OLYMPIA — The state Legislature took out its budget ax during its first week in session this year, but where it will fall remains to be seen.
Lynn Kessler, House majority leader and one of three state legislators representing Jefferson and Clallam counties in Olympia, said both the House of Representatives and the Senate began drafting their “early belt-tightening” bills last week.
The majority Democrats have been talking about raising new revenue — such as extending sales taxes to exempt products or the closing of tax loopholes — to preserve the “social safety net,” but only one tax bill has been introduced so far in the 60-day session.
That bill would increase the sales tax on cigarettes by $1.
“Everything that we do is not going to be taxes,” said Kessler, D-Hoquiam, who sits on the House’s budgetary committee known as Ways and Means.
“We are going to do a lot of cuts.”
$50 million in cuts
Once consolidated and passed by both houses, the cuts in the early belt-tightening bills will immediately go into effect.
Kessler said the House’s bill includes about $50 million in cuts, partially through bonus freezes to state employees, extending salary freezes from last year and furloughs.
Privatizing liquor stores and the state-owned printing press have also been proposed, she said.
By the end of the session, the Legislature will have to do much more to tackle the state’s $2.6 billion deficit.
The deficit is the projected gap in funding for the rest of the biennial budget, passed last year. The biennium ends July 1, 2011.
Last session, the Legislature filled in a $9 billion deficit projected at that time from July 2009 to July 2011 with about $4.2 billion in cuts, the use of reserves and federal bailout funds.
Each of the North Olympic Peninsula’s representatives — Kessler; Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim; and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam — said there will be more cuts, but there will also need to be some new revenue to preserve social programs, such as the state’s Basic Health Plan.
Tax candy?
In terms of how they would raise it, they say they would get behind closing tax loopholes but haven’t ruled out approving the cigarette tax increase or extending sales taxes to other “discretionary items” such as bottled water and candy.
Whether it will take more than that depends on what cuts can be passed, Kessler said.
But what’s not on the table, she said, is a state income tax.
In order to raise any new revenue, the Peninsula’s representatives are behind suspending I-960.
Passed by voters in 2007, it requires the Legislature to pass any new revenue with two-thirds approval.
Even though Democrats are the majority party in both houses, Peninsula representatives said they know the Republicans won’t go for any increases.
“The minority party’s job is to resist everything and make it hard for us,” Hargrove said.
“And when Democrats are the minority we do the same thing.”
Hargrove is also proposing closing a juvenile offense center, noting that it houses too few offenders for it to stay open.
‘Two-thirds rule’
The lawmakers said they wouldn’t propose suspending I-960 it if it wasn’t for what Kessler called the “Great Recession.”
But for supporters of I-960, such as Sequim resident Dagny Lord, any such move would be an unnecessary infringement on the will of the voters.
“People really need to be for something if it’s a good idea and not be bullied into it or bullied against it,” she said, when asked why she supports the two-thirds rule.
Lord, a 60-year-old nurse, is a co-sponsor on a new initiative filed by political activist Tim Eyman last Monday to prohibit the Legislature from suspending I-960 this session.
She said she supports social programs, such as those that help pay for the health care of the children she serves, but thinks that the Legislature needs to solve their inefficacies before throwing more money at them.
“For 15 years,” Lord said, “I’ve had contracts with DSHS [state Department of Social and Health Services].
“And I’m not seeing any improvement.”
Reform corrections
Hargrove, who chairs the Senate’s Human Services and Corrections committee, said the Legislature is looking at reforming the state’s corrections system in response to the murder of four Lakewood police officers in November.
Two hearings were held in his committee on Thursday and Friday addressing the issue.
“The Department of Corrections was there; we had the judges, sheriffs, people talking about the bail system, what potentially went wrong there,” he said.
The officers’ killer was an Arkansas parolee, Maurice Clemmons.
The proposals would give Washington more authority to deal with felons from other states, Hargrove said.
For example, he said, they are looking at revising Washington’s “interstate compact” to allow the state to revoke parole of a criminal who was convicted in another state if they commit violent crimes here.
Kessler’s proposals
While they haven’t been listed on the Legislature’s Web site yet, Kessler said she has introduced bills that would:
■ Prevent companies that have never produced asbestos, but acquired others that did, from being included in asbestos-related lawsuits.
■ Create a review board for public records lawsuits.
■ Give a $2,000 tax credit for each job created by businesses in rural areas.
■ Make the business and operations tax reduction for newspapers permanent.
■ Strengthen laws for people convicted of multiple DUIs.
Van De Wege’s plans
Last week, Van De Wege introduced:
■ House Bill 2935, reducing the number of Growth Management Hearing Boards from three to one.
■ House Bill 2862, allowing the state director of fire protection to refuse membership in the public
employees’ retirement system.
Van De Wege said he has also reintroduced House Bill 1885, prohibiting people from feeding certain species of wildlife, such as deer. It was sent to the Rules committee last session, but didn’t get read in time to make it to a vote.
Hargrove’s list
Last week, Hargrove introduced:
■ Senate Bill 6360, creating a grant program to help county sheriffs track sex offenders.
■ Senate Bill 6482, modifying regulations regarding companies that install and inspect fire suppression
systems.
■ Senate Bill 6483, requiring the state Fish and Wildlife Department to get approval from the
Legislature for new species management, recovery or reintroduction plans that don’t include “natural propagation.”
■ Senate Bill 6504, limiting the amount the state Department of Labor and Industries can compensate the families of someone who died in a workplace accident for their burial to $5,000.
■ Senate Bill 6548, suspending parole or probation of an offender who is charged with a new felony.
■ Senate Bill 6549, creating a board to supervise people acquitted by reason of insanity.
■ Senate Bill 6550, imposing sanctions on offenders who violate their sentences by assaulting a law enforcement officer, employee of a law enforcement agency or Department of Corrections employee.
Hargrove and Van De Wege are co-sponsors of a bill that would reduce the ability of public entities to acquire property through eminent domain.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
