Report from Olympia

The 2014 legislative session is underway. Before the session started the consensus seemed to be we would be done in the 60-day timeframe and there wouldn’t be anything to keep us in Olympia for a special session. However, a January Order issued by the state Supreme Court claimed the Legislature was not doing enough to fund education, even though we pumped an additional $1 billion into K-12 education last year. And, our work with education is not done. The court has clearly overstepped its authority and is violating the separation of powers that is supposed to exist between the three branches of government. Justice Jim Johnson wrote the dissent and I believe was correct. His comments include:

• the legislature holds a constitutionally delegated duty specific to the funding of education. The judiciary does not.
• Such unwarranted extension of judicial authority violates both the constitutional separation of powers and the explicit delegation of definitions and funding for education to the legislature.
• This court’s exercise of continuing jurisdiction in this case usurps what is intended to be and what expressly is a legislative function and duty.
• We are not–and should not be acting as–managers of the state coffers.

Comment cards
I want to thank everyone who has responded with the comment cards. I have received hundreds and your feedback is important to me. The most popular issues tend to be:

• opposition to any new gas tax;
• no new money for the Washington State Department of Transportation until we can show we are using the current monies effectively (eg, the cost overruns on the Seattle tunnel);
• if there is any new money for transportation it should go toward maintenance and preservation only;
• concerns about rising health care premiums and deductibles, and the implementation of Obamacare; 
• lower taxes and regulations on employers so they can create more jobs; and
• fund the teacher COLA’s. 

Legislation moving forward
As many of you know, most sessions I sponsor very few bills. I am not going to draft legislation just for the sake of introducing bills, although there are occasional exceptions. But, I also do not want to draft anything unless I feel there is a legitimate chance to pass the legislation or it will lead to good debate and discussion and could be considered in future sessions. This year has been a different experience for me. I introduced more bills than I have in most sessions. Up to this point I have had public hearings or will have one in the next couple weeks. Issues include:

• Snowmobile license fees:  House Bill 2002 – would raise the snowmobile annual registration and renewal fee to maintain the current level of service for trail maintenance and grooming operations.
• Audits of state universities:  House Bill 2308 – would require the state auditor to conduct a comprehensive financial audit of the University of Washington and Washington State University.
• Independent contractor certification:  House Bill 2147 – would simplify and protect independent contractor classification and provide more consistency under independent contractor guidelines. Read my news release here.
• Payment of property taxes:  House Bill 2309 -  Delays the imposition of penalties imposed on delinquent property taxes and allows a county treasurer to accept partial property tax payments.
• Legislation to enhance our wine industry: House Bill 2327 and House Bill 2355 – the first bill would allow wine to be sold in growlers, the second would allow multiple liquor licenses at certain locations.
• License plate recognition: House Bill 2606 – would address privacy issues around this new technology.
• Marijuana excise tax revenue: House Bill 2144 – would create a dedicated local jurisdiction marijuana fund of which participating counties and cities would receive a certain percentage of the I-502 monies – since there is no current tax collection at the local level.

We are obviously working on a wide variety of issues in our short timeframe. If you have any questions about any of the legislation I have mentioned in this update, or any other issues before the Legislature, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Proposed Minimum Wage Increase
One issue that came up late yesterday (Thursday) you will find very interesting, particularly those in the business community, House Democrats are proposing to increase the minimum wage. Click “House Democrats propose $12 minimum wage” for the story from The Seattle Times. You may know a $15 minimum wage this was a ballot issue in the city of Sea-Tac last November. The city of Seattle is also considering a minimum wage hike. I believe this would hurt our economy and actually decrease the amount of jobs as employers would struggle to come up with a way to pay for the increase in labor costs. It isn’t as simple as just raising the price of your products as many of you in the agricultural industry know.

In January 2014, Bill Gates said: “Well, jobs are a great thing. So you have to be a bit careful: If you raise the minimum wage, you’re encouraging labor substitution, and you’re going to go buy machines and automate things – or cause jobs to appear outside of that jurisdiction. And so within certain limits, you know, it does cause job destruction. If you really start pushing it, then you’re just making a huge trade-off.”

