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November 28, 2011 in Region
Protests shut down special hearing on budget
Protesters demonstrate against budget cuts outside the Capitol in Olympia on Monday, on the first day of a special 30-day session of the Washington state Legislature focused on addressing the state’s $1.4 billion shortfall.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
OLYMPIA – Fasten your seatbelts, to paraphrase Bette Davis. It’s going to be a bumpy month.
Amid chants in the hallways and rallies on the Capitol steps, the Legislature began its 30-day emergency session to close a $1.4 billion gap in its operating budget.
Social service agencies and teachers journeyed to Olympia to ask legislators to close some of the gap with new taxes rather than cuts. State aid recipients offered touching and sometimes tearful testimony about how program cuts would affect them.
Four protesters were arrested and booked into jail Monday evening for refusing to leave the Capitol, while 30 others were cited for trespassing but released with warnings that they would be taken into custody if they return to the capitol campus over the next 30 days, authorities said. Four more protesters were shocked with Tasers when troopers intercepted them trying to force their way into the building after it was closed to the public around 5:30 pm.
After repeated warnings from the Washington State Patrol, demonstrators who linked arms around or near the Christmas tree in the Rotunda were carried one at a time down marble steps by four or five troopers and cited for trespass.
“We respect your right to free speech and protest. We ask you to do it within the building’s hours,” Lt. Mark Arras, the acting captain of the Capitol Campus unit, told them before troopers moved in.
“This is not a protest, this is an occupation,” one demonstrator shouted back.
Asked if he was prepared to have troopers clear the building every evening during the session, Batiste replied: “If we have to, yes.”
Earlier in the day, some 200 members of “Occupy” demonstrations from Puget Sound communities shouted “We are the 99 percent” from the gallery above an empty Senate chamber: “Let’s not go home…We can stay all week, maybe next week until our message is clear.”
Other protesters caused a temporary halt to a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee hearing that was set up to take testimony on budget cuts.
Over the course of the day, some 3,000 protesters made an appearance on the Capitol campus, State Patrol Chief John Batiste estimated.
The demonstrators were far from unified in their message. Some supported the temporary half-cent increase in the state sales tax Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed to restore about $500 million in programs from her basic spending plan that closes the budget gap by cuts.
Gregoire said last week she isn’t expecting the Legislature go find the two-thirds majority needed to raise the taxes on its own; instead she’s hoping a simple majority in both houses will approve legislation to put the idea before voters in a special statewide election in March.
“It’s not the best tax. But it would help some,” said Debbie Rose, a Mead School District teacher who came to Olympia Monday to join other teachers protesting proposed cuts to public schools.
Putting the tax proposal before voters makes sense because it’s unlikely a super majority of the Legislature would approve it, Rose and other Spokane area teachers agreed. “But you hear more talk about revenue than ever before,” Bev Schaefer, a teacher from East Valley said.
In an interview just before the formal start of the session, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown said most Senate Democrats oppose a plan that closes the state’s $1.4 billion budget gap solely with cuts, but there’s no agreement at this point on where to find more tax revenue.
“It’s going to take a little while to figure this out,” Brown, D-Spokane, said meeting with her caucus. “Some level of reduction is inevitable.”
They haven’t yet discussed Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposal to raise the state sales tax by one-half cent per $1 for three years, Brown said.
She added that she couldn’t speculate on whether there would be agreement that the governor’s proposal would contain the proper amount, time or programs to be restored.
Supermajority for taxes unconstitutional, judge rules 
de3 on November 28 at 4:24 p.m.
This is terrible reporting that wasted my time in reading it.
What is the budget now in billions of $s? Is the cut from proposed spending (it always is)? What is the level of proposed spending? How does that compare to last year or recent years?
How has the rate of spending changed over the past 20 years?
I learned nothing by reading this “news” article.
lowtechmaster on November 28 at 4:37 p.m.
Politicians from both parties should heed the message of the demonstrators….YOU CAN”T JUST CUT, YOU MUST INCREASE INCOME from those who make the most and who are paying the least in taxes in history! The rest of the population can’t take it any more!!
The_Seer on November 28 at 5:30 p.m.
