State lawmakers are nearing the home stretch of their 105-day session in Olympia. A looming budget crisis has dominated this year’s discussions and many money-related issues have yet to be resolved. But in the meantime, legislators have made progress on a variety of subjects. This is our annual update of where legislation stands just past the session’s midpoint.
To learn more about each bill, go to leg.wa.gov/billinfo. Type the four-digit bill number into the box and when the next screen comes up, click on “Bill report.” That is a summary of what the bill would do, who testified in favor of and against the bill, and what their arguments were.
TAX & SPEND
Budget and taxes: The state now faces an estimated $8.31 billion projected deficit over the next 28 months. Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed a no-new-taxes budget. Senate Democrats say they will unveil their budget proposal sometime after Thursday’s revenue forecast. The state is getting about $3 billion in help from Uncle Sam, but the Legislature will have to make deeper cuts than the governor did in her proposal. Lawmakers are likely to ask voters in November to raise taxes, and polling indicates voters might go for temporary taxes, especially if they are on liquor, cigarettes, candy, gum and pop.
Capital budget: Pots of money ordinarily earmarked for construction projects might be raided to help the state out of its $8.31 billion shortfall on the operating side of the budget, perhaps $300 million to $800 million. Some, but not all, of the projects that are losing money would be replenished by borrowed funds. Part of budget discussion.
State hiring freeze: The governor signed HB 1694, which puts a partial freeze (prison workers and some others are exempt) on state hiring, cuts $300 million in spending for 2007-09, uses federal funds instead of state money to pay for $340 million of other programs, and requires special permission to buy things that cost more than $1,000. If those cuts are continued through 2009-11, they shave another $1 billion off the shortfall.
Liquor stores: The governor wants to open 10 more stores to bring in $21 million more in revenue for the state. Part of budget discussions.
King County car tax: The County Council wants authority to impose a 1 percent motor vehicle excise tax countywide to raise more money for transit service. Never got off the ground.
Porn tax: HB 2103 would have let the state impose an 18.5 percent sales tax on visual pornography. Died without getting a public hearing in the House Finance Committee.
City, county taxes: HB 1147, HB 2249, SB 5433 and SB 5301 would combine to give local governments more latitude in how they spend existing authority for sales taxes that now are earmarked for mental health and public safety, letting them use money to avoid layoffs. There also are discussions on whether to let King County levy utility taxes that now are reserved only for cities. Part of budget discussions.
Cigarette tax: SB 5626 is a bill to raise the state cigarette tax by $1 per pack of 20 cigarettes, to $3.02, which would raise about $90 million a year. No hearing yet, but don’t be surprised to see some version of this on the November ballot.
ROADS & TRANSIT
Transportation budget: There is a $500 million shortfall in the 2009-11 budget, and several projects in Pierce County are at risk of being delayed to death, including car-pool lanes on Interstate 5 from the Tacoma Mall to Fife and property purchases for the eventual extension of Highway 167 from the Port of Tacoma to Puyallup. Part of budget discussion.
Toll surcharge: SB 5556 would prohibit District Court from reducing any of the $12 surcharge that is part of the $52 ticket for failing to pay a toll to cross the Tacoma Narrows bridge because the surcharge goes to help pay off the bridge. Senate passed, 42-3.
Vancouver-Portland transit: SB 5540 would allow Clark County and Vancouver to create a high-capacity transit taxing district similar to Sound Transit and impose a sales tax of 0.9 percent to help pay for light rail or buses over the Columbia River to Portland. Senate passed, 30-17.
Tacoma car-pool lanes: The governor delayed many of the car-pool lane projects on Interstate 5 between the Tacoma Mall and Fife in her transportation budget proposal, and they might not be built. The Pierce County delegation is trying to get some projects restored to their original timetable. Part of budget discussions.
Nalley Valley Viaduct: The governor signed into law HB 1978, the 2007-09 supplemental transportation budget that includes $70 million to put construction of the eastbound portion of the viaduct back on schedule in 2011-13, instead of being delayed by two years.
Narrows Bridge tolls: No decision has yet been made by the state transportation commission on whether to increase tolls or leave them at $2.75 for transponders and $4 for tollbooth for one more year. The Legislature has final say, anyway. Part of budget discussions.
Murray Morgan Bridge: Tacoma is trying to get the state to pony up an additional $25 million to the $40 million the state already has committed to replacing the bridge on East 11th Street. Part of budget discussions.
Tolls on Highway 167: The Port of Tacoma wants money to study the feasibility of collecting tolls to help pay for a future extension of Highway 167 from the port to the Puyallup River Bridge at Meridian, although tolling could be done all the way north to Interstate 405. Part of budget discussions.
