friday, the House Higher Education Committee will hold a hearing on a variety of bills, including the 2016 comprehensive plan for workforce training and education. The hearing begins at 10:00 AM.

At 1:30 PM on Friday the House Environment Committee is holding a work session on “carbon pricing.” The purpose is nebulous, but it should be interesting.

At the same time, the House Education Committee is hearing the charter school bill as well as two bills concerning the issuance of bonds for school funding.

 

 

 

 

 


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