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angrychair

(8,592 posts)
Sun Jun 16, 2013, 10:10 PM Jun 2013

Washington state government shutting down??

I am dumb-founded on the total lack of comprehensive coverage on the situation with the state budget and state government agencies shutting down in less than two weeks. Why is that? I haven't even been able to find enough news on the subject to understand what the issues are that are preventing a budget. Does anyone have a good source to understand what is going on? I just recently started at a state agency and even they aren't very forthcoming on the issue as of this past Friday. I am a little surprised to see this discussion board so quite on the subject. Any thoughts or opinions would be welcomed.

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Washington state government shutting down?? (Original Post) angrychair Jun 2013 OP
Senate Republicans (enabled by 2 turncoat Democrats) pscot Jun 2013 #1
Thank you!! angrychair Jun 2013 #2
Just got a notice from my reps. The problem is the Senate. Here the rundown I received: freshwest Jul 2013 #3

pscot

(21,023 posts)
1. Senate Republicans (enabled by 2 turncoat Democrats)
Sun Jun 16, 2013, 10:23 PM
Jun 2013

are holding the budget hostage, just like the repugs in DC.

BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS: Lawmakers still need to address a projected budget deficit of more than $1.2 billion for the next two-year budget ending in mid-2015, not counting additional money needed for a court-ordered requirement that they increase funding to basic education. Gov. Jay Inslee also wants them to come to agreement on a transportation funding package and a construction budget. The Democratic-controlled House and the Senate, which is controlled by a coalition of 23 Republicans and two Democrats, have been locked in budget negotiations for several weeks, with the main disagreements centered around revenue and a handful of policy bills. An agreement overnight Thursday, and signed into law by Inslee early Friday, on an estate tax bill was the first significant agreement on budget issues. That measure, a legislative fix to a ruling that could have resulted in millions of refunds issued to estates, saved $160 million for the budget plan lawmakers are currently trying to reach agreement on. Negotiations continue this week.

—REVENUE FORECAST: On Tuesday, lawmakers will receive the quarterly revenue forecast by the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. They hope projections will be optimistic, and may help lessen the gap a bit between the House and Senate if it appears there’s more revenue to spend. Nobody expects that the forecast will solve the state’s budget woes.

—POLICY BILLS: The Senate majority had been seeking movement on a handful of policy bills in exchange for acceptance of some revenue in any final budget. The Senate vote on the estate tax bill came immediately after the House quickly passed a measure dealing with environmental cleanup funds. That measure was also signed into law by Inslee Friday morning. The Senate also passed a wide-ranging education reform bill Thursday night that is now being considered by the House. That bill, and another bill dealing with workers’ compensation settlements, are still in the mix, but Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom on Friday said that two other bills — a bill on giving principals the option of rejecting teachers who are appointed to their schools and another measure that place limits on the rate of growth for non-education spending in the state budget — are likely off the table.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/06/16/3055307/5-things-to-watch-this-week-in.html#storylink=cpy

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
3. Just got a notice from my reps. The problem is the Senate. Here the rundown I received:
Wed Jul 3, 2013, 11:53 AM
Jul 2013

Governor Inslee had to call a special session in May after the legislature finished its regular session in April, to address the state's operating and capital budget.

As you may know, we had two men who ran as Democrats taking campaign money and were elected, who immediately tried to change party to give the GOP majority. These shenanigans are getting more and more common, with the GOP attempting to go around bills that have already passed and change them behind closed doors. There have been some nasty fights over that.

As far as why not much commentary here, while Eridani does the best job of informing us on this board, making it one of the most informative one on state issues AFAIK, the DU does not appear to have any interest in actual governance or knowledge of how it's done. (I'll be posting less to not waste time on media circuses when I see people like you who are trying to make a living helping real people.)

The House and the Senate always have to reconcile their budgets to enact one, just like every other governing body in the country. We are under siege from the Koch brothers and its ALEC front men. I posted a list of them in WA last year.

Progressive initiatives are not passing, libertarian ones are. There seems to be little interest in the task of funding government. Taxes are a big no-no, so Grover and Eyeman won. This is forcing those who work for the government to go to private work, with no labor protection, job security, no benefits and dependent on the whims of the bosses. It's chaotic. It's why some people are joining the military in hopes of some stability, although dubious.

The WA Senate with its herd of 'patriots' has been into privatizing big time for some years now. And it is refusing to consider any new revenue and wants even deeper cuts into programs that have suffered huge reductions for the past four years.

I'll quote from the mail I got today. The House has passed a budget cutting $1.3B, and a revenue bill to close tax loopholes and exemptions 'to fund K-12 schools, higher education and the social safety net for the most vulnerable individuals and families, our environment and other essential services, including our courts.'

More details on what that means, and why we are at an impasse:

The House voted to remove the preferential tax rates that some groups got that disadvantaged some industries and did not create jobs by those getting the breaks. There is the Bracken Decision from 2006 passed by a 62% voter majority to continue the estate tax. But in a recent SC ruling, it was ruled that married couples and no other group, could escape the estate tax altogether. (We had a bagger elected to the SC last November replacing a liberal which I noted at the time.) This resulted in an unfair tax code and now the SOW is required to issue refund checks to wealthy families.

To remedy this, the House passed HB 2064 which applies the state tax fairly to all estates. If the Senate doesn't pass this bill soon in the reconciliation budget, $160M will be taken immediately from classrooms.

The citizens just passed a charter schools, another ALEC initiative, last year. The religious right and the corporatists along with the 'no progressive voice allowed' media here have done this. It doesn't feel much like Washington anymore, and baggers have been wasting some time trying to restrict rights. We now have a bagger Secretary of State, who I predict will mess with our elections in 2014. All due to low turnout from Democrats who bought into the 'it can't happen here' and 'I hate the government' memes whereas the GOP baggers and libertarians are continually pumped up by media.

And that's all I have to report at this time. Please get in touch with your precinct about this. I know a number of public workers and they have been taking a beating for years by the media that has been dissing them.



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