Legislative Commentary - Sen. Mark Schoesler
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05/06/2009
Legislative Commentary
Dear Friends,
It’s great to be home from Olympia. As I told some of our staff members this past Wednesday, after packing my things in the car for the trip back, I had been hearing the farm call to me. Trouble is, I left the Capitol knowing there’s a chance I will have to return sometime in the next couple of weeks for a “special” session of the Legislature. You see, even though we were in session for 105 days the majority party couldn’t manage to pass all the bills it wanted to pass. The price to the taxpayers for this fumbling would be $20,000 for each day of overtime. I hope we find out soon whether the governor will call us back into session, and when that will be. I’ve got a farm to run! Before I headed home from Olympia I sat down for several minutes to do a video report about the regular session.
Value of ‘special’ session questionable
The majority party passed a new state operating budget on April 25.However, it repeated a mistake of recent years: it did not first pass every one of the policy bills which either require spending or allow savings – bills that are, to use the legislative term, “necessary to implement the budget.” Some of those bills had yet to receive approval from both chambers of the Legislature when the clock ran out on the regular session at 12 a.m. Monday (one week ago). Of these bills only one really sounds like a reason to spend additional time over in Olympia. That’s Engrossed Senate Bill 6183, which would deport illegal aliens convicted of a crime instead of putting them in jail at taxpayers’ expense. Senate Republicans offered an amendment to ESB 6183 that would have kept arrest warrants out for illegal aliens as a way of persuading offenders not to come back to the United States. The amendment was defeated 20 to 29, with two Democrat senators joining Senate Republicans in the “yes” vote. The other budget-related bills that stalled (all in the House of Representatives) were Senate Bill 6160, a misguided piece of legislation that would reduce sentences for certain offenders – even though it would save money for the Department of Corrections – and an equally mistaken bill: House Bill 1776. HB 1776 would lift the levy lid for about one-fourth of the 295 school districts in our state (mostly big-city school districts, it appears), allowing them to go back to their voters and ask for more property tax money. If HB 1776 becomes law in its current form it would be insult on top of injury for rural districts like ours. Not only would they stand to lose valuable levy equalization dollars, which are meant to help them keep up with the wealthier, shopping-mall school districts, but those wealthier districts that weren't getting levy equalization money in the first place would be able to seek more local funding. Also, the Senate Democrat majority leader has hinted that two very controversial bills related to energy costs and global warming may also be on the special session agenda.
Budget passed hits education, vulnerable hard
It would take a while to go into much detail about the new operating budget – which is 515 pages long – so I will touch on some of the broader concerns for now. There will be more to share after a special session, if we end up being called back to Olympia.
No sales tax increase or new income tax – yet: After opinion polls showed no support for new taxes among Washington voters, the majority party backed away from its proposals to increase the sales tax (House Bill 2377) and impose an income tax (Senate Bill 6147).
Big bite taken from the basic education apple: Legislators are often being reminded that providing for K-12 education is state government’s “paramount duty” under Washington’s constitution. And just last fall the vice chairman of the Senate budget committee said the “best investment in our economic future is always education.” Even so, the budget he co-wrote cuts nearly $800 million from K-12 education, not counting the suspension of teacher pay raises authorized by Initiative 732. The biggest single hit is to the Student Achievement Fund created by Initiative 728, which will lose $600 million. The per-pupil funding for districts is slashed to $99 in 2010-11 (it’s currently $458 per pupil). While K-12 teachers will lose their cost-of-living-allowances (COLAs) for the next two years they will be allowed to continue moving up the salary grid based on years of service (at an estimated cost of $113 million; up to $50 million more will be spent on these “step” increases for other state employees).
Health and human services lose: Rather than adopt reforms for these expensive programs (every 200 people enrolled in the Basic Health Plan for the working poor costs $1 million for two years, on average) which would do more with less, the majority party simply hacked away at funding. Hospitals and pharmacies that serve the vulnerable, nursing homes, mental health services, county public health programs, even child vaccine programs – they all will feel the pain of hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts, as will the people they serve. One day after the budget was adopted, with a net reduction of $4 million in support for county health departments, those local agencies found themselves having to prepare for the swine flu outbreak. That’s another reason these cuts are a concern.