Alaskan Way Viaduct: SB 5768 would authorize the state to pay $2.4 billion to bore a 1.7-mile tunnel under downtown Seattle to replace the elevated structure, part of a total $4.24 billion project that obliges Seattle to pay for seawall replacement and relocation of utilities. The bill also authorizes a study to see if tolling can raise an additional $400 million. Senate passed, 43-6.
Studded tire ban: SB 6066 would have banned the sale of all studded tires on Jan. 1, 2010, and banned their use by Jan. 1, 2014. Died in Senate Transportation Committee.
Narrows Bridge: SB 5795 would give the state Transportation Commission the authority to make sure toll money collected from bridge commuters is spent only on expenses directly related to bridge operations. Senate passed, 45-0.
Tolls on 520 and I-90 bridges: HB 2211 would impose a one-way toll on the Highway 520 bridge of no more than $3.25 before the new bridge is built and $3.80 afterward. It’s possible the I-90 bridge across Lake Washington could be tolled. If the state puts tolls on Highway 520 by October, the federal government is likely to pay for installation of tolling equipment. Part of transportation budget discussion.
Electric cars: HB 1481 would: give a sales tax break on the sale of electric vehicles, batteries and installation of infrastructure, such as charging outlets; tell the state to install charging stations at rest areas and fleet maintenance yards by the end of 2015; set a goal of 40 percent electric or biofuel vehicles in fleets for state and local governments by mid-2013; and have Pierce, King and Snohomish counties study how to set up a network for plug-in outlets in the region. House passed, 71-23.
new Narrows Bridge: HB 1463 would forgive the $40 million in sales tax that is owed on construction of the new bridge, slightly slowing the growth of tolls on the Tacoma bridge. House passed, 96-0, but not likely to win approval in the Senate.
Regional transportation: SB 6064 would allow creation of a board of elected officials in Pierce, King, Snohomish and Kitsap counties to made decisions on transportation projects in the Puget Sound region. Probably won’t advance beyond the hearing it got in Senate Transportation Committee, but you never know.
HEALTH & WELFARE
Children’s health care: HB 2128 would, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009, allow children in a family of four whose parents make as much as $63,600 a year to enroll in a state-subsidized health care program. It also delays until Jan. 1, 2010, development of another health coverage program for children in families with incomes higher than three times the poverty level. House passed, 68-28.
General assistance: The governor has proposed getting rid of a program that provides medical coverage and $339 monthly payments to about 16,000 on General Assistance Unemployable and ADATSA, a medical coverage and subsistence program for drug addicts, to save $415 million. Legislative leaders have indicated their budget won’t be so severe in cuts. Part of budget discussions.
Testing for deadly MRSA: HB 1123 originally would have made hospitals do extensive testing for the hard-to-kill deadly bacteria, but now requires all of them only to adopt policies by Jan. 1, 2010, to do tests in their intensive care units. House passed, 97-0.
Universal health care: SB 5945 sets a goal of providing health care coverage for everyone by 2012. Senate passed, 28-19.
EDUCATION
Borrow for schools: Don’t be surprised to see the Legislature put a multibillion-dollar, job-creating bond issue on the ballot, with a request to raise an array of taxes over 20 years to pay for school remodels and construction, technology projects and “green” projects. Part of budget discussions.
Basic education funding: SB 6048 (and HB 2261) would take a first step toward overhauling the way the state pays for kindergarten through 12th-grade education, but postpones the hard (money) decisions until after 2011 and removes recommendations in other bills that would have called for merit (not automatic) pay for teachers and statewide collective bargaining (instead of by school districts). Senate passed, 28-20.
Youth concussions: HB 1824 would require coaches to remove players from games if they suffer concussions and not let them return until a licensed health professional certifies the athlete has recovered from the head injury. House passed, 94-0.
UW Tacoma: The governor’s budget includes $34 million to turn the Joy Building into classrooms for the downtown Tacoma campus. Part of budget discussion.
Tuition: The governor has proposed 7 percent increases at the four-year state universities and 5 percent hikes at the two-year colleges for each of the next two years for undergraduates who are Washington residents. The amount could go higher. Part of budget discussions.
Stun guns in schools: SB 5263 would add stun guns and Tasers to the list of weapons that cannot be brought onto school property. Senate passed, 48-0.
Four-day school week: HB 1292 would let mostly rural school districts with fewer than 500 students shorten their school year to less than the required 180 days as long as they provide 1,000 hours of instruction. House passed, 87-10.
Military schoolkids: HB 1075 would enroll the state in an interstate compact and set uniform rules that govern how schools handle children who transfer from one state to another when their military parents have been reassigned. House passed, 96-0.
Post-grad tuition: SB 5734 would let the University of Washington and other public colleges continue to set tuition rates and fees for out-of-state and postgraduate students through 2015-16 school year. Senate passed, 44-0.
