the big six
Election reform
In the wake of Washington’s closest-ever governor’s race, Secretary of State Sam Reed and several lawmakers proposed a bevy of procedural changes to the state’s election system.
Where things stand: The House voted to make the September primary a month earlier, to allow for resolving any recounts in time for the November general election. The House also voted to have statewide, all-mail voting by 2008. Lawmakers are now trying to compromise with similar Senate proposals, which stop short of requiring all-mail voting.
Education
Teachers and other school staff are hoping that lawmakers will reinstate Initiatives 728 and 732, which were suspended two years ago to save money. The measures were supposed to steer hundreds of millions of dollars more into teacher salaries and shrinking class sizes. School districts are also hoping for more construction money.
Where things stand: Gov. Christine Gregoire’s budget was good news for teachers and schools. If lawmakers follow her lead, teachers will get their cost-of-living increases, and school districts will get more money to shrink class sizes. Gregoire’s budget also included more than $400 million for school construction work over the next two years. The next move is the Senate’s, which will release its budget proposal Monday.
Liability reforms
Everyone seems to agree that liability insurance costs more than it used to, and that something should be done. Agreement ends there. There are dueling initiatives to the Legislature this year, one favoring doctors’ solution – a cap on jury awards for pain and suffering in liability cases – and the other leaning toward lawyers’ proposal, which includes better discipline of bad doctors.
Where things stand: Now there’s a third thing that voters may have to weigh in November: a “Plan B” (for better and balanced) developed mainly by Democratic lawmakers. Our prediction: Fall will be a good time to be in the advertising business, as the well-funded initiatives try to win support from voters.
Business
Business groups want an overhaul of the state’s workers’ compensation program for injured employees. They say it’s too expensive and biased toward employees’ versions of what happened. Some industries will also likely seek tax breaks – or try to stave off lawmakers’ efforts to toss out old tax breaks.
Where things stand: Gregoire repeated her vow last week not to increase general taxes – including the state’s unique business-and-occupation tax – so as not to bruise the recovering economy. The bad news: She also said she can’t afford to raise the threshold at which small businesses must pay the state business tax.
Health care
Democrats want to expand the state’s low-cost insurance program for children. They’re also considering proposals designed to increase Medicaid reimbursements to doctors who treat the poor and to help small businesses afford to offer health insurance to their employees.
Where things stand: Gregoire’s budget proposal was generally kind to health care, including mental health care. Our guess is that Monday’s budget proposal from the Senate Democrats will be more of the same.
Taxes and fees
New taxes are critical to avoid lasting damage to the state’s schools, colleges and social services, lame-duck Gov. Gary Locke said shortly before he left Olympia in January. No way, say Republicans, who say new taxes would hurt the economy. Walking a political tightrope in the middle, Gov. Gregoire says she wants to see what a no-new-taxes budget would look like before she’ll consider tax increases.
Where things stand: One of the most interesting revelations last week was Gregoire’s statement that until the last minute, her budget included a soda-pop tax. Industry and lawmaker resistance killed it – at least for now. But this is the second year in a row that Olympia’s thirstily eyed pop as a source of more revenue, and this session’s not over yet.