When three Senate Democrats aligned with Republicans to advance a bipartisan supplemental 2011-2013 budget proposal last Friday in Olympia, it was intended to spur stagnant budget negotiations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we are a few days from the end of the regular session and nobody has moved the budget in the sense of the Senate, which then hasn\u2019t allowed conversation,\u201d said Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, ranking minority member on the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Senator Ed Murray, D-Seattle, had announced a Democratic budget proposal on Feb. 28 built around avoiding cuts to K-12 and higher education funding on the back of a $330 million apportionment delay on payments to school districts, which opponents called an accounting gimmick.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Zarelli said his budget was crafted with the intent of spending no more than the forecast amount of incoming revenue while leaving a reasonable amount of money in reserves and avoiding such \u201cgimmicks.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Armed with the 25-strong philosophical majority, the bipartisan group invoked a procedure known as the \u201cNinth Order\u201d during Friday\u2019s floor session that allowed them to call up their budget.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The budget passed 25-24 early Saturday morning after extensive debate. It was manifested in the form of a striking amendment to the Governor\u2019s budget, ESB 5967, put forth by Zarelli. The amendment passed by the same margin.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is my belief that the Senate bipartisan budget is the superior proposed operating budget,\u201d said Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, who, along with Sens. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, and Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, joined Republicans on Friday to pass the measure.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile it makes larger cuts this year than other proposals, over time it will provide more stability.” Kastama said. “Even though it will deliver less in services, it will not cripple our ability to responsibly address our core responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There is a philosophical difference between those who want to enact a budget that closes the nearly $1 billion shortfall in a way that they are sure will be sustainable moving forward and those who don\u2019t mind creative accounting to protect social services and education funding.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we ever want to get ahead of our budget crises, our state needs wholesale government reform and a budget that reflects our commitment to sustainable governing,\u201d said Tom.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Murray said the gap between the two sides right now is vast and there is residual anger from Friday\u2019s maneuver.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would we help them pass a budget that we believe, some of it, basically violates our values on education, on health care, on helping those most in need,\u201d said Murray, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee. \u201cWe are Democrats. We are willing to cut programs, but we are not willing to simply declare war on the poor, and that\u2019s what the human services part of that budget is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
According to nonpartisan staff, the adopted Senate budget would cut $44 million from K-12 education, $30 million from higher education and $427 million from healthcare and other human services but leave $502 million in reserves.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s proposal would have addressed the budget shortfall while preserving education funding and cutting just $170 million from health care and other human services, though it would have left only $369 million in reserves and employed the deferred payment plan.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That proposal had been unable to make it out of the Ways and Means Committee and would not have had the votes necessary to pass the floor, said Zarelli.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The House supplemental budget, HB 2127, which passed 53-45 on Feb. 29, also utilizes the $330 million apportionment delay as well as a $75 million levy equalization shift, but cuts $7 million from K-12 education, $51 million from higher education and $227 million from health care and other human services.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As it stands now, the two budgets must be negotiated between the chambers, a process that is yet to really heat up, according to House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, who led the budget process through his committee.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sheldon said he thinks the apportionment delay is a non-starter in negotiations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Murray suggested that a change to preferential tax rates is one option for a budget that would avoid many of the Senate budget\u2019s cuts and get rid of the apportionment delay. However, it would require a two-thirds majority to pass.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things you could do to replace apportionment is maybe close a couple hundred million dollars in tax exemptions,\u201d said Murray. \u201cThat\u2019s compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll provide most of those votes, they\u2019ll have to provide a few of those votes,\u201d he said, reflecting on a need for bipartisan support to proceed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Hunter said there\u2019s still a long way to go before anything gets finalized.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a little bit in a wait-and-see mode,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re still doing a lot of analysis to try and think about what are the long-term implications of some of the things that [Zarelli] proposes.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Zarelli, Murray and Hunter agree that getting the budget onto the governor\u2019s desk prior to the Thursday, March 8 deadline is possible, though not a guarantee.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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