Not done yet?
March 11th was supposed to be the final day of legislative session. If you walk around the capitol campus it seems like session is over and everyone has gone home, but looks are deceiving. Because the House and Senate had not reached an agreement on the final budget and the revenue package to pay for it, the Governor called for a special session and asked legislators to finish their work within seven days. However, once a special session is called, the legislature can stay in session up to thirty days, despite the Governor’s request.
We are now in week three of the special session. Most legislators have been sent home except for occasional floor activity to vote on bills Necessary To Implement the Budget (NTIB). During a very difficult time for our state financially, the public is questioning why there has been no agreement, especially with a one-sided supermajority, but it is difficult to get agreement on issues such as raising taxes during an election year. The cost of holding a special session runs about $18,000 a day, though some legislators have declined to be paid, so it is running about $14,000 a day.
There is not much advocacy that can be done right now. Most lobbyists have packed up and gone home and are just waiting for some final word. The sticking point is in the revenue package. The Senate wants to include a .2% sales tax and the House will not agree. The Governor is now warning legislators that if they do not come to an agreement by the end of the special session, she will be forced to make a 20% cut across the board. Keep in mind that about 70% of the budget is protected by our state constitution or by federal rules attached to matching funds. This leaves Human Services programs as an area most likely to take the cuts.
There have been some amendments made to the proposed budgets such as $25,000 for DSHS and the Department of Health to do a review of all aspects of a fiscal note for the autism insurance issue. You can find the Governor/House/Senate proposed budget side-by-side with the amendments on our web site at http://www.arcwa.org/state_budget.htm
Some good ideas have been signed into law.
Many of the bills that affect individuals with developmental disabilities did not make it through the legislative process. We are down to one page of legislation that did make it through, most of these bills have been signed by the Governor now. You can check out our Bills of Interest and the status of bills at: http://www.arcwa.org/leg_session.htm
What can you do to help?
These are long, difficult days for legislators who must make hard decisions and will never make everyone happy. Let your legislators know you appreciate their dedication and ask them to come to agreement on the revenue package so our programs don’t have to be slashed.
If you are not already signed up on The Arc’s Action Alert system, get connected. Once a final budget is approved we will share the information via an Action Alert and on our blog at http://arcofwa.blogspot.com You can also receive quick updates via a “tweet” from our Twitter account ArcofWA. Did you miss something during the regular session? Check out the Olympia Insider website (www.olympiainsider.org) for the podcasts of the session activities. Remember you can download these to your video-enabled handheld devices!
Change is made by those who show up, sometimes showing up means waiting, but it makes a difference!
Diana Stadden
Arc of Washington State
Advocacy Partnership Project
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