| |
Posted by
May 2009
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Some Session Perspective
Posted by Richard S. Davis on 5/7/2009 4:42:00 PM
Two podcasts at AWB's Olympia Business watch ( Part 1 and Part 2) take a look at the recently-concluded legislative session. In this column, I take a look at the legislature's uneven budget performance. They simply must engage the public in a constructive conversation about
this state’s overreliance on property and sales taxes and how the
missing third leg of the stool — an income tax — is necessary to level
out the revenue peaks and valleys that this state constantly
experiences.
Peaks and valleys that are routinely experienced in every state when the economy swirls down the drain. Oh well. There are good arguments for considering an income tax, but immunizing the treasury from the fiscal flu isn't one of them.
PermaLink
Thursday, May 07, 2009
No Special Session
Posted by Richard S. Davis on 5/7/2009 3:38:00 PM
This just in from Speaker of the House Frnak Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown:
“After a conversation today between Gov. Gregoire, Speaker Chopp and
Majority Leader Brown, the three leaders decided against a special
session.”
Make your vacation plans.
PermaLink
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Special Session? We Should Know Today
Posted by Richard S. Davis on 5/7/2009 1:46:00 PM
Little came easy this legislative session. And that goes for discussions about whether to extend it to handle unfinished business.
You'll remember that shortly after the clock ran out on the session, Gov. Gregoire said she'd call lawmakers back for a one-day session. (The link is to Adam Wilson's story in the Olympian.) Details, like what were the must-dos and when must they be done, remained to be worked out. As time passed, urgency waned. Wilson reports that Tuesday the governor told Democratic leaders, "time's up." A decision needed to be made this week. The AP's Rachel La Corte summarizes the issues in a story the Everett Herald headlines "Gregoire may cancel special session." (Can you cancel something that's never been scheduled? Can you lose a friend you never had?) Briefly: The three bills that have been discussed by the governor for a special session are: - A plan to reduce state spending on a program that benefits
"property-poor" schools, saving about $60 million, while allowing
school districts to collect more money from property tax levies. That
bill is seen as the biggest priority.
- A measure to clear the way for illegal immigrants in state prisons to be deported, saving the state more than $8 million.
- A criminal sentencing bill that expands the low and high end of the
sentencing range, allowing more discretion for judges when sentencing
offenders. This bill could save the state nearly $376,000 through 2011
because it is expected that sentences will be reduced.
But, she notes, ... House leaders have been lukewarm about rushing back to Olympia.
House Majority Leader is quoted as thinking September might be better, when legislators have to return to Olympia anyway. Republicans, who seem to have little influence on the governor's decision, have been clear from the beginning that there's no hurry. That's particularly true for Sen. Joe Zarelli, who headlines his latest Budget Tid Bit " no special session to pass bad public policy." He's particularly opposed to the levy equalization measure. He desxribes
Disagreement on the bill tied up lawmakers in the waning hours of the session.
In addition to the aforementioned issues, swine flu could emerge as a special session topic, at least a reason to bump public health funding. It's always a bad idea to make predictions just before decisions are likely to be announced. But here goes: I doubt they'll be back soon.
PermaLink
|
|