Our state already has the highest minimum wage in the country and Washington state’s youth unemployment rate is fifth in the nation. An increased minimum wage would further reduce employment opportunities for low-skilled workers and teenagers. This also favors larger corporations over small businesses.
Health care numbers
You have likely seen news stories, including national stories, on state-based and the federal health insurance “Exchanges” that indicate our state-based Exchange (Washington HealthPlanFinder) is working well and that we have had good enrollment numbers. Here is a slightly different perspective:

• Of the 454,009 that have completed health plan enrollments using the Exchange as of January 9, 2014, 380,911 are Medicaid, and:

• The majority of Medicaid recipients now do their annual renewals in the Exchange. (183,141 of enrollments were Medicaid renewals)
• Another 63,070 were new Medicaid enrollments eligible under pre-Obamacare Medicaid eligibility requirements. (This includes typical new enrollees each month, and any “welcome mat” enrollment due to Obamacare.)
• 134,700 are newly eligible Medicaid recipients (i.e. Medicaid expansion enrollees/adults under 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level).

Only 73,098 of the Exchange enrollments are for non-Medicaid health plans; and

• 56,285 will receive a tax credit/subsidy (i.e. funded by taxpayers).
• Only 16,813 individuals purchased a “full-price” health plan on the Exchange.
• It was estimated that 130,000 individuals would enroll in a non-Medicaid, Exchange health plan by January 1, 2014.

Rep. Cary Condotta, 12th District

The clear case of government bullying

Freedom and democracy can't be just about elections -- there is too much time between election to ignore serious abuse.   Out of control, bullying tactics have come to Washington State.  The state and local governments are using those tactics to badger and ruin individual people.  What follows is one example.

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Captain Dave Petrich built his dream business--the Farm Boat--to bring local, organic produce to Washington residents. That all changed when the City of Seattle came after Dave to collect $8,000 in parking fines incurred by someone else.

The city's aggressive legal tactics shut down the Farm Boat. Dave found himself fighting City Hall alone.

In late September, Freedom Foundation intern Conner Edwards learned of Dave's battle with Seattle. Conner led the Freedom Foundation's charge to help Dave recover his business and document one more story of out-of-control government. We told Dave's story and got the word out about the City's unreasonable actions.

With the Freedom Foundation's help and the power of a story made public, the City-in a rare move-dropped its pursuit of Captain Dave Petrich and the Farm Boat.



Victories like this one are encouraging. They show the power of a story, both to secure victory for one man and one business and to make two key point: unlimited government hurts people and we can fight city hall ... and win!


"... Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights." Washington State Constitution

The video is produced by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. 

Student's Self-Defense Leads to University Disciplinary Action

The story comes from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington -- two students living in an off-campus, university-owned apartment were put on probation for the "infraction" of displaying a legally-owned firearm to thwart a home invasion by a convicted felon.

According to a CNN article, on the night of October 24, students Erik Fagan and Daniel McIntosh were in their apartment when there was a knock on the door.  Fagan told CNN affiliate KXLY in Spokane that he opened the door and a stranger, who said he'd just gotten out of jail, asked for $15.  Fagan told KXLY he offered the man a blanket and a can of food, but "didn't feel comfortable" giving the man money because he was a stranger. 

"My gut instinct was telling me I wasn't going to be able to get that door closed before he came through," Fagan said.

As the man started coming through the door, Fagan said he yelled for his roommate, McIntosh.  McIntosh said he came to the door holding his pistol.  When the man saw the gun, the students say he turned and ran away.

The story notes that all university housing is patrolled at regular intervals by campus security, but this particular apartment complex isn't gated, and secured key cards or codes are not required for entrance.

The students called 911 and campus security.  A short time later, police captured the suspect, whom they identified as a six-time convicted felon with an outstanding Department of Corrections warrant.

If the story ended here, we'd have yet another example of how a firearm was successfully used for self-defense against a dangerous criminal without the firing of a shot.  But the story continues.

Unbeknownst to Fagin and McIntosh at the time, having a firearm on university-owned property, is a violation of Gonzaga policy, whether or not that property is located on campus.  At 2:00 a.m. the next morning, campus security officers returned to the students' apartment and confiscated the pistol and a shotgun from the apartment.  The shotgun is owned by Fagan, who uses it to hunt and for sport shooting, and it was not used in the incident.  The pistol belongs to McIntosh, who has a concealed carry permit.  It was a gift to him from his grandfather.

Based on their act of self-preservation, the two students were placed on probation for the rest of their time at Gonzaga.  The penalty will also be a part of their permanent record.  The students are appealing the decision.

