Article by Erik Smith. Published on Thursday, September 22, 2011 EST.
Doesn’t Matter What Legislature Thinks — Gregoire Tells AWB Convention More Bad News Coming in November
Gregoire addresses the AWB Policy Summit at the Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum.
By Erik Smith
Staff writer/ Washington State Wire
CLE ELUM, Sept. 22.—A couple of hours after Gov. Christine Gregoire hinted at a business luncheon that she might force lawmakers back to Olympia for a special session late this year to deal with the state’s big budget problems, her aides confirmed it and said a formal announcement can be expected today.
Count on it sometime after Nov. 17, when a new revenue forecast is expected to deliver another whammy. If you thought the latest news was bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet, Gregoire told members of the Association of Washington Business at their annual policy summit in Cle Elum.
Over the last couple of weeks, the state’s top economist, Arun Raha, has stopped talking about recovery and has started warning that a new recession might be just around the corner. A tax-revenue forecast last week indicated that the state will run short next year by at least $1.27 billion. But the bad news is unlikely to end there, Gregoire said.
“Arun indicates to me that the November forecast has a four times greater likelihood of being negative than it does to be positive. So what I am asking is for the Legislature to get to work. Let me just be clear – it would be premature for me to call them back before the next forecast, because no one expects it to be positive. If I called them back and they right the ship, and then I call them back again – they need to know how large the problem is. They need to get after it.”
Will Hold Feet to Fire
Ordinarily comments like that one might be characterized as a strong hint, rather than an actual announcement. Gregoire peppered her talk to the business group with phrases like “if we do bring them back.” A special session is a sensitive subject for a Legislature that doesn’t seem eager to rush back to the Capitol to deal with yet another budget nightmare. Members have complained that they aren’t anywhere close to an agreement – they haven’t even started the discussion. And they warn that without an agreement a special session will become a lengthy exercise in twiddling their thumbs.
Although the governor has the ability to call a special session and force lawmakers to work, she has been reluctant to do so in the past unless they have a plan. Trouble is, the Legislature isn’t working on one. Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, has called for a bipartisan negotiating process, but it hasn’t gotten much of a response from majority Democrats. Some lawmakers have even talked about giving the governor more authority to make budget cuts herself – which means she gets to do the dirty work.
The governor didn’t stick around after the speech to give puzzled reporters a chance to clarify her comments – she had to rush back to Olympia for another high-profile meeting, attempting to broker a compromise in the Tacoma schoolteachers’ strike.
But what a difference a few hours make. Late in the afternoon, her staff let the cat out of the bag. Gregoire budget director Marty Brown told the Associated Press that the governor was finalizing details and would make a formal announcement of a special session Thursday morning.
And a rather dry comment from Gregoire press secretary Cory Curtis appeared to indicate that the governor will hold the Legislature’s feet to the fire. He told the Associated Press that the special session will last 30 days. There is nothing startling about that, because the state constitution says all special sessions last 30 days. Sometimes they end early, because the Legislature wraps up its work sooner.
But Curtis also told the Associated Press it is possible lawmakers will need the entire time to complete their work.
Cuts Won’t be Enough
Gregoire has ordered state agencies to come up with plans to slash their budgets by as much as 10 percent. Those plans are due today. She has the ability to order across the board cuts, a power she has exercised twice already during the state’s current budget crisis, now in its third year. But at the AWB luncheon she said those cuts won’t be enough. It will take decisions that cut some programs and leave others standing, and only the Legislature has that authority.
“This is not a small supplemental budget where you tinker. This is a budget where everything is now on the table. Everything has to be looked at. I’m asking you, as I have asked my friends in the Legislature, not to draw lines in the sand, to immediately say you can’t do this or you can’t cut that.”
Gregoire said the state may even be forced to cut basic education, one of the most sacrosanct areas of the budget, given special treatment under the constitution and 30 years of court rulings that say it is the state’s first priority. “If I could exempt education, trust me, I would, but there is no way that is a possibility for us.”
The governor told AWB that the chances of a new recession look greater all the time. “Arun was asked by me where he would put our prospects of getting into another recession. Arun told me less than 5 percent in June and now he puts it at 35 percent. Why he can’t give me any confidence about November is based upon what happens in Europe and what happens in Congress. Another task – would you please tell Congress to get their act together and get the job done?”Your support matters.
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