Looking for solutions to Washington state budget | Rep. Pat Sullivan

How would you overcome our state’s budget challenges?

Washington, like nearly every other state in the country, is still feeling the economic drag that’s resulted from the worst recession our nation has seen since the 1930’s. Heading into the 2011 session last January, the legislature faced a $5.1 billion budget hole for 2011-13 biennium.  Before we adjourned, we passed a bipartisan budget that not only filled that gap but also spent nearly $750 million less that the experts predicted we would collect in revenue during the next two years.

But, against the expectations of the state’s revenue forecast council, our state has still not turned the corner toward a full recovery and we are once again facing a significant budget shortfall.  Governor Gregoire has called a special session of the legislature for November 28 in order to address this problem.

We are already working on options for filling the hole as budget leaders from both parties, including myself, go through the two-year budget again, line-by-line, looking for additional cuts and efficiencies. The process is going to be tough and painful because, after three straight years of deep cuts in vital services including public schools, higher education, nursing homes, and public safety, we don’t have a lot of options left.

Here are just a handful of the major cuts we took earlier this year:

$1.2 billion for I-728 and I-732, the classroom size and teacher pay initiatives

$535 million for higher education institutions (offset partly with increased tuition revenue)

$344 million in pension reductions

$215 million from elimination of K-4 class size enhancement

$179 million in K-12 employee salaries

$177 million in state employee salaries

$129 million from changes to Basic Health Plan

$116 million from eliminating Disability Lifeline cash grants

$97 million from long term care and developmentally disabled services

Every one of those cuts hurt people in communities all across the state. But, unlike Washington DC, here in this Washington we have to balance our budget every year.  While Congress fights and fusses over the debt limit, further eroding already lack-luster consumer confidence, in this Washington we don’t borrow money to pay our operating expenses.  So we are going to have to find even more cuts – close to $2 billion more.

So, I want to know what you think.  What services do you think the state should continue to provide?  What should simply be eliminated?  The legislature passed millions of dollars in government reforms last session, including revamping worker’s compensation, consolidating agencies, and implementing pension changes.  What additional reforms would you suggest? Should new revenue, possibly by closing existing tax loopholes, be part of the solution?

I am holding a district-wide teletown hall meeting  at 6 p.m. next Wednesday, Nov. 16.  We are calling households directly, offering you the option to join the conversation.  However, if you don’t get called for some reason, please call us at 1-877-229-8493 and enter 18646.

You can also send me your suggestions at Sullivan.pat@leg.wa.gov, or call my office at 360-786-7858.

Rebalancing our budget and reigniting our economy is a huge challenge and it’s vitally important that we are respectful of all ideas, no matter where they come from.  It’s going to take the best efforts of the whole state, pulling together, to reach a responsible, balanced solution to the current budget crisis and to emerge from this economic crisis with the kind of Washington we want to live in.  I look forward to hearing from you.