After quickly gaining national infamy for its actions, the university has agreed to review its policy and has returned the firearms to the two students but with the stipulation that they not be stored at any property owned or operated by the university.  In other words, Fagan and McIntosh, and all other students living in University property, remain unarmed in their own residences, a fact that will likely not escape notice of the local criminal element.

Gonzaga University reacted to the victimization of its own students on University property by punishing and disarming them. That is outrageous.

Posted at the NRA 

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Gun rights -- There is too much fear and too little understanding of how gun rights are not only a matter of self-defense, collecting, hunting and target competitions--but, also a barometer of how well our other rights are protected.

Somebody ought to tell Gonzaga they can lose everything in a massive class action lawsuit if they continue to deny their student body the constitutional right to armed self-defense.

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired... ." Washington State Constitution Article 1, Section 24

Inslee seeks carbon tax

"We need smart new policies that encourage the use of clean energy, and technologies like carbon capture, to balance our need for energy with the need to protect the environment.  What we don’t need are ideologues insisting that using taxes and regulations to purposefully drive up the cost of energy is the only way to address these issues.

"Yet, that is essentially what Governor Inslee and his Democratic colleagues from Oregon and California said last week when they signed another version of the West Coast climate initiative.  In this pact, the three Governors – and Premier of British Columbia – pledged to raise the cost of energy by enacting cap and trade, or by simply imposing a new “carbon tax.”  Governor Inslee made it clear earlier that he intends to pursue a cap and trade strategy."

from Could cap and trade be coming to Washington State? posted at Smarter Government  

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Even though the tone of the Smart Government article is to question Inslee's proposed policy changes, the whole notion of anthropogenic carbon use climate change is not well supported by genuine scientists. 

The whole cap-and-trade initiative assumes that any "global warming" is anthropogenic.  The hard science seems to indicate that "global warming" is unreal, and therefore any discussion about the human cause is futile.  

But this doesn't stop the big government crowd, who changed the name of their imaginary to "climate change."  The climate has been changing since long before humans arrived in earth, so climate change should not initiate any alarm either.

The genuine appeal of climate change, or whatever, is it will give the big government people more excuse to oppress the people with big government.  Also it furnishes a ready justification to increase taxation so the government officials can be better supported in their gold plated jobs.

Legislative Update

In my last e-mail update I talked about the transportation forums being held around the state by the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus. The forums have concluded and while I was able to attend the one in Wenatchee, I am still interested in hearing your comments and opinion about the proposed transportation tax revenue plan. Please consider taking this short transportation survey and forward to anyone you feel would be interested in taking the survey.

No decisions have been made, so it is still important to me and many other legislators to receive your input. If there is going to be a large gas-tax hike on the table, I want to make sure people have had the opportunity to share their opinions.

No one questions the importance of our transportation infrastructure, but to ensure strong bipartisan support and guarantee all voices are being heard on this issue, we need to make sure a revenue package discussion begins with reforms. It is essential we see some accountability and responsible use of gas tax dollars in our transportation system before taxpayers are asked to pay more.

The reforms need to be first in the transportation debate and not an afterthought. If reforms don’t happen first, those of us in Olympia are all too familiar with what will happen – they will get ignored. These are not just feel-good proposed reforms to be used as negotiating tools. They are important to restore the public’s trust after many botched transportation construction projects:

• SR 520 pontoon design failure – $84 million and counting (initially $71 million); 
• SR 520 tolling delay — $40 million in forgone tolls and $12 million not collected in legal damages for the breach of the contract;
• Columbia River Crossing design — $172 as of March 2013;
• Three years ago, WSDOT built a ramp in the wrong place at the I-5 and SR 16 interchange in Tacoma and had to tear it down — cost to taxpayers $900,000;
• The history of the Chetzemoka Ferry — went into service three months late (November 2010) and $15 million over the estimated cost of construction. One of the smallest ferries in the state’s fleet, yet pound for pound it’s the most expensive ferry ever built anywhere at $80.1 million. Ferry engineers who work on board the vessels have been vocal about the boat’s list, fuel consumption and vibration problems. It has been out of service a number of times for repairs related to these issues.

