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

Recover Washington : Call for Action

Proper government operates by the consent of the governed.  Government never seeks to harm the people, but helps the people maintain their society.

By Mark Gjurasic

Recover Washington is a broad coalition of nearly 40 business organizations working in Olympia to protect your business against tax increases in the Legislature.  The Legislature has started a 30-day Special Session to adopt the state's two-year budget, and we need you to contact your legislator with the facts about the competing budget proposals in Olympia.  Please tell your Legislators:

- Support the State Senate's Budget Proposal - The State Senate's Bipartisan budget proposal balances the state budget and increases funding for education without increasing taxes on businesses.  Even under the State Senate's approach, state revenue will increase by $2.6 billion over the next two years - a 7% increase in state tax revenue - without increasing any taxes.

- Oppose the House's Increase in Business Taxes (which the House Democrats falsely call "investing in the education legacy trust") , House Bill 2038 - The House tax bill increases taxes on business by over $900 million.  This tax package has been falsely described by House members as "in large part . . .  closing nine tax exemptions benefiting a number of major industries."   This is just a smokescreen and it is wrong: over half of this tax increase ($534 million) is due to increasing the B&O by 20% on a variety of businesses that already pay the highest business tax rate in the state.  This business tax was temporarily increased in 2010, and voters overwhelmingly oppose permanently extending this tax increase on businesses.

- Senate Budget prioritizes Basic Education, the House Tax Increase does not  - The vast majority of the House's $900 million tax increase is used to fund increases in general government, it is not dedicated to basic education.  In contrast, the Senate Bipartisan Budget provides over $1 billion for basic education within existing tax revenues.

As the Special Session in Olympia begins, we need you to contact your legislators by calling their office (click here for the list) or by calling the Legislative Hotline number at 1-800-562-6000 and tell them to oppose HB 2038 and its tax increases on Washington's small businesses. 

Legislators are back in Olympia

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session."

Today's the day--legislators are back in Olympia.

All they have to do is agree on a budget. Nothing else is required. And the State Senate already passed a highly bipartisan, balanced budget (30-18).

Haven't we had enough of the gimmicks and the grandstanding?  Now you know what we have to do: get loud and get local.

You can let your legislators know exactly what you think, either online or by phone.

And remember, today is also the first day of "filing week"--the week when people will file for nearly 2,300 offices up for election in our state this year. Many of these are in your area. Find the list for your county here (extremely useful).

To see who's filing for these offices--and to file or help someone file--contact your county auditor.

Shamelessly copied form the Freedom Foundation

2/3rds majority to raise taxes revisited

Last Autumn the people voted for I-1185, to require the state legislature to have a 2/3rds super-majority to impose new taxes.  Subsequently, the state Supreme Court struck down the same requirement (as stated in I-1053) as an unconstitutional interference with the legislature's power to raise taxes.

Requiring super-majority in legislature to increase taxes is an old issue in Washington State.  The people have repeatedly voted for  it, the legislature has repeatedly found ways around the will of the people.  When the court revoked I-1053, the dark power infecting the state government removed a substantial chunk of the people's right to self-rule.

The State's Constitution is very clear:

ARTICLE II
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

SECTION 1 LEGISLATIVE POWERS, WHERE VESTED. The legislative authority of the state of Washington shall be vested in the legislature, consisting of a senate and house of representatives, which shall be called the legislature of the state of Washington, but /////the people reserve to themselves the power to propose bills, laws, and to enact or reject the same at the polls, independent of the legislature/////, and also reserve power, at their own option, to approve or reject at the polls any act, item, section, or part of any bill, act, or law passed by the legislature.

The peoples law, the requirement of a 2/3rds majority, was completely constitutional.  The Court is out of line.

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Nonetheless, the State's citizens desire to do things in an orderly way, one that does not require the hanging renegade judges.  But the people have not been docile.   As usual,  Tim Eyman is first in line with a proposal --

1. Requires yearly advisory votes every November asking voters whether they support or oppose letting the people vote on a 2/3-for-taxes constitutional amendment;
2. Limits the duration of tax increases -- those imposed by the Legislature after January 1, 2013 -- to one year; and
3. Provides information in the voters' pamphlet about the governor's and legislators' voting records on tax bills -- increases imposed after January 1, 2013.

