On April 27 Governor Gregoire signed a partially vetoed Senate Bill 6503 – the “furlough” bill.
Senate Bill 6503 requires agencies to cut the state payroll by $49 million. The final bill directs that savings will be generated at state agencies and institutions of higher education through either 10 temporary agency closure days or alternate-approved compensation reduction plans. This was one of the largest single cuts amid $755 million in reductions in the balanced budget solution the Legislature approved April 12 before adjourning its special session.
Gregoire vetoed section two of the bill, which directed $10 million of the savings to come from exempt employees and Washington Management Service workers, who comprise less than 5 percent of all state workers. Without it, management level employees will be subjected to the same levels of furloughs as other employees.
“A cut of this size, over such a small base, is too large to be practical,” Gregoire said in her veto message. She also expressed her preference that the $49 million in savings come from actual furloughs rather than other actions allowed under the bill.