When citizens of Washington are footing the bill for these errors, I do not think it is too much to ask for some accountability and transparency in our transportation system. In fact, we should not ask for one extra dime until we are sure these items are fixed and we have addressed some of the mistakes made in the past. With reforms in place, we may find out tax increases and more funds are not needed if our current transportation dollars are spent efficiently.
Here is a brief summary of some of the transportation reforms that should be under consideration:

• Require the Washington State Department of Transportation to report costly errors to the Legislature and put forward solutions to avoid making the same mistake twice;
• Return sales tax from transportation construction to the transportation budget;
• Implement state auditor’s recommendations to reform the Ferry Capital Program;
• Open a dialogue about prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements;
• Streamline environmental permitting;
• Add congestion relief to the state’s required list of transportation priorities;
• Use of Public-Private Partnerships; and
• Reform the state’s regional transit authority boards.

Please let me know if you have any questions. This is may be the biggest issue we face in the upcoming session, if not sooner, and your feedback is important. Again, I hope you will fill out the survey and share your comments and concerns. I will share the results of the survey in the near future.
Sincerely,
Cary Condotta

Ballot 2013

Initiatives

Initiative Measure No. 517 concerns initiative and referendum measures.  If enacted I-517 would have three related results.

First, I-517 would make it illegal to interfere or retaliate against  signature-gatherers and/or petition-signers.  There have been cases recently where thugs have intimidated petitioners.    Second, it will require that all measures receiving sufficient signatures appear on the ballot.  This is primarily to prevent the use of the courts to rule the people cannot vote.   Lastly,  petition drives would have more time to gather initiative petition signatures.

I-517 safeguards the petition process.  Thus it will help to promote a healthy democracy in Washington State.  Impolite recommends you vote Yes on I-517.

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Initiative Measure No. 522:  "Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food" measure. 522 started out as an initiative to the legislature, calling on the legislature to enact some new content regulations for food labeling.  The legislature referred the matter back to the people so we get to vote.


Everybody wants to know what they are eating, naturally.  Reasonable requirements for food labeling can include a list of modified ingredients.  But many people are frightened they are eating unhealthy, totally artificial food.  Fear is the mind killer.  People should eat more right to be healthy.

You are not a carrot or a corn plant - those are genetically different from most voters.   Why don't people think about the fact that when they eat something, it is a totally different genetically?  Your digestive system is designed to break down products of foreign genetics into stuff your body can use.

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"Taking a purely empirical view, labeling of genetically modified organisms provides little useful consumer health or safety information. GE products currently in the marketplace have proven safe in foods and animal feeds through use and testing. Environmentally, these products can have a good record of improvement over conventional production methods while maintaining the high yields and profits necessary for farmers.  These facts have been repeatedly demonstrated in the peer reviewed scientific literature... ."  Source

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Nonetheless, the I-522 campaign is cheap politics.

An ad for 522 claims initiatives opponents are supported by dark and sinister corporations, therefore they are lying.  The I-522 campaign says there will be no increase in cost.  The state says the cost of I-522 will be "non-zero but indeterminate cost and/or savings" according to the Office of Fiscal Management's fiscal note.  Even though  the cost is unknown, that is not the same as no cost at all.  The I-522 campaign is lying

The I-522 tells you I-522 opponents are supported by 'corporations' (cue spooky music).  The I-522 campaign won't tell you they get most of their support from "organic" foods corporations.  Organic foods companies to sell unprocessed or less-processed foods, unpasteurized milk products, and soybean curd.  Organic food is a huge profit maker.

I-522 labeling requirement are focused at processed foods.  You can see this is mainly a way for the "organic" foods people to lash out at processed foods companies -- so the "organic" corporations can grab more profit.  Most of the money for 522 is coming in from out of state. 

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I-522 is half-baked.  Too bad the legislature didn't do their jobs and write some sensible law when they had the chance (Maybe that is too much to hope).   Impolite recommends a no vote on I-522. 

Eat your vegetables.  Watch your weight.  Be healthy.

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Advisory Votes

Advisory votes are non-binding. The results will not change the law.  These makes the matter seem trivial to most people so it drops off the radar.  Despite the fact that the vote is advisory, it is important to be informed about the legislature's activities.

There are five new tax questions:

SSB 5444, titled AN ACT Relating to administration of taxes regarding publicly owned property, was passed by the House of Representatives. The Office of Financial Management has identified this bill as requiring a ten-year projection of increased cost to the taxpayers or affected feepayers.

Ten-year projection:

Fiscal Year		Leasehold      Excise Tax
2014		$ 145,000
2015		167,000
2016		175,000
2017		183,000
2018		194,000
2019		202,000
2020		210,000
2021		218,000
2022		227,000
2023		235,000
Total:		$ 1,956,000

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SB 5627, titled AN ACT Relating to the taxation of commuter air carriers, has been passed by the House of Representatives. The Office of Financial Management has identified this bill as requiring a ten-year projection of increased cost to the taxpayers or affected feepayers.