Mr Eyman is promoting the democratic policies of having the people closely involved with their own governance.  The undemocratic "Democratic" Party controlled legislature can't stand the super-majority requirement to raise taxes.  The people voted for it -- why doesn't the legislature go along? 

This new super-majority initiative petition has yet to be numbered.  When it is, Impolite will announce and back it.

Gov. Inslee to push gun control in special session

And other stuff.

"[Inslee] has several items on his list of policies, including the Reproductive Parity Act, the Washington Dream Act, and legislation on gun violence that would include universal background checks for gun sales." Spokane Spokesman Review

• The Reproductive Parity Act would require every insurance policy in the state that covers maternity care to also cover abortions.  HB 1044.  Former Attorney General Rob McKenna states that the RPA as formulated, would inhibit federal health aid to Washington State.
• The Washington Dream Act would promote state education for children of illegal immigrants.  HB 1817. Education is in the state interest, and according to our state constitution.  But one cannot help but get the feeling this measure is designed to enable care of anchor babies after they grow up, and not actually in the interest of education.  To forward this bill, the definition of "in state student" has been modified to "resident student" [RCW 28B.15.012(2)(e)].
• Gun Control - Universal background checks for gun sales. HB 1588. Background checks can be enforced only if legislation is added that requires comprehensive gun registration.  Otherwise there is no way to verify that required background checks at time of transfer have been made.  If you think the gun controllers are willing to just "trust us" to register sales, then why do they push the background checks?  “Putting in place a system that makes sure that there isn’t a clear pathway around those rules makes sense and is likely to reduce some gun violence in our society,” State Representative Pedersen said.  The bill's supporters hardly intend to prevent felons from getting their hands on guns.  

Government should be in the service business. When did they get into the control business?

To be sure, Inslee has a pile of legislation to push.  Apparently he plans to apply immense pressure to the legislature to enact his leftist policies.

Budget time in Olympia

Budget time -- here’s an overview of what’s happening.
Less than four months into office, the campaign promises by Gov. Jay Inslee that he wouldn’t raise taxes have already been broken. He recently came out with a budget outline that would raise about $1.2 billion in taxes to pay for more government spending. His plan would roll back a series of tax breaks for businesses and individuals, and would make permanent tax increases that were supposed to be temporary and set to expire this year on June 30, 2013.

The temporary taxes were part of an $890 million tax package passed by the Legislature in 2010. Included in that tax package in 2010 were increased business and occupation (B&O) taxes, an increased tax on beer, soda, bottled water and many others. This would effectively repeal the People's initiative Initiative 1107.

The breakdown on taxes:
Temporary taxes which would become permanent

• 50-cent beer tax, and expanding it to microbreweries ($127 million)

• 0.3 percent B&O tax on service businesses ($534 million), including:
• architects
• attorneys
• barbers and beauty shop owners
• chiropractors
• dentists
• funeral directors
• janitors
• music teachers
• physicians
• real estate agents
• school bus operators
• veterinarians

Tax Incentives which would end (which equals tax increases)

• vehicle trade-ins when purchasing a new car: $94.8 million
• local residential phone service: $83.2 million
• computer software: $78.5 million
• most state businesses that were given lower rates in order to locate or expand in Washington: $66.2 million
• non-residents who shop in Washington stores: $63.7 million
• bottled water: $51.5 million
• recycled fuel environmental programs at Washington’s oil refineries: $40.8 million
• resellers of prescription drugs: $29 million
• long-term rental of commercial land/buildings: $27.8 million
• import commerce: $24.1 million
• farm equipment: $5.6 million

The governor explained that allowing temporary tax increases to continue is not breaking his no-tax campaign promise because it is not an actual tax increase. I tend to disagree and when you repeal exemptions and extend temporary taxes, you are raising taxes. The media seems to agree as well and you can read more here, here, and here.

