By Molly Rosbach
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — As the state struggles to climb out of the Great Recession, state lawmakers are focusing on cutting back, consolidating and creating jobs.
Any proposal with a price tag attached is sure to receive extra scrutiny, and the catchphrase “get Washington working again” is everywhere in the state Capitol.
Halfway through the 105-day session, legislators have approved stacks of bills aimed at trimming government spending, from requiring all counties to vote by mail instead of polling centers to ending the “retire-rehire” practice that has allowed several thousand state employees to earn both a paycheck and a pension.
Most bills that aren’t necessary for the state budget died this week if they hadn’t passed either the House or the Senate.
Here’s a look at what’s still in play:
■ The budget: Lawmakers spent more than a month negotiating a package of spending cuts and fund transfers worth about $370 million, but they still must slash $226 million from the current fiscal year’s deficit before moving on to the projected $5 billion shortfall in the upcoming two-year budget.
The 2010 fix includes cuts to K-12 education, higher education and programs that benefit the poor.
The Legislature has little alternative to cutting spending this year after voters turned down all new tax proposals on the November ballot and passed Initiative 1053, requiring a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate or statewide voter approval to impose any new taxes.
■ Gregoire’s agenda: Gov. Chris Gregoire told legislators that this was a clear message from the voters: They want the government to live within its means.
But her proposals have gotten a mixed reception.
Her proposal to restructure the state’s ferry system so taxpayers around Puget Sound pay more of its costs is all but dead; she’s fighting to keep her idea of a new Department of Education alive; and a proposal to consolidate state agencies is progressing slowly.
But Gregoire’s push to give employers a tax break in unemployment taxes was a success after a deal brokered between businesses and labor.
■ Workers’ comp: One of the most contentious issues has been reforming the state-run workers’ compensation system.
Gregoire early on proposed several changes to the system, which the state auditor’s December report showed as having a 95 percent chance of insolvency within the next five years.
Historically antagonistic business and labor groups have gone head-to-head so far, with labor pushing for greater medical benefits and business seeking alternatives to long-term payments.
In a coup for business interests, the Senate approved a bill that would establish a lump-sum settlement option for injured workers, something most other states already have.
Labor groups, who support pensions and long-term benefit payments for employees, say the settlement option would favor only workers who can afford a good lawyer.
The House approved a package of bills aimed at streamlining the workers’ compensation process and increasing oversight for employers.
■ Education: Nearly $2 billion of the cuts in the upcoming two-year budget could come from kindergarten-12th grade education, in areas that theoretically don’t violate the state’s constitutional duty to protect basic education. The biggest chunk would come from programs to reduce class sizes.
Higher education will also take a hit, with Gregoire proposing a $600 million cut. The state is expected to raise tuition by 9 to 11 percent, but universities will have to make up the rest of the shortfall by cutting jobs and limiting admission rates.
In last month’s 2010 budget agreement, K-12 education was cut by $60 million and higher education lost $26 million.
Republicans continue to decry the deep cuts to education, arguing instead to slash medical services for the poor.
■ Ferry system: Gregoire’s initial proposal to create a regional ferry authority didn’t get much airtime after her State of the State speech at the beginning of the session in January, but she still wants to reform the Washington State Ferries system.
Last week, the governor signed an agreement with the ferry union that should save the state about $10 million annually.
If ferry workers ratify it, Gregoire’s office says the new contract and other administrative cuts should trim about $80 million from the ferry budget for the next two years
■ Unemployment taxes: In a compromise to a hard-fought battle between business and labor last month, Gregoire signed into law a $300 million tax break for businesses and a temporary pay increase for people seeking unemployment.
The tax break will allow businesses to avoid an expected 36 percent jump in unemployment taxes and temporarily upped benefits for unemployed workers by $25 a week.
Washington’s unemployment insurance is still in much better shape than many around the country; 35 states currently have bankrupt unemployment insurance funds.
■ Department of Education: The governor’s proposal to consolidate all of Washington’s education programs and committees into one cabinet-level department has passed the Senate, but the House is offering an alternative approach.
The two bills are far apart philosophically, but lawmakers say they have plenty of time to compromise.
■ Medical marijuana: Lawmakers are working on a bill that further clarifies the state’s law on medical marijuana sales, distribution and growth.
It passed the Senate and is now in the House, even though opponents argued that it moved the state closer to legalization.
The measure has received support even from Republicans, including the Senate minority leader.
■ Drunken driving: Several drunken driving measures introduced in the House were meshed together into one bill:
It increases the minimum jail time for first-time offenders, requires the installation of ignition interlock devices in negligent and reckless driving convictions, and clarifies the number of convictions needed to reach a felony.
The House also approved a bill allowing courts to establish specialty DUI courts, which would require offenders to go through treatment.
■ Campaign finance disclosure: The Senate approved a bill tightening regulations for campaign finance disclosure. The measure focuses on transparency after a high-profile scandal last year.
Political action groups would face more specific naming guidelines and stricter contribution reporting requirements to ensure voters know where information comes from.
■ Education reform: A variety of education reform ideas — some to save money and others to spend it — are still moving through the Legislature.
A Running Start bill would allow colleges to limit free high school enrollment in the program to help deal with budget cuts and over-enrollment.
A Guaranteed Education Tuition bill would allow the popular pre-paid tuition program’s governing board to put new restrictions on how many GET units can be purchased, when they can be used and for what.
■ Phosphorus: A measure that passed the House would limit the use of phosphorus in lawn fertilizers over concerns that it contributes to harmful algae blooms in lake and river water.
This was one of four priorities of the environmental community.
■ Oil spill response: The House passed a measure to beef up response to oil spills in the state, in the wake of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year.
The bill calls for extra contingency planning requirements for tank vessels, among other things.
■ Stormwater fee: A House measure would charge a 1 percent fee on the wholesale value of petroleum products, pesticides and fertilizers to raise an estimated $100 million a year for local stormwater control projects.
Oil, agriculture and other business interests are opposing the bill, which is stalled in committee.
Neither the Senate or House passed their respective bills, SB5604 and HB 1735, but the measures are still alive under the budget loophole.
■ Rape victim testimony: In response to a young woman who climbed on top of the King County Courthouse rather than face her accused rapist in trial, the House passed a bill to require sexual assault defendants to use a third-party for cross examination when representing themselves in court.
The bill aims to protect victims from being retraumatized, and now moves to the Senate.
■ Inmate assault compensations: In response to the slaying of corrections officer Jayme Biendl, prison guards lobbied for a new law to allow them to collect damages from inmates who assault them.
The bill aims to lower inmates’ income as a deterrent to violent behavior, and passed unanimously in the Senate and advanced to the House.