Ten-year projection:

Fiscal Year		Aircraft Excise Tax
2014		$  35,000
2015		35,000
2016		38,000
2017		38,000
2018		41,000
2019		41,000
2020		44,000
2021		44,000
2022		47,000
2023		47,000
Total:		$ 410,000

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The House of Representatives has concurred with ESHB 1846 AMS WM S2534.1 as amended by the Senate, titled AN ACT Relating to stand-alone dental coverage, and has passed the bill final passage. The Office of Financial Management has identified this bill as requiring a ten-year projection of increased cost to the taxpayers or affected feepayers.

Ten-year projection:

Section 3(6)(c) of this bill removes the exemption for pediatric oral services offered as essential health benefits outside the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. Since these services have previously been exempted, this will result in additional revenue for the insurance premium tax. However, the amount of taxable activity resulting from pediatric oral health care services benefits cannot be estimated. Consequently, the amount of additional revenue attributed to pediatric oral services offered as essential health benefits outside the Health Benefit Exchange is indeterminate.

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2E2SHB 1971, titled AN ACT Relating to communications services reform, was passed by the Senate in the 2013 2^nd Special Session. The Office of Financial Management has identified this bill as requiring a ten-year projection of increased cost to the taxpayers or affected feepayers.

Ten-year projection:

Fiscal Year		Retail Sales Tax
2014		$  36,258,000
2015		12,875,000
2016		43,470,000
2017		43,470,000
2018		43,470,000
2019		43,470,000
2020		43,470,000
2021		43,470,000
2022		43,470,000
2023		43,470,000
Total:		$ 396,893,000

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EHB 2075, titled AN ACT Relating to preserving funding deposited into the education legacy trust account used to support common schools and access to higher education by restoring the application of the Washington estate and transfer tax to certain property transfers while modifying the estate and transfer tax to provide tax relief for certain estates, has been passed by the Senate in the 2013 2^nd Special Session. The Office of Financial Management has identified this bill as requiring a ten-year projection of increased cost to the taxpayers or affected feepayers.

Ten-year projection:

Fiscal Year		Estate Tax
2014		$ 109,700,000
2015		39,300,000
2016		39,300,000
2017		35,300,000
2018		34,400,000
2019		40,000,000
2020		42,300,000
2021		44,300,000
2022		46,100,000
2023		47,700,000
Total:		$ 478,400,000

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That's a total of $877,659,000 in new taxes.

You can verify this information at the ballot info listserve

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Election results will be posted here after the election.

New Seattle ordinance bars criminal background checks

On November 1, 2013, Seattle’s new “ban the box” ordinance will limit an employer’s ability to ask about an applicant’s criminal background.  This law affects all job applicants, independent contractors and employees who perform 50% of their services within the Seattle city limits.  Specifically during the initial screening process you are unable to ask about a potential employees criminal background and/or perform a criminal background check.

Those that are not in compliance with the ordinance can face fines between $750 to $1,000 per offense, plus attorney fees.

For more information on this ordinance and things that you need to do to be in compliance, please click on the following link:
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a30ffb0b-8a77-4392-a0d5-855313961503

Mark Gjurasic

Thugs disrupt labor freedom meeting.

The Freedom Foundation sponsored an event last Thursday in Vancouver, WA.  A number of thugs showed up to disrupt the meeting. The disruptors worked for their union bosses, trying to promote pro-fascist control of union labor. (Fascism is a control method used to control individuals by expansion of top-down control.  The union bosses fit this model perfectly.)

At least two anti-workers rights (blindly pro-union) protesters were arrested.  The protesters got in the way of those trying to park outside.  Inside, the protesters refused to debate and instead screamed at event attenders and carried on like cranky children.



The event featured Vinnie Vernuccio, a labor policy expert from Michigan’s Mackinac Center for Public Policy.  Vernuccio discussed state labor reforms that empower workers to decide whether or not they wish to participate in and support unions.

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When workers want to unionize, that is their right. Workers lose their right to unionize if they are forced into a union that does not represent their view. Forced union membership or dues paying only serves the union bosses, not the individual worker.

#2 Special Session wrap.

by Cary Condotta

After 153 days in session, the Legislature finally adjourned on Saturday, June 29.

