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Editorial: Productive special session vital to quest for budget fix

Wed., Nov. 24, 2010

Many Washington state legislators had been dreaming of a robust revenue forecast, which would allow them to stick close to home during the holidays. Instead they better start charting a course for Olympia, because state economist Arun Raha has dropped off a rather large chunk of coal.

The predicted revenue total for state government through June 2013 has come up $1.2 billion short of the September forecast.

The cold facts, according to Raha, are as follows: The employment picture is not picking up fast enough, taxes from construction and real estate are lagging, and small businesses are finding it hard to obtain credit to expand or keep the doors open. In addition, voters rejected taxes on candy and soda, which cost the state treasury $281 million through June 2013.

In the short term, the state needs to cut another $385 million by June to achieve a balanced budget, which is mandated by the state Constitution. This is on top of the 6.5 percent across-the-board cuts imposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire over the summer. That may not seem like a lot in a $33 billion budget, but the easiest choices have been made in earlier rounds of cuts.

To cover the new two-year shortfall, another 4.6 percent in cuts is needed. But some programs, such as secondary education and those with federal mandates, are off the table.

Across-the-board cuts are rarely preferable, because they deny leaders the opportunity to rank the relative worth of each governmental program and the impacts of the reductions. Plus, Gregoire has said she has exhausted the limits of that option and that legislators need to come up with better solutions. By law, only they can choose among programs for spending cuts or elimination.

Reluctant lawmakers say putting together budgets takes time, and that’s true. So the sooner they get started the better.

They ought to convene in December to at least find the cuts needed by June. Legislative Republicans have been calling for special sessions the past two years, so they’re on board. However, they need to be ready to offer substantive suggestions rather than point the finger of blame. GOP leaders are touting a reform of collective bargaining laws to help lower public employee costs. That’s a good start.

By the same token, Democrats need to bargain in good faith with Republicans rather than freeze them out.

Special sessions can sometimes last as long as 30 days, with little being accomplished. However, a session under these extreme budget conditions that is held during the holidays could serve to focus lawmakers’ minds on getting finished and getting back home.