All-day kindergarten: There’s a chance that state funding for all-day kindergarten at lower-income schools might be frozen so it exists only at 10 percent of schools, or the state-paid portion could be reduced or eliminated. Part of budget talks.
CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Prostitution penalties: HB 1362 would allow cops to impound vehicles used in prostitution offenses by hookers, pimps or customers, and make them pay an additional $500 fee to reclaim vehicles if the act of prostitution took place in areas designated by city or county councils. House passed, 91-4.
Ex-con supervision: SB 5288 would reduce supervision of offenders who get out of jail or prison to only six months unless they are considered at high risk to re-offend – that is, mostly sex offenders, the dangerously mentally ill and some others. Senate passed, 38-8.
Death Penalty: SB 5476 would have abolished the death penalty in Washington. Died in committee.
Deport inmates: HB 2188 would allow the state to deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes and are now serving time in Washington prisons. This is the kind of issue that might be put in the budget. Governor request.
Release sick convicts: HB 2194 would let the state give early release to inmates who are chronically or terminally ill and cost the state a lot in health care costs. Requested by governor, so provisions for this policy might be put in the budget.
Felony suspects’ DNA: HB 1382 would let authorities collect DNA samples from people arrested on suspicion of committing felony crimes instead of waiting until they are convicted, contingent on federal funds to implement. Seems to have died in House budget committee.
Ex-con voting rights: HB 1517 would allow ex-cons to vote after they finish their sentences and after they no longer are under community supervision.. House passed, 53-43.
Marijuana fines: SB 5615 would lower the penalties for adult possession of less than 1.4 ounces of dope, making it a $100 fine instead of a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of as much as 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Appears to have died.
BUSINESS, LABOR & CONSUMER
Bigger unemployment checks: Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law HB 1906, which will raise the minimum weekly benefit check to $200 and boost other payments by $45 a week across the board. Takes effect May 3.
Union management: SB 5446 and HB 1528 are the so-called “Worker Privacy Act” measures that would have allowed workers to walk out of company meetings that required them to listen to anti-union stuff, charitable payroll deductions, etc. House and Senate leaders killed the bills after they received threats by organized labor to withhold campaign contributions if the bills did not advance. The State Patrol is investigating the threats as a possible criminal violation.
Boeing tax breaks: SB 6117 is a blank bill that serves as a placeholder for whatever inducements the state may offer to encourage the company to assemble the next line of 787s in Washington. A late-session measure.
Jobs tax credit: SB 5899 would let businesses with 10 or fewer workers subtract $2,000 to $4,000 from their state business taxes for every new job they create whose salary and benefits combined are at least 50 percent higher than the state minimum wage. Senate passed, 46-0.
Asbestos lawsuits: SB 5964 would have overturned a state Supreme Court decision from December and made more companies liable for injuries if asbestos were made a part of their product. Killed by Senate Democrats after lawyers lobbying for the bill paid for full-page newspaper ads attacking some of the senators for allegedly holding up passage of the bill.
Unemployment: SB 5963 would limit the list of valid reasons for quitting a job to 12, such as being stalked by an ex-spouse, and readjust the rates paid into the unemployment insurance trust fund by seasonal and year-round employers. Senate passed, 38-11.
Day-care unions: HB 1329 would let operators and employees of child-care centers form a union to bargain with the state for pay and benefits if at least one child at the center is state-subsidized. The KinderCares chain, YMCAs and others with 10 or more centers, as well as government- or tribal-run centers, are exempt. House passed, 65-31.
Tattoos, piercings: SB 5391 would require tattoo and body-piercing artists to be licensed by the state by July 1, 2010. Senate passed, 47-1. House has passed HB 1085, a slightly different version, on a 96-1 vote.
Consumer protection: SB 5531 would give judges the discretion to award as much as $50,000 in damages to private parties and local governments who sue and win using the state Consumer Protection Act. Senate passed, 28-17.
Payday loans: HB 1709 would allow borrowers to take out a total of no more than $700 in loans, altogether, or 30 percent of their monthly pay, whichever is less. House passed, 94-0.
Car sales fee: HB 1939 would triple the maximum document fee that auto dealers could charge customers for processing sales paperwork – to $150 – until July 2014, when it would revert to the current $50 fee. House passed, 73-22.
Newspaper tax break: HB 2122 would lower the state business and occupation tax rate for newspaper and printing companies by 43 percent, making their rate the same as it is for The Boeing Co., Weyerhaeuser and Microsoft, lowering their taxes (and state tax collections) by an estimated $3 million over the next two years. House passed, 91-5.