The left needs to learn from the Tea Baggers. They tried these types of disruptive activities at town hall meetings and Obamacare passed despite their silliness. What the left needs to do is recruit progressive candidates who’ll usher through needed revenue increases and calculated cuts instead of leaving it to the electorate to do their jobs.
That’s how we get it done in the U.S. of A. Not banging on doors, not “occupying” public spaces” and disrupting the lives of others. The ballot box, let’s use it!
So come on, fellow lefties, let’s recruit, fund, and sweat for our candidates in 2012 and show the world the U.S. is still capable of adult governance. Don’t be fooled again by moderate conservatives like Obama, get behind actual progressives like Russ Feingold, Bernie Sanders (what a dream ticket, eh?) and local figures like Louise Chadez. There are true liberals out there for us to support. We all know them. With social media they can become mainstream names in a matter of weeks. Learn from the Tea Party. Who was Mike Baumgartner at this time two years ago? Get what I’m saying?
Jethro_toll on November 28 at 5:33 p.m.
If they just tar and feather one of those creeps the rest would fall in line.
dataxman on November 28 at 5:59 p.m.
These Special Sessions cost the taxpayers $30,000 or so a day. So the flea-baggers can add that to the hundreds of thousands in expenses cuased by their tilting at windmills…
Pigrobin on November 28 at 6:08 p.m.
Maybe the “progressive” left could learn something if they’d just take a minute to listen to reason…
Shadedmuse on November 28 at 7:08 p.m.
Pres O is the most libral pres we have had. he is NOT conservative if he was then the tea-baggers would not have a beef, unless their just bat crazy.
catfuzz on November 28 at 8:31 p.m.
This country won’t be around for a tri centennial as long as we keep breeding an entire class of people that insist of being propped up by the government (taxpayers). Health care is NOT a right. Social Security is NOT a right. Tax payer funded programs are NOT A RIGHT!! This country was not built on government entitlement programs!! It was built on the backs of people that WORKED and SACRIFICED! Now we have a bunch of whiny protesters standing on those backs, stomping their collective feet and demanding something THEY DID NOT EARN!!
Rand on November 28 at 8:42 p.m.
Louise Chadez? You mean the same “scholar” who wrote a letter to the Spokesman stating:
Strange that Seer supports this genius who is so eager to advertize her lack of understanding as to what a tax deduction is. Please let’s elect people this dumb to help write legislation.
Pigrobin on November 28 at 8:55 p.m.
Now that’s funny…what was that line, oh yeah, don’t get stuck on stupid. Chadez, I’ll have to remember that one. I can see the line now for future use, “don’t pull a Chadez.”
Shadedmuse on November 28 at 9:17 p.m.
HEALTHCARE and social security our RIGHTS!!!!!!!!!
RedCedar on November 28 at 10:20 p.m.
“The revolution has begun! Everything for everyone!”
Shadedmuse on November 28 at 11:22 p.m.
Come 2012 vote out all REBUBS starting with Cathy McMo-Mo and Rob McDenna.
selkirks on November 28 at 11:38 p.m.
@Shadedmuse:
And it looks like we might be hearing something from Verner in the coming weeks…finally someone who can actually challenge McMorris-Rodgers?
Unlike Daryl Romeyn, who wanted to “give a guy a chainsaw and drop him in a forest” to create jobs. Hmmm, which one sounds more logical?
Dazzeetrader11 on November 29 at 2:10 a.m.
Verner will be plagued by the same vulgar lies she told a few months ago. Not a cahnce this wornout greenie liberal will see the light of elected public office again … She had her chance and look what she did with it. Lies, taxes, more lies and more taxes. Water rates through the roof, $12 million deficit. She’ll be appointed to the tribe as a something or other first….
JBlim on November 29 at 5:53 a.m.
So will Condon give us 25%, 50% off on water, what? How much savings can I expect, Dazee?
Citizen on November 30 at 12:19 a.m.
The misrepresentations I see here are mostly from Dazzee. Go ahead old dazed one, answer jblim, and try not to use the flim-flammery that our Future 1-Term Mayor (F1-TM) used in his campaign.