The 2009 Session / Summer 2009
Senator Phil
Rockefeller
Phone:
360.786.7887
Email:
Rockefeller.Phil@leg.wa.gov
Please visit Sen. Rockefeller’s website to sign up for his individual newsletter: www.senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/rockefeller
Representative Sherry
Appleton:
Phone:
360-786-7934
Email:
Appleton.Sherry@leg.wa.gov
Please visit Rep. Appleton’s website to
sign up for her individual newsletter: www.housedemocrats.wa.gov/members/appleton
Representative Christine
Rolfes
Phone:
360.786.7842
Email:
Rolfes.Christine@leg.wa.gov
Please visit Rep. Rolfes’ website to
sign up for her individual newsletter: www.housedemocrats.wa.gov/members/rolfes
Legislature
Toll-free Hotline: 1-800-562-6000
Hearing-impaired Hotline: 1-800-635-9993
In an effort to cut the production and mailing costs of our regular newsletters, we are sending a joint e-newsletter to update you on the 2009 Legislative Session.
Table of Contents (click to jump to section):
Upon arriving in Olympia in January we faced a budget crisis best described as simply unprecedented. And then it got worse.
While the budget crisis required lawmakers to set priorities and make difficult decisions, the final document did not pick winners and losers. Rather, it shared the sacrifice:
• 7,000 state employee positions were cut.
• Funding for K–12 and higher education funding was cut and college tuition was increased. With 40 percent of the state budget spent on K–12 education and 11 percent spent on higher education there was no way around it.
• Health-care and human-services program funding was decreased.
But it also managed to maintain a safety net, albeit a smaller one, for the state’s most vulnerable populations. And it was more than just a crisis management plan. The budget, written with an eye toward the future, was also the foundation for a recovery plan and a remodeled state government.
In recent weeks, the state’s Caseload Forecast Council produced a new projection for demands on state services and it came as no surprise in a struggling economy that demand is surging.
As we continue through difficult months, we hope you join us in reaching out to neighbors. So many people are struggling and if we all lend a hand, the road to recovery will be all the quicker. As always, we welcome your thoughts. Our door is always open.
Sincerely,
Rockefeller
Sherry Appleton
Christine Rolfes
Transportation: There’s some good news in this bad-news economy right now. Transportation projects are moving forward at unprecedented rates. During the session we approved a record $4.4 billion two-year transportation construction plan that will fund more than 400 projects across the state. Together with federal stimulus dollars, our total investment is expected to generate about 46,000 jobs at the time our economy and families need them most.
We are also taking a strong step forward on ferry reform. With the 2009-11 transportation budget, the focus is on prioritizing to get boats built and keeping service levels intact. We have a clear plan forward and are continuing toward our goal of reliable, safe and affordable ferry service.
The Hood Canal Bridge project recently wrapped up successfully, ensuring its continued operation for years to come. It was a proud, important achievement for our entire community.
And during this summer, a critical safety project has been underway along Highway 307 between Poulsbo and Kingston—which carries an increasing amount of ferry traffic. The $2.5 million improvements will improve safety in this accident-prone corridor and reduce congestion.
Capital Budget: Although it was cut by 30 percent overall due to the poor economic climate, the capital budget still had many bright spots for the Kitsap community. This biennial spending plan is primarily funded by bonds. This is one important way the government does create jobs. According to a UW study cited by the Associated General Contractors of Washington, every million dollars in the capital budget creates at least 30.8 jobs, mostly good construction jobs. And in a time when jobs are disappearing left and right, we are happy to say the 23rd district is receiving $8.5 million in this session’s capital budget.
Where will that money be spent? We could almost say, “Just look around!” Throughout the district and county, these dollars are going to work. Some examples:
Kitsap Mental Health’s Keller House $600,000
Poulsbo Marine Science Center $500,000
Kids’ Discovery Museum $250,000
Olympic College (Sophia Bremer Children’s Center) $2 million
Illahee State Park $1.85 million
Fay Bainbridge State Park $100,000
Manzanita Bay Park $868,000
Pacific Northwest Ilocandia Assoc. Multi-Cultural Center $250,000
All told, these millions of dollars in transportation and capital investment will enhance our economy, provide good-paying construction jobs and keep facilities running smoothly.
Legislators’ Reports
To jump to a specific member’s section below, please click on the name:
All the capital budget investments represent Kitsap victories, but I’m especially pleased with the much-needed money for the Marine Science Center. This facility is an educational jewel in our district, and a similar amount in last year’s budget was vetoed at the last minute. I understood Gov. Gregoire’s rationale, but I was still extremely disappointed, and I resolved that we would be successful this year. Fortunately, we were.
A circus acrobat may go an entire career without needing to use a safety net, but it’s always there, just in case. It’s that way with our societal safety net as well. Most of us won’t ever need it, but when disaster strikes, it’s good to know it’s there. Ironically, in tough economic times like these, we tend to neglect that safety net, even though the need for one increases. This session, it seems this was the first place many lawmakers looked when we realized how serious the budget shortfall was going to be.
Shredding the safety net is a classic example of being penny-wise but pound-foolish. Yes, spending less up front on, for example, substance-abuse treatment or assistance for persons who are flatly unemployable because of developmental disabilities or mental illness, can reduce the bottom line immediately. But ignoring problems doesn’t make them disappear, and the result is increased demand for expensive emergency services, for even more expensive health care, and for jails and prisons. We wind up having to spend far more than we saved.
Fortunately, after some perilous moments, the Legislature was convinced to spare much of our state’s safety net, although it took its hits the way other programs did. By saving drug courts, we can help non-violent drug offenders stay clean and sober for pennies a day, rather than warehousing them behind bars at astronomical costs. By keeping the Basic Health Plan up and running, even at a reduced size, we can help tens of thousands of low-income working families maintain their good health, rather than going broke helping them regain it. And by providing modest general assistance for the truly unemployable, we can spare countless human lives and help keep at least some of our neighbors from living on the streets or in the tent cities that seem to be such magnets of controversy and ill feelings in our cities.