ENVIRONMENT /RECREATION
Park closures: As many as 40 state parks face closure or transfer to local government, including Kopachuk, Dash Point, Saltwater, Joemma Beach, Tolmie and Millersylvania. Part of budget discussion.
Fish and wildlife commission: SB 5127 would shrink the size of the commission to seven members from nine and reduce their terms from six years to three years. The governor would appoint the chair and the vice chair, and also would choose the director. Senate passed, 33-15.
Trail tax: SB 5545 would let the Pierce County Council put a 0.1 percent sales tax increase proposal on the ballot, raising about $13 million a year to pay for a countywide trail system and park improvements. Died in Senate budget committee.
Oil tax for cleanup: HB 1614 would levy a $1.50 tax on each barrel to raise $110 million a year for prevention and cleanup of pollution from stormwater runoff. Look for some variation, possibly on a ballot measure this fall.
Young hunters: HB 1114 would require hunters on public lands who are younger than 14 be accompanied by someone 18 or older who has taken a hunting safety class. Violations would be a ticket infraction. House passed, 70-26.
ELECTIONS
Special elections: HB 1018 would get rid of one of four dates that most school and fire districts use for special elections in the spring. The date in March would go away. The February election would move to the second Tuesday. The April election would stay. The May election would be only for “do-over” levies that fail the first time around. House passed, 67-29.
Campaign lies: HB 1286 would prohibit candidates from lying about their opponents if the remarks are defamatory and if the candidate knows the remarks are false or doesn’t care whether they are true or false. That’s the same standard for proving slander or libel under the state Constitution. House passed, 92-2.
Prove citizenship: SB 5213 would have required proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. Died in committee.
Vote by mail: HB 1572, which is aimed squarely at Pierce County, would require all counties to conduct elections entirely by mail-in ballot, starting later this year. House passed, 54-43.
STADIUM PROJECTS
Cheney Stadium: Tacoma wants an additional $4.5 million from the state to fix up the Tacoma Rainiers ballpark. Part of budget discussions.
Mariners-Seahawks taxes: HB 2252 would end state funding for Safeco Field and Qwest Field after they are paid off (the Mariners ballpark in 2010 and the Seahawks in 2021) and stop collection of the special 0.5 percent sales tax in King County restaurants in 2015, but would continue hotel-motel and car-rental taxes in King County indefinitely. That money would be redirected to art and heritage museums, community development (aka money for International District businesses), low-income housing (especially close to light-rail stations and transit centers), regional centers and human services. House passed, 54-42.
KeyArena: Seattle wants state money that now goes to pay for the state convention center to be shifted to pay for improvements to an arena so the city can try to lure another NBA team to Seattle. Part of budget discussions. HB 2281 is a placeholder for whatever agreement finally is reached.
Husky Stadium: The UW wants authority to use some taxes in King County to pay for $150 million of a $300 million overhaul to the structure in Montlake. Part of budget discussions.
MISCELLANEOUS
Gay marriage: SB 5674 would have allowed same-sex couples to marry. Died in committee.
Breast-feeding: HB 1596 would make breast-feeding in a public place a protected right under the state’s civil rights laws. House passed, 93-0.
Dogs in bars: SB 5336 would have allowed patrons to bring their dogs into bars and coffee shops. Died in committee.
Internet tobacco sales: SB 5340 would require companies who sell cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff and other tobacco products (except cigars) online to ship them only to retailers and wholesalers, not private residences or businesses, to keep teens from buying online and everyone from avoiding state taxes. Senate passed, 47-0.
RVs, mobile homes: HB 1227 would prohibit cities and counties from banning recreational vehicles from moving into mobile home parks if the RV is being used as a permanent residence. House passed, 88-7.
Gay civil rights: SB 5688 would give same-sex couples all the civil rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples, except marriage. Senate passed, 30-18.
E-911 telephone fee: HB 2029 would raise the monthly fee for Enhanced 911 operations to 25 cents from 20 cents for the state share and to 70 cents from 50 cents for each county’s share. Approved by House Finance Committee and likely to win approval from the full House later this session.
Family leave: HB 1609 would give families $250 a week for up to six weeks to take care of a newborn or adopted child, funded by a 2-cent-an-hour payroll deduction from workers. Probably dead this year because it would require a supermajority vote of Legislature.
State Liquor Board: SB 6065 would dissolve the paid three-member liquor board, turn members into volunteers and put a governor-appointed executive director in charge of state liquor stores. Not yet passed by Senate, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead. The governor wants the bill.
State Commerce Department: HB 2242 would convert the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development into the “Commerce” Department and tell its newly appointed director to make recommendations by Nov. 1 as to what the new agency’s mission should be and what to do with parts of CTED that no longer fit. House passed, 96-1.
Joseph Turner: 253-597-8436
blogs.thenewstribune.com/politics