Some will tell you we averted a government shutdown. However, that was all posturing.   I never really felt or believed there would be a forced shutdown of our state government or any services. Government shutdowns happen because of emergencies or severe budget crisis. Our budget situation was not a crisis.

We had approximately $2.5 billion more in state tax revenue coming in for this biennial budget than we did for the last budget cycle – roughly a 7 percent increase.

It is important to keep that in mind because part of the reason it took almost six months to reach a budget agreement was due to the House majority’s and governor’s insistence on new and increased taxes. In fact, at one time they were proposing more than $1 billion in tax increases. In the end, we ended up with somewhat of a good, the bad and the ugly budget agreement.

Operating Budget
The Good

I voted in favor of the operating budget. It reflected a lot of hard work and long negotiations by members of both chambers and parties. Our leadership was at the negotiating table throughout the process and played the role of facilitator and was vital in helping bring together the two sides.

The spending plan also invests heavily in education dedicating more than $1 billion in K-12 to get us on track to meeting our education funding goals mandated by the Washington State Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. The total education budget for the 2013-15 biennium is $15.1 billion up from the $13.6 billion in the last biennium. There are $31.1 million in policy enhancements and the $1 billion for McCleary includes monies for class-size reduction, full-day kindergarten beginning with at-risk student populations, the Learning Assistance Program and much more.

Higher education also benefited – for the first time in nearly three decades the budget does not include tuition increases. The budget leaves more money in reserves than past budgets with $630 million including $577 million in the state’s protected rainy day fund.

Finally, it does not include the nearly $1 billion in tax increases originally proposed by House Democrats. And it expires more than $600 million in taxes, including those against businesses. Our caucus fought hard to make sure their proposed tax package was taken off the budget negotiating table.

The Bad

Like any compromise, there are some elements to the spending plan I do not support and have some serious concerns. The operating budget:

• takes money out of the state Public Works Trust Fund – the account our local governments rely on for infrastructure and construction projects.
• does not include any of the workers’ compensation reforms we proposed that protect workers and employers, while helping our small businesses aiding the economic recovery and our state’s bottom line. The proposed reforms would have no benefit loss with over $1 billion in savings. We had hoped to stabilize some of the highest workers compensation rates in the nation.
• does not fund the teacher’s COLA and once again it is suspended.
• relies on funding from federal government with the expansion of Medicaid. This raises red flags given the massive debt and spending problems at the federal level.
• continues the implementation of Obamacare and expands Medicaid, based on very expensive promises from an insolvent federal government. There are reports Washington state could see private pay premiums increase anywhere from 34 to 80 percent. Read the Forbes article: Even In Over-Regulated Washington State, Obamacare Will Increase Individual Health Insurance Premiums By 34-80 percent.

These are issues that need to be addressed in the next session or very near future.

The Ugly

Despite the compromised, bipartisan operating and capital budgets passage, there are a number of issues that could fit in the “ugly” category from this session.

House Bill 2075, or the Bracken Bill is about as ugly as it gets [No fooling -- The Democrats insist 2075 is an education bill]. This legislation passed mostly on party lines with House Democrats supporting it.

2075 reinstates the estate tax on married couples’ assets and does so with a retroactivity clause. That means families, who have deceased family members, will have to pay millions in taxes to the state Department of Revenue. The most significant point is this measure changes the rules retroactively so the state does not have to provide refunds to those taxpayers who followed the rules that were upheld by the Washington State Supreme Court. Not only does this set a dangerous precedent, but I believe it is unconstitutional and will be struck down by the same court that upheld the law.

The special sessions themselves were frustrating and certainly ugly. Legislators were called back to Olympia at times for just a couple hours a day and one or two votes. There are going to be hard-nosed stances when you have each party controlling a different chamber. However, we owe it to the taxpayers of Washington to get our work done in a timely manner and negotiate more efficiently. A part-time legislature should not need to spend nearly six months in Olympia negotiation a budget at taxpayer expense. A full-time legislature is not the answer. You need only to look to California to see how that is working for them. Most would probably agree, the longer the Legislature is in session the more damage that could be done.

Real government reforms are still lacking. With the Senate Majority Coalition controlling their chamber I had high hopes. They did a great job of holding together and were able to get a lot out their majority position. Unfortunately, with the uptick in revenue, the House Democrats ended up dropping their push for increased tax revenues, so the Senate was unable to negotiate major reforms as part of the compromise. There were some small reform pieces passed at the last minute, such as a one-stop shop business portal and a review of regulatory rules for manufacturers, but this session has a ‘business as usual’ feel to it when it comes to the way our state agencies operate – and that is a culture we must change.