Higher education to get more expensive: To help them offset a $500 million cut in state support our state-run four-year universities and colleges are authorized to increase tuition and fees by 28 percent over the next two years; our community and technical colleges are authorized to increase tuition and fees by 14 percent. Allowing the state’s colleges and universities to raise tuition rates at this level hurts middle-income families, and threatens the financial solvency of the very popular Guaranteed Education Tuition program. I was a leader of the legislative effort to keep tuition increases capped at 7 percent and strongly opposed the breaking of this promise to families by the governor and the majority party.
No state parks to close: Substitute House Bill 2339 was approved changing the “opt-in” voluntary donation of $5 when people renew their car tabs to an “opt-out” choice. It is estimated that 50 percent of Washington’s 6.8 million vehicle owners will choose to donate – $23 million in revenue is assumed. The state Department of Licensing will not be able to put this new process in place for renewals until September 2009. The final budget also transfers $19 million to parks from the boaters’ and trail-users’ gas tax money. There is a provision in the budget to encourage transfers of state parks to interested local jurisdictions. State parks are important but I suspect the “opt-out” approach will trick some people into paying $5 extra for their tabs without realizing it. Senate Republicans offered an amendment to SHB 2339 to replace the “opt-out” with a transfer of funds for land acquisition into the parks maintenance and operation fund. The reasoning behind the amendment was that the state should not acquire more land when it cannot take care of the parks we already have. The amendment was defeated 18 to 30.
As I noted in my previous report, the Legislature could have handled the state’s budget situation so much more responsibly than it did. Senate Republicans offered “ten steps” to reform government spending, protect the state’s most vulnerable citizens, and balance the budget without new taxes. We also offered Senate Joint Resolution 8209, a constitutional amendment I co-sponsored to require the state to save extraordinary revenue in the good times so we would have sufficient funds during economic downturns – as our state is facing today. Unfortunately for Washington’s families and employers, the legislative majority chose another road.
Final score on bills I introduced: 7-for-20
When a Senate or House member files legislation himself or herself, becoming the “prime” sponsor of the measure, it’s typically for one of three reasons: a constituent brought an issue to us; it’s about an issue we know well or feel strongly about; or an agency director has asked us. I was prime sponsor of 20 policy bills this session. Some were not granted so much as a committee hearing; others made it partway through the process but stalled for some reason; and seven were passed into law by the Legislature, which is a decent batting average (.350) for a lawmaker in the minority party. A half-dozen of the 20 bills I introduced had to do with the state pension system – not very exciting stuff but something I take very seriously because it involves a long-term obligation of taxpayer money. Senate Bill 5305 and Senate Bill 5315 both passed, but there is much more work to do in this area of state operations. A majority of the seven bills I introduced which are now law have to do with agriculture and land use: Senate Bill 5437 (state conservation commission), Senate Bill 5793 (privately operated manlifts), Senate Bill 5839 (irrigation districts) and Senate Bill 5765 (apple maggot control). I’m not counting Senate Bill 5076, my legislation to merge the state wheat and barley commissions into a new Washington Grain Commission; it passed in the Senate but Rep. Joe Schmick’s version of the same legislation, Substitute House Bill 1254, made it through the entire process first and was signed by the governor. The remaining measure of mine to receive full approval was Senate Bill 5276, to expand access to certain engineering degrees (see photo). I won’t pick a favorite among these seven – that would be like asking a parent to pick a favorite child – because each was important to at least one person. I can tell you, however, I sure would have liked to have seen one more of my bills pass: Senate Bill 5744, having to do with levy equalization. Occasionally we have the pleasure of sponsoring resolutions in honor of notable achievements. This year I was glad to arrange for the Senate to recognize the accomplishments of the Colfax girls’ basketball championship team. Senate Resolution 8657 passed unanimously!
04/26/2009
Legislative Commentary
Dear Friends,
We’re three days from the end of the 2009 legislative session and the dominant issue – the budget for the next two years of state government operations – will be settled soon, possibly tomorrow (Saturday. Of course, there is more to a legislative session than the budget. It’s important that people be aware of the other policy decisions being made and what they mean for the families and employers of our state. I’ve detailed some in this report. The flowering cherry trees around the Capitol have reached full bloom. It’s time to pack up and head back to our part of Washington. I am looking forward to that very much!