The Legislature has talked for years about overhauling an outmoded education system that has seen local taxpayers carrying a heavier and heavier burden as the years go by. Our definition of what constitutes “basic education” has been far too narrow, and our methods of driving state dollars out to local school districts have been overly complicated, inefficient and, for want of a better word, stingy.
But while I respect the hard work by people throughout the state on this issue—including especially my friend Phil Rockefeller, a nationally recognized authority on education—and while I share with almost every citizen a belief that education is the key to our state’s future economic and cultural strength, I did not vote in favor of HB 2261. It set lofty goals, many of which I support, but I’m afraid that the bill as passed is essentially an empty promise. The bill’s advocates this year were unwilling or unable to provide the money to accomplish those goals, and I could not vote for a bill that simply tells future Legislatures what to do, without giving them the means to do it. This is a multi-billion-dollar commitment, but it provided only a few million dollars to fund a study. I’d rather this money had gone to increase teacher salaries. The bill ultimately did pass, by a narrow Senate vote of 26-23 and by a larger margin in the House, and it will be the law of the land. I hope the state can find the will in coming sessions to provide the funding that we did not.
Energy efficiency, job
opportunities
This session I took the opportunity to push for the passage of several climate change and energy efficiency bills. Among them were:
Senate Bill 5649 targets the reduction of energy consumption by retrofitting 20,000 homes and buildings. This will reduce heating bills and provide thousands of living-wage jobs for workers, apprentices, veterans and disadvantaged populations and reduce greenhouse gases. I worked with local businesses, community action agencies, community colleges and a national organization, Green for All. This bill makes use of federal recovery dollars. If you are interested in learning more, click here.
Senate Bill 5921 creates the statewide public-private Clean Energy Leadership Council to help Washington’s energy policies, technologies, and capital move in the same direction. The focus is on companies that can deliver renewable energy alternatives. I am a member of this council and was delighted to actively participate at our first meeting in August.
While the cap-and-trade bill I sponsored didn’t pass, following the session, many of my ideas were included in the Governor’s Executive Order.
We took an important step by broadening our definition of basic education and creating a framework for reform The revised definition includes programs for gifted education, something I have fought for since the 1980’s, when I was Governor Spellman’s Assistant for Education. It sets forth more transparent financing formulas using inputs such as class size, types of school staff, central office administration, enhanced allocations for categorical programs, and allocations for maintenance, supplies, and operating costs.
While my colleague Sherry and many educators are naturally concerned about the timing of these changes, I believe the best way to plan for future K-12 funding is for the state to update its responsibilities with the sort of framework this legislation provides. These changes will be phased in over a period of nine years, giving our state time to rebuild its economy and to allocate the funding necessary to implement these needed reforms.
Expansion of Olympic
College baccalaureate program
In June, I was proud to speak to over 500 graduates and their families, friends and faculty at the Olympic College Commencement. Among them was the first class of 11 students to graduate with a bachelor degree in nursing.
In 2005 the Legislature authorized a pilot program for applied baccalaureate degrees in specialized areas of study. Too many residents in our state have been limited by geography and travel time or by the limited offerings of four-year colleges from seeking the training they need to get ahead in life. Olympic was among the four colleges selected, in a competition. They chose to offer the nursing program, not just because of a compelling student and community need, but also because it was understood this program supports a vital health services industry in Kitsap County.
This year we added thirty more full-time baccalaureate enrollment slots at Olympic College and secured funding for additional degree programs in partnership with four-year universities.
For people deployed in the National Guard or Armed Forces Reserves, uncertainty about the economy and their post-duty job prospects is a major concern in this weak economic climate. What if a spouse is laid off at home while the other is away? Will the job the soldier left behind still exist upon returning from duty?
I introduced House Bill 1049 during the 2009 session in order to expand veterans’ relief opportunities. This bill expands the definition of what a “veteran” is to include current members of the National Guard and Armed Forces Reserves who have been deployed to serve in an armed conflict. These veterans and their families will be eligible for the veteran relief programs that all counties administer, both during their deployment and upon their return.
Saving money for businesses
and families through energy efficiency
What is the best way to meet our future energy needs, lift up our economy and address climate change? Energy efficiency.
More than 30 percent of our state’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the energy used in buildings. It’s time to get this under control, not just for the sake of the environment but also to keep our economy strong. By using our existing buildings more efficiently, we reduce the need to invest continually in new energy sources—a very costly process that is ultimately borne by consumers and businesses.
For this reason, I’m excited that Senate Bill 5854 (I sponsored the House version, 1747) became law in July. It will update our building codes so that we can substantially lower emissions—70 percent less than today by 2031. This legislation means fewer emissions, lower operating costs for business and being able to meet our future energy needs.
Ensuring crime victims have
voices
The passage of House Bill 1076 means that, for the first time, crime victims and their families will be listened to by the Department of Corrections as it determines an offender’s work-release placement.
Work release is a program that allows certain offenders to enter the community for purposes of employment. DOC can convert up to six months of a sentence into work release. Until now, DOC wasn’t required to consider victims’ input. Think about it: If the perpetrator of a crime against you or a loved one was about to be released into your community, wouldn’t you like to have a say in how DOC handles the placement?
Thanks to the bravery and advocacy of Kitsap resident Nora Sizemore, who lost her son in an automobile accident in 2005, this issue came to my attention and we took action to ensure that victims have a voice.
Thank you for reading our legislative update. We hope you’ve found it useful and informative.