Transportation tax revenue package

During the second special session, House Democrats led an effort to increase the state’s portion of the gas tax by 10.5 cents over the next 13 months. Combined with the 37.5 cents-per-gallon already collected, Washington drivers would pay 48 cents to the state in gas taxes for each gallon of gas purchased, making it one of the highest in the nation.

Please read the statement "House Republicans on state transportation system: Fix it before you fund it" issued by my colleagues earlier this session. It references a handful of reforms that would begin to ensure that we are getting the biggest bang for our buck in the transportation system.

We have seen a number of issues with the 520-Bridge project -- permit issuance taking much longer than it should, and there is no reason the state should be paying itself sales tax on its own projects.

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The State's Budget page link

Additional operating approporiations

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New Washington State drunk driving law - raw information

E2SSB 5912, titled AN ACT Relating to driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, was passed by the Senate in the 2013 2nd Special Session.

"This bill adds a requirement that a person with a prior offense as defined in RCW 46.61.5055 "Alcohol and Drug Violators" and charged with or arrested for a violation of RCW 46.61.502 "Driving under the influence", RCW 46.61.504 "Physical control of a vehicle under the influence", RCW 46.61.520 "Vehicular Homicide", or RCW 46.61.522 "Vehicular Assault" have an ignition interlock device (IID) installed on all motor vehicles operated by the person as a condition of release, and that they provide proof of installation to the court within five days of release from custody; or that they comply with a 24/7 sobriety program; or both."

"There are approximately 41,000 DUI arrests per year. As many as two thirds of those arrested have a prior alcohol or drug offense in their lifetime, and as many as half of those will be within 10 years of the current arrest. The requirements in the bill could result in an increase in the number of ignition interlock devices installed and associated fees collected resulting from increased compliance due to the verification requirement. However, there is no way to know how many individuals would participate in the 24/7 sobriety program instead or the length of time that vehicle owners would be required to have an ignition interlock devise. Because of the number of unknown factors, it is not possible to estimate how much in fees would be paid as a result of this bill."

"Ignition interlock device installation and operation fees would be paid directly to the authorized vendor. In addition to fees associated with the cost of installation and operation, under existing law persons with an IID pay a $10 ignition interlock installation fee and a $10 60-day calibration fee."


"don't drove drunk"

Special session update & the next dozen days

Good government is conducted for the people in good faith.  The legislature must produce a budget, but instead of leadership, Governor Inslee's played the blame-game.

The first 30-day special session has ended and the Legislature still has not passed an operating budget. The governor called a second 30-day special session last Wednesday. By law, he can only call 30-day special sessions. However, we need an operating budget by the end of June, when the state’s fiscal year ends.

How we got here:

How we arrived in a second special session without a budget is rather simple. The Democrats want to implement or increase taxes, and the bipartisan Senate Majority Coalition Caucus wants some reform bills if new tax revenue is going to be on the table. This budget could have been passed long ago. If you have read my e-mail updates or listened me on the radio, you have heard me say the state has $2 billion more in tax revenue for this budget than the last. We should have been able to pass a balanced budget with a 6.6 percent increase in tax collections in the regular session…and not be wasting taxpayer money on special sessions. Since I have been serving in Olympia, we have had much more difficult budget situations. This should not be one of them.

The budget proposals:
House Democrats did offer a new budget proposal at the end of the first special session. It passed the House by a vote of 53-35. All Republicans and one Democrat voted against House Bill 1057.

Their latest proposed budget does make some concessions, particularly backing off on the permanent extension of the Business and Occupation (B&O) surtax on service businesses. However, they are still leaving it in place for some industries. Their latest proposal also removes the sales tax exemption for non-residents (this will have a huge impact on our border counties), and it removes the sales tax exemption on bottled water – a tax voters turned down in 2010. These taxes may not seem significant to most, but I still believe now is now the time to be raising taxes. There are still more than 57,000 people out of work since the start of the recession five years ago. It also goes back to our tax collections, they are up almost 7 percent. Why are we talking about raising taxes?

My other concerns with the House majority budget include:

• it reduces spending on K-12 education by approximately $500 million;
• it uses an education apportionment shift that could impact school funding;
• it sweeps all the funds out of the Public Works Trust Fund (PWTF) from the capital budget (Local governments depend on this fund for critical infrastructure projects); and
• there are about $600 million in fund shifts throughout the budget.