Budget: It didn’t have to be like this
I’ll have more details about the budget in my next report, but it’s already clear the majority party will make it sound like it had no choice but to make severe cuts to K-12 education and higher education in the new operating budget. However, as is often the case, there is another side to the story. All of us in the Legislature – except for those who may have been in denial – came to Olympia this year knowing the level of state spending could not continue to grow like it has (more than 33 percent in four years!). Had the Legislature done what I and other Senate and House Republicans and the governor advised, which was to reduce spending quickly through policy changes and reforms to expensive programs, the huge cuts could have been avoided. By failing to make shallower cuts in January and fiddling around waiting for federal money the majority party guaranteed deeper cuts would be necessary. It is also interesting how the initial Senate budget proposed cuts – like closing the state facility in the Yakima Valley for the developmentally disabled, and a prison – which set the stage for talk about tax increases (either a sales tax hike or a new state income tax) to “buy back” those reductions. Yet it appears the final budget proposal will preserve some of those high-profile health and human services, in exchange for a somewhat lower ending balance. Could it be that when it became obvious the public was in no mood for tax increases, the majority party decided to do what it could have done from the start: go ahead and fund the programs and services that would have been at the center of a tax-increase campaign?
Update on agricultural issues available
While the budget situation certainly overshadowed many other issues this year, there was some progress made on the agriculture front. Please visit my Web site at [www.senaterepublicans.wa.gov/Schoesler www.senaterepublicans.wa.gov/Schoesler] and click on the AgAlert! logo for the latest edition of my report on ag-related legislation and issues.
Multi-billion-dollar “empty promise” to our state’s children passes Legislature
On Tuesday the Legislature completed its work on an education reform bill with a price tag that could be as high as $10 billion. The first phase is scheduled for the 2011-12 school year, even though the state is still spending more than it’s taking in and the economy is not expected to start turning around until mid-2010. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2261 adds to the definition of basic education increased instructional hours and high school graduation requirements, early learning for at-risk children, all-day kindergarten, programs for highly capable learners, and student transportation – making state funding mandatory under a decades-old court ruling. Meanwhile, as I mentioned above, the new state budget cuts deeply into K-12 funding including cuts to class size reduction and state levy equalization funds for property-poor districts. Everyone wants better schools, but putting a plan in place when there is no money to implement it is unfair to our state’s children and their parents.
Senate passes bill that lessens penalties for property crimes
Senate Republicans united against a measure that raises the value of stolen or damaged property before it counts as a felony crime. People and businesses who have been victimized would see more offenders getting little more than a slap on the hand under Senate Bill 6167. State law makes it a class B felony to steal or damage property valued at more than $1,500. Under SB 6167, that value would now have to be more than $5,000. The bill also raises the threshold for class C felony theft and property damage from at least $250 to $750 – good news for shoplifters and a big disappointment for merchants. (SB 6167 is now before the House of Representatives for consideration.)
Bill that gives away our voice in presidential elections pushed through
Senate Bill 5599 puts Washington in line to give away our Electoral College votes according to the national popular vote – not how we vote here in Washington. The United States Constitution gives states the absolute right to determine the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Washington has always cast its electoral votes for the presidential candidate who received the most popular votes in our state. I opposed this measure, which was sent to the governor on Tuesday. It goes into effect when the majority of states enact the same law.
Senate wins, Legislature approves bill to protect all students from teachers who prey
Youths with developmental disabilities may attend public schools until age 21. Many seniors turn 18, and some even 19, before they graduate. The Senate approved Substitute Senate Bill 5232, which I co-sponsored, on March 3. It would have ensured the state’s sexual-misconduct laws for school employees covered all students to age 21. This was in response to a recent Benton County court ruling calling the law “vague” and dismissing charges against a teacher who had sex with an 18-year-old female student. The House failed to act on SSB 5232 and instead sent to the Senate Engrossed House Bill 1385, which protected students only up through age 19. The Senate changed it to match the Senate bill, and protect students up to 21, then sent it back to the House. On Tuesday the House agreed to the change.
House refuses to consider Senate Republican bill to keep child porn out of sex predators’ hands
Senate Bill 5218, a bill I co-sponsored which passed the Senate unanimously, would have restricted computer access for violent sex predators housed in the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island over in Puget Sound. In 2007 it was discovered some individuals at the SCC had used its computers to view child pornography on discs and flash drives smuggled in from the outside, or even create it themselves using drawing programs. Senate Republicans won Senate passage of a similar bill in 2008, but it also died in the House of Representatives.
02/06/2009
BREAKING NEWS :: TAX ALERT!! :: Sen. Mark Schoesler's Ag Alert :: SB 5911
Dear Neighbors,
This morning Senate Democrats launched a surprise attack on agriculture in our state with a bill that includes two of the cruelest proposals imaginable:
For the first time, farmers would have to pay the hated business and occupation tax if their gross income is $200,000 or more.
