OLYMPIA, April 3.—Gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna Monday weighed in on the current budget impasse that has left the Legislature in a standstill for a full month, saying the blame lies with Democratic House Speaker Frank Chopp for refusing to consider reform legislation that is intended to bring state spending into balance over the long haul.

“The public has to learn and know that these reforms are being blocked for political reasons because it is an election year, and that is just not acceptable,” he said. “It is not responsible.”

McKenna, the state attorney general, is saying publicly what others have been saying, largely in private, for weeks. Legislative Republicans and centrist Democrats say the House Democratic caucus has been dragging its feet in the budget talks, partly because of resentment over the way in which a coalition of 22 Republicans and three Democrats assumed control of the Senate on March 2. But it’s not just reluctance to give the other team a win. It’s also because the state’s long-term spending is the key issue to the budget hawks, and big changes imperil the interests of the groups that provide the bulk of Democratic support.

What made McKenna’s remarks most striking is that unlike other players, he doesn’t have to watch his words. McKenna isn’t a participant in those budget talks. And that allowed him to point the finger straight at House Speaker Frank Chopp.

“It is pretty evident from talking to members of both parties, in both chambers, that what is holding them up is the speaker’s refusal to allow votes on reform bills,” he said.

Chopp and his House Democrats Tuesday morning broke the near-total silence that has led many to speculate that they aren’t interested in dealing. In an announcement they said they plan to convene Wednesday for the first time since the current special session started March 12. At that time the House also will release a new budget proposal, the statement from the House Democrats said.

Another Sleepy Day in Oly-Town

McKenna met with reporters Monday afternoon on what has become a typical day in the Legislature during this special session. It was the 22nd day of the session, and once again the House and Senate were empty because there was nothing for lawmakers to do. Budget negotiators reportedly met behind closed doors once again, not that any breakthroughs were announced.

The House may not be the only chamber that meets for the first time Wednesday. Senators have been put on notice that they may also be called back to work that day. Speculation has it that the frustrated Senate coalition is considering passing the meet-them-halfway budget that it proposed on March 15, perhaps incorporating changes that have been negotiated since then. That gameplan remains uncertain because it may depend on the health of Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, who remains the hospital following surgery Monday on a tumor in his abdomen.

McKenna already had come in for a drubbing from the Democratic governor for calling a news conference on budget issues while the negotiations are taking place. Gov. Christine Gregoire told reporters last week, “I don’t need somebody external who doesn’t understand all the issues and hasn’t been a part of the discussion to throw a monkey wrench in it.”

At his news conference Monday, McKenna said his goal wasn’t to tell the Legislature what to do, but rather to present a long-term plan to bring state government spending into line with tax revenues. The state faces “a budget jaws of death scenario where you never catch up with the structural imbalance and costs that exist in state government,” he said. Reform measures are really the only way to avoid a big tax increase in the future.

Releases White Paper

His list, released as part of a white paper Monday, includes a few that have been on the Republican wish-list for ages, including private-sector contracting and changes to union contract negotiation processes that would give the Legislature more say. McKenna held his news conference in the plaza of the state’s newly opened Wheeler Building, a big new $238 million state office building where the rent is double the market rate and the facility was built to house outdated server-farm technology that will never be deployed. That by itself ought to illustrate the point that it makes more sense for the state to lease office space than build it for itself, he said.

McKenna also is firmly behind the big reforms that are front and center in this year’s debate. Those include ending early retirement incentives for public employees, consolidating K-12 health insurance benefits under a single statewide system, amending the state constitution to require a balanced budget, as calculated using a four-year average.

Those aren’t just campaign issues, he said – they’re also the issues that are bollixing up the Legislature today. And that offered him a natural segue to the current budget standoff, and the things no one else dares say, at least out loud, for attribution.

Pins Blame on Chopp

McKenna noted that lawmakers already seem to have found all the money they need to close the state’s current billion-dollar shortfall.  The governor took care of that a couple of weeks ago when her staff identified a way the state could realize a one-time windfall of $238 million by changing cash-management procedures.

“In fact, it has become quite clear that the reason they haven’t adjourned this special session, the fourth special session in about 16 months, is not because they don’t know how to close the remaining dollar gap. It seems pretty clear that they do know how to do that. It’s a disagreement over reform bills, and in particular legislative majority leadership is refusing to allow any of these reforms, even those with Democratic support, even those that passed [the House] Ways and Means [Committee] last year, to even be brought up for a vote in this session, so in the near term they need to adopt these reforms and close the remaining gap, and they can finish their work for the year.”

Though one of those big reform measures – the end to early retirement incentives – actually originated in the office of Gov. Gregoire, McKenna said Chopp has put his foot down. That was the measure that made it out of the Ways and Means Committee with 14 Democratic votes, only to die without action in the House.

As governor, he said, “I will probably be a lot louder in my criticism of the speaker for blocking reforms that we need because I certainly won’t feel any obligation based on party affiliation or other kinds of loyalties. The public has to learn and know that these reforms are being blocked for political reasons because it is an election year, and that is just not acceptable. It is not responsible.”

As for whether his remarks will make it harder to work with the speaker, McKenna said he isn’t counting out an upheaval in the House. “We’ll see how many representatives the speaker has after this fall’s election. You guys are assuming a lot that is not in evidence.”

Chopp Hard at Work, Say Dems

House Speaker Frank Chopp issued a strongly worded statement: “Rob McKenna doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” he said. “His statements about the budget process aren’t based in fact, and it’s disappointing that his comments are motivated by his political campaign.”

Meanwhile the Senate Democrats, who are more observers than players at this point, offered an on-the-point defense. “Rob McKenna is not a part of the budget negotiations in Olympia; his account of them is not true and certainly not helpful,” said Senate Ways and Means Chair Ed Murray, D-Seattle. “I know Speaker Chopp has been at the Capitol daily, willing to negotiate in good faith because I have been here too, working with the speaker and other negotiators to find agreement.

“I’m surprised that McKenna, our state’s attorney general, thinks it’s constructive to insert himself into legislative negotiations as a political candidate.”

And Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown said, “Attorney General McKenna has not been a part of the negotiations and incorrectly characterizes them. The problem hasn’t been the Speaker or the House Democrats. The truth is this: the last offer on the table was one we made on Friday at 8pm. There’s been no counter offer. That’s the real hold up and we’re sorely disappointed.

“Since the start of special session, Democratic leaders have been showing up for work, ready and willing to compromise. We have been negotiating in good faith on all the issues that Republicans have been putting on the table, but time is running short.

“The job of lawmakers now is to pass a fair budget with meaningful reforms that doesn’t cut education or higher education, and protects the social safety net. That means collaborating with our House and Republican colleagues to build the consensus necessary. It’s what the people of Washington want and what we as Democrats intend to do.”

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