It is impossible to have a sustainable budget when you are using gimmicks, such as sweeping accounts and one-time money shifts like the education apportionment and taking the PWTF monies. The most telling part of their budget is that it spends less on education than any of the other budget proposals we have seen and still raises taxes. They are clearly putting students, teachers and our education system up against tax increases. House Republicans have been saying since Day One, let’s fund education first, then if taxes are needed to fund other priorities then the majority should bring it up for a discussion. Raising taxes, particularly holding out school funding to do so, should not be an option.

The Senate Majority Coalition Caucus budget, also passed a new version of their budget over the weekend – Senate Bill 5034. It has not changed much from the bipartisan budget they passed in the regular session, the difference is they are asking for reform legislation to be passed as part of a budget agreement.

House Democrats have dropped their original tax increase plan from $1.3 billion to about $525 million. Senate Republicans initially had a list of 33 reform bills they wanted on the table and they are now requesting just three.

What’s next?

Unfortunately, we are now seeing a lot of finger-pointing and threatening terms being thrown around such as “fiscal cliff” and “government shutdown.” The governor is the biggest offender. The Washington State Wire article “Inslee Abandons Mediator Role as He Calls Second Special Session – Blames All Problems on Republicans” provides a good breakdown of what has happened in the last few days.

The “fiscal cliff” and “government shutdown” rhetoric really is unnecessary and has only inflamed the budget debate. We don’t need the Washington D.C. mentality as part of our state government. The federal government took about five years to pass a budget, they have stalled on nearly all major issues and the things we are finding out about how their agencies have been functioning is downright frightening. We do not need to be linking our state to D.C. politics in any way, shape or form and that goes for rhetoric, too.

The governor now seems to have a sense of urgency to resolve the budget debate. Where was the urgency when he waited two weeks before calling the first special session? Why hasn’t his office been more involved in bringing people to the table to work out their differences – something both former governors Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire were very good at. Instead, he is fanning the flames and pointing fingers.

Death tax reappears:

The biggest black eye of the session will be the shameful execution of House Bill 2075, or what is referred to as the Bracken Bill. It reinstates the estate tax on married couples’ assets and does so with a retroactivity clause. That means families, who have deceased family members, will have to pay millions in taxes to the state Department of Revenue.

You will hear a lot of political rhetoric surrounding this issue, but the main and most significant point is this measure changes the rules retroactively so the state does not have to provide refunds to those taxpayers who followed the rules that were upheld by the Washington State Supreme Court. Not only does this set a dangerous precedent, but I believe it is unconstitutional and will be struck down by the same court that upheld the law. That will mean we will still owe the refunds plus interest and court and legal costs. It also means the budget will have to be adjusted to reflect this loss in the future. It is shameful for any legislator to support this measure.

[The estate/death tax' principle effect is to break up family business and hand over the proceeds to big corporations.  Take a family farm for example:  The business owners (mom and dad) pass on, leaving farm equipment and a millions dollars worth of arable land to the children.  The state taxes the million dollar parcel for 1/10th its value.  Who has $100,000 on hand to pay the tax?  So  whether or not the children would be interested in farming, the farm must be sold in order to pay for the tax.]

How does it end?

It is important to not buy into the hype. It is possible to live within our means, fulfill our obligation to fully fund education and not raise taxes. I am hopeful we will get there in the next couple weeks. We are not going over a fiscal cliff. The tax revenue is there. The negotiators need to meet in the middle. That means some reforms will need to be considered by House Democrats if they expect the Senate to agree to some new revenue. Or, maybe all the tax revenue bills go away along with the reforms and then an agreement is reached.

There is a revenue forecast update on June 18 that may show the state has a little more money coming in. That could help the negotiations but not enough that it should make a difference in the final budget.

Satellite TV tax update

I received many emails concerning a proposed satellite television tax. When House Democrats released their last operating budget proposal it included about $50 million in additional revenue from a satellite tax within a telecommunications services reform bill House Bill 1971.

We were anticipating an amendment to HB 1971 to include a new tax on satellite service. However, the amendment never appeared. Both HB 1971 and HB 1057 were voted out of the House without the proposed tax. However, while the House Democrats reconfigured their budget to exclude new revenue from a tax on satellite services, as we mentioned we are in a new session so everything will have to be voted on again and is subject to being amended.

--- Cary Condotta