Second, farm auctions would be subject to the state sales tax.
Notice of this bill’s imminent introduction reached me late yesterday. Ironically it was just hours after Farm Bureau members had wrapped up their annual visit to Olympia and legislators’ offices, unaware Senate Bill 5911 was on its way to the filing office.
More significantly, the loss of the B&O tax exemption for many farmers is being proposed the same week that Gov. Christine Gregoire publicly declared she doesn’t think the B&O tax is fair.
To top it off, the Senate Democrats are touting their plan to create jobs, particularly “green” jobs. So now they want to cripple the state’s largest and “greenest” industry, especially when the economy is down?
I draw two immediate conclusions from the Democrats’ stunning offensive against farming.
·The farmer-friendly talk and occasional pro-agriculture policy changes seen from the majority party these past few years (like agreeing to repeal the sales tax on farm diesel, for example) don’t count for much – if anything at all.
·Senate Democrats view tax increases, not spending reductions, as the solution to the massive budget gap caused by their spending decisions. Why else would they have proposed more than a dozen tax increases, including these new burdens for agriculture, just four weeks into the 2009 session?
Rather than focus on adopting a supplemental budget that would begin saving money now, as the governor has asked, it appears they already have decided to look to Washington taxpayers, including farmers, for a bailout.
I know gross incomes vary from farm to farm, but it’s my perception that a gross of $200,000 is right about where many farming operations become commercial and full-time. This tax could spell trouble for farms which have been struggling and discourage smaller farms from expanding.
Theoretically a farmer could gross far more than the $200,000 threshold but because of expenses net barely enough to avoid qualifying for food stamps or free school lunches or subsidized children’s health care. Still, that farmer would be hit with a B&O tax if SB 5911 becomes law – just one reason the B&O tax is the cruelest tax imposed.
And the tax exemption on farm auctions has been around since just after the Great Depression, if memory serves. Farm auctions often aren’t a joyous occasion in the first place, and the idea is to bring in maximum proceeds for creditors and farmers. Losing the sales tax exemption would only serve to discourage bidders.
Where does this bill come from? The two senators sponsoring it (one from Vancouver, the other from Bainbridge Island, where farms are scarce these days) likely would point to a citizen commission on tax preferences created by lawmakers in 2005. But that would not be completely accurate.
SB 5911 is titled, “An Act relating to adopting the recommendations of the citizen commission for performance measurement of tax preferences.” However, the commission did not recommend repealing the farm auction exemption. It instead recommended that “due to the fact that Washington currently does not have uniform tax treatment for all purchases of used farm machinery and equipment regardless of location and method by which the property is acquired, the Legislature should require reporting information of on-farm auction sales and review the policy of these retail sales and use tax exemptions.” That’s a significant difference.
Besides imposing the B&O tax, and the sales tax on farm auctions, SB 5911 also would do away with the public utility tax deduction for irrigation. In all, this bill completely or partially repeals seven deductions or exemptions.
We now must wait to see whether this bill is granted a public hearing before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which is the next step in the lawmaking process. I serve on that committee, as do SB 5911’s two sponsors.
In my first Ag Alert! of this year I mentioned the 2009 session promised to be one of the most challenging in my 16 years as a legislator. Well, it just became more challenging.
Here is the information on the three sponsors of SB 5911:
Senator Craig Pridemore, Democrat (Prime Sponsor) Office: 360-786-7696 E-mail: pridemore.craig@leg.wa.gov
Senator Phil Rockefeller, Democrat (Co-Sponsor) Office: 360-786-7644 E-Mail: Rockefeller.phil@leg.wa.gov
Senator Adam Kline, Democrat (Co-Sponsor) Office: 360-786-7688 E-Mail: kline.adam@leg.wa.gov
Share Ag Alert!
If you know someone who may want to receive my Ag Alert! on a regular basis, please have them contact my legislative assistant Krista Winters at winters.krista@leg.wa.gov or phone my Olympia office (1-800-562-6000 or 360- 786-7620) and provide their e-mail address and residential address so they can be added to my e-mail list.
Thanks.
Sen. Mark Schoesler
110 Irv Newhouse Building • PO Box 40409 • Olympia, WA 98504‐0409 E‐mail: Schoesler.mark@leg.wa.gov • Phone: (360) 786‐7620 On the Web: Click Here
