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The Green Sheet for May 4, 2015

Last Wednesday marked the beginning of the 2015 Special Session. Once again, legislators are arguing about whether meeting the Supreme Court’s requirements for education funding requires generating new revenue. That means choosing between property tax reforms (preferred by the GOP) or the much maligned capital gains tax, which is favored by Democrats.

There are four proposals for increasing education funding, yet none of them offer an immediate budget fix while also providing long-term funding for education.  Here is a chart comparing the various proposals.

Talks seem to be taking a slightly more civilized tone as the threat of sanctions from the Washington Supreme Court sinks in. Chief Justice Barbara Madsen wrote in an order this week that the court will wait until the end of the special session(s) to announce if the Legislature faces sanctions for failing to come up with a plan to fund public schools by the end of regular session.

Despite the education deadlock, there has been movement in a few other areas. For instance, the special session began with the House’s passage of  House Bill 2136, which makes several changes to the state’s legal marijuana market and streamlines taxes. This in addition to  Senate Bill 5052, which was signed into law on the last day of the regular session. It’s the only bill signed into law out of nearly 20 that aimed to reconcile the state’s highly-taxed and regulated recreational market with the medical marijuana market.

In more sinister news, Representative Susan Fagan (R-Pullman) resigned in the face of ethics violations that House officials called “extremely serious.” Rep. Fagan is accused of inflating mileage reports, using state dollars for campaigning, and pressuring staff to fudge reports so she would receive more money. Looks like she and Troy Kelley have been drinking from the same poisonous well.

QUOTES:

Senator Mike Baumgartner (R-Spokane) compared the Governor’s leadership to that of an inanimate object, saying “What we have seen from Governor Jay Inslee is the kind of leadership we would expect from an empty paper bag.”

“I should have been more precise with my records, and I did not give my reimbursement reports the respect and attention they deserve. That is my fault.” wrote Representative Susan Fagan (R-Pullman) in a statement regarding her resignation.

“Budget (is) the biggest factor affecting cleanup today,” said John Price, the state Tri-Party Agreement section manager, after the Department of Energy reiterated that the Hanford cleanup is a whopping 25 years behind schedule.

 


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