Legislative Commentary

The section in the state constitution about legislative sessions does not give lawmakers a break on national holidays, so we were at work on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (and will be again on Presidents Day next month).

The House and Senate annually acknowledge the commemoration of Dr. King’s birth through resolutions.

To me the day serves as a reminder of the great African-American leaders I have had the privilege to know, including my late friend Dr. Elson Floyd, the former WSU president who was taken from us by cancer in June 2015.

I have to believe that without trailblazers like Dr. King, we would be less likely to see leaders like Dr. Floyd emerge – and shine brightly, as my dear friend did during his too-short time with us.

Our office was short on Ninth District visitors during the session’s opening week, but the past week started to make up for that.

The list of folks from back home who came by included members of the robotic team from Garfield-Palouse High (here as part of “FIRST Robotics Day” at the Capitol), chamber-of-commerce members from Pullman and Clarkston, and Mayor Shawn Logan and a delegation from Othello.

The Washington Association of Wheat Growers also made its annual visit to the Capitol, which is always a special occasion for this wheat farmer.

I also met with local law enforcement officers and Realtors from our area (who have reason to be concerned about the Supreme Court’s Hirst decision – more on that below), and one of our state’s new elected officials: Hilary Franz, who succeeds Peter Goldmark as commissioner of public lands.

To top it off, I had a “job shadow” on Tuesday afternoon – Miguel Garza, an Othello High School student. Miguel has an interest in the political process, and it will be no surprise to see him seek office someday.

K-12 funding reforms will be ready soon

Members of our Senate majority have been working for years on reforms that will shift the cost of funding K-12 education to the state, and free local school districts from having to spend local-levy dollars on what should be viewed as basic education.

I expect we will introduce a set of reforms very soon, after making sure all the bases are covered.

Governor Inslee wants to tie school funding to his massive tax proposal, but there’s one problem: the source of funding is supposed to be stable and reliable, and there is no way that any of the taxes he wants will fit that description.

We owe it to Washington’s children to agree on a funding solution that lasts indefinitely, not some unpredictable new tax that would also have a detrimental effect on the state’s economy.

The Seattle-based online publication Crosscut did a fair job today of capturing the approach we are taking

Senate majority responds 
to ‘war on rural Washington’ court ruling

This past October the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of environmental activists in a case that is about water management on the surface, but is more about the future of new-home construction across our state.

It’s the latest shot fired in what many consider a war on rural Washington by those who are determined to hinder growth (and economic development) regardless of the consequences.

A bipartisan group of senators, mostly members of our Senate majority, filed a bill this week to push back against what is known as the Hirst decision (after one of those who filed the original lawsuit, against Whatcom County).

The legislation is Senate Bill 5239. Its prime sponsor is Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who is chair of the Senate Agriculture, Water, Trade and Economic Development Committee. She has scheduled Senate Bill 5239 for a public hearing in front of her committee this coming Tuesday.

The state Department of Ecology has dedicated a page on its website to understanding the Hirst decision. Here’s some text from it that helps explain the issue:

“A reliable, year-round supply of water is necessary for new homes or developments. Before the Oct. 6, 2016, court decision, many counties relied on what the Department of Ecology said about whether year-round water was available. This court decision changes that – counties now have to make their own decisions about whether there is enough water, physically and legally, to approve a building permit that would rely on a well.”

If counties are forced to study the availability of water for exempt wells, we should assume the costs will be passed along to homeowners.

Next thing you know, people will decide against buying a parcel because of the potential costs of obtaining water, or folks who already own land will give up on developing it, or the cost of building a new home will shoot up because it costs more to secure a water supply.

Because revenue from real-estate transactions and home construction generates a lot of money for the state’s general fund, any obstacle to that activity will cut into the state’s revenue, meaning less money for important services.

To put it simply, less economic activity means fewer jobs and less tax revenue for schools. You have to wonder if the people behind the Hirst lawsuit understand that.

Governor takes aim at our
 best taxpayer-protection law

Back when Olympia was under one-party control, we often saw budgets that were shortsighted. It was as though the budget leaders wanted to sweeten spending in areas that lined up with their allies’ wishes, without caring about the wreckage that would face the next set of legislators – that was a problem for later.

In 2012, after a bipartisan majority took over the Senate (the forerunner of our Majority Coalition Caucus today), we won approval of a Washington-only law requiring the two-year budget to balance across four years, not just two.

This unique policy has brought stability by forcing budget writers to account for the long-term effects of their decisions (meaning beyond the next election).

The four-year balanced-budget law is the best friend Washington taxpayers have. And now Governor Inslee wants to suspend it – until 2023!

His excuse is the same excuse he’s using for seeking the largest set of tax increases in state history: K-12 funding.

The legislation he requested is House Bill 1438, and it would take us back to the bad old “budget rollercoaster” days when we had one deficit after another. No, thanks.