Campaign promises and semantics aside, we do not need to raise taxes. Washington state is expected to take in $2 billion more in the coming budget cycle. We should be able to prioritize spending in the budget – fund education first, protect our most vulnerable citizens and keep our communities safe by funding public safety with the 6.6 percent increase in tax collections. I am guessing many employers and families trying to make ends meet would love to see that kind of increase in their income. Unfortunately, the governor is proposing more ways to take money out of the pockets of employers and taxpayers.

The governor wants to raise taxes on the very people our own State Treasurer Jim McIntire is saying we tax too much. "You don’t often hear a Democrat say we over-tax business, but we do," McIntire said. "I want to be really clear that it’s a problem in the state."

While the governor’s plan is simply a proposal, it sends the wrong message. We have an increase in tax revenue, even though our economy is still limping along, but he wants to ask citizens for another $1.2 billion to increase spending. Maybe he should take a look at the Senate.

Senate budget proposal
The Majority Coalition Caucus in the Senate passed a bipartisan budget proposal last week by a vote of 30-18. It does NOT raises taxes, yet increases funding for education by $1 billion to address the McCleary decision. It is about priorities. The governor feels taxes are needed to fund education, whereas the Senate is showing what House Republicans have been saying all along: If you prioritize you can fund the core functions of your government and adequately fund education as required by the McCleary decision and our state Supreme Court without asking for more taxpayer dollars. While the Senate budget may not be exactly what House Republicans would draft, it does approach our principles and priorities.

House Democrat budget proposal
On Wednesday, House Democrats introduced a budget similar to Gov. Inslee’s. It would:

• increase taxes by $1.3 billion;

• spend $13 million less on higher education than the Senate budget, and permit tuition increases of 10 percent at UW/WSU and 6 percent at other two and four-year institutions (the Senate budget lowers tuition).
• make $757 million in one-time fund transfers, including tapping ALL of the state’s rainy-day fund ($575 million, of which $238 million would be spent and $337 million would be left to comprise an unrestricted ending fund balance).
• raise state spending to an unsustainable level of $34.51 billion, which is a $3.3 billion increase from current appropriations and equates to a 10.4 percent increase from the 2011-13 budget cycle. This is approximately $1.95 billion more than the $32.56 billion the state expects to bring in. It is also spends $75 million more than Gov. Jay Inslee proposed and nearly $1.2 billion more than the bipartisan, no-new-taxes Senate operating budget approved last week.

	Governor	House Democrats	Senate Coalition
Make “temporary” taxes permanent?	yes	yes	no
B&O tax increases	yes	yes	no
McCleary education funding	$1.2 billion	$1.2 billion (House Republicans: $903 million, but directly to classroom)	$1.0 billion
Higher education tuition (four-year)	5% increase	5% increase	3% decrease
Reserves or ending balance	$532 million	$337 million	$611 million
Total budget (not including rainy day fund)	$34.4 billion	$34.5 billion	$33.3 billion

For more on the Senate plan you can click Senate Operating Budget. For more on the governor’s plan you can click Inslee’s Budget and Tax Plan. Finally, click House Democrat Plan for more information on their proposal.

Cary Condotta

Governor's proposes new B&O tax on renters

The ink has hardly dried on Inslee's new gubernatorial stationery and the governor is raising the taxes on the people of Washington State.  Inslee's proposed business and occupancy tax will be billed to landlords, but paid for by renters.

Inslee announced plans to tax residential rentals for 1.8 percent statewide.  You thought your rent was high now?  Under Inslee's plan your rent will go up $18 per $1000 per month.  Seattle rents will go up even more, because Seattle tacks on 0.415% extra -- which means Seattle renters will pay an extra $22 per $1000 per month.

Inslee said the state "must choose education over tax breaks".  This announcement came after the state decided to spend billions on highway projects (HB1864), replacing the Evergreen Point Floating bridge, replacing the bridge over the Columbia at Portland and Vancouver, the Alaska Way viaduct, and spending billions on other highway projects. 

Why do we need to spend so much money on deluxe state highway projects if our education system is in such need?  Inslee's sense of timing is very bad  --  Or else Inslee and his government are trying to fool the people.

Inslee said he only wants to close tax loopholes.  Apparently what he meant is he wants to take more of your money.