Tag Archives: revenue

Bills Must Move by 5:00 p.m.

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Today at 5:00 p.m.  the third cut-off of the 2010 session will come to fruition. By end of day today the Senate and House must have moved bills from their chamber of origin to the opposite chamber for consideration.

The Senate and the House have been on the floor since February 10 moving bills forward through the process. Between 25-30% of the bills Evergreen has tracked this session remain active and have moved onto the next step in the process.  Many of these bills have been the focus on the blogs leading up to today.

So what is next. Tomorrow policy committees in both the House and Senate charge full steam ahead on moving bills from the opposite chamber to either the floor or an appropriations committee.  Legislative policy committees will have one week to hold public hearings and executive sessions on the bills referred to their committees.

At the same time those of us on The Hill await the presentation of Governor Gregoires’ proposed plan for revenue.  Word on the street is that Gregoire will release a series of tax proposals to buy back approximately $800 million in state programs and services sometime this week.

In addition, the House and Senate are expected to release their proposed 2010 supplemental budgets soon. Rumor has it the proposed budgets could be released as early as Thursday and as late as Monday.

Legislature Works the Weekend

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The House and the Senate were focused on moving legislation to the opposite chamber this weekend. Though both chambers only met on Saturday, both moved several pieces of legislation and spent long hours on the floor and in caucus.

Here are some of the highlights from the weekend.

The House took action on bills ranging from teacher preparation to changes to the state loan program. House Bill 2930 passed with a vote of 98-0.  HB 2930 directs the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) to give priority in selecting Future Teachers scholarship recipients to those individuals who are seeking specialty endorsements in math as well as individuals who are uniquely qualified to help schools address the achievement gap. Evergreen supported HB 2930 and encouraged, through testimony, the Legislature to consider extending eligibility to individuals seeking endorsements in special education and English Language Learners (ELL). HB 2930 will have a public hearing before the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee on February 19.

House Bill 2481 passed by a vote of 92-0.  HB 2481 allows the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to become a viable partner in the area of biomass.  In particular the bill:

  • Authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to maintain a list of all potential sources of forest biomass on state lands for the purposes of identifying and making forest biomass available for the conversion into energy, biofuels, or any other similar use.
  • Permits the DNR to enter into contracts for the purpose of providing a supply of forest biomass from lands managed by the DNR.
  • Authorizes the DNR to lease state lands for the conversion of biomass into energy or biofuels, for the development of a biorefinery, or for any other use derived from biomass.
  • Authorizes the DNR to establish a five-year forest health and fuel reduction supply agreement demonstration project.

House Bill 2481, which Evergreen supports, would position DNR to be a potential partner with Evergreen in our effort to realize our Biomass Gasification Project.

The House took the next step towards implementing the state loan program for students. House Bill 2854 establishes student eligibility requirements for the state Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) which was created in statute during the 2009 session.  Evergreen testified in support of the bill mirroring the testimony of the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Kenney, which supports first funding financial aid state grants and then providing for a low interest loan option for those students that borrow.

On Saturday, the House Finance Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 6130. Senate Bill 6130 temporarily suspends tax-limiting Initiative 960 in its entirety.  SB 6130 is the current vehicle for SB 6843 which passed out of the Senate in a close vote late last week.

The movement of the bill indicates the Legislature’s leanings towards raising revenue in the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium. 

Senate Bill 6130 now heads to the House floor for further consideration.

House and Senate Floor – The New Hot Spot on The Hill

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Since yesterday the House and Senate have  for all intense purposes been sequestered to their respective floor chambers.

As the deadline to move bills from their chamber of origin looms (February 16) both the House and Senate are focused on moving bills forward to the opposite chamber for further consideration.

The long hours spent by policymakers, often requiring 10 or more hours on the floor, has resulted in the movement of several large pieces of legislation. Here are some highlights.

Senate Bill 6696 moved from the Senate floor to the House for consideration today. The Senate passed the bill with a vote of 41-5.

Senate Bill 6696 comprises several policy changes to K-12 to make Washington more competitive for Race to the Top dollars.  Senate Bill 6696 seeks policy and structural changes in the areas of school and teacher evaluation, assessment, and preparation. 

In a close vote (26-22), the Senate passed Senate Bill 6843. Senate Bill 6843  temporarily suspends tax-limiting Initiative 960 in its entirety. The passage of the bill publicly indicates the Senate’s intent to raise revenue in the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium.  From the effective date through July 1, 2011, any action or combination of actions by the Legislature that raises taxes may be taken with the approval of a majority of members elected to each house of the Legislature.

Senate Bill 6843 is scheduled for a public hearing on Saturday February 13 before the House Finance Committee along with other revenue related bills.

House Bill 2858, intitiated by the four-year, public institutions, passed the House 97-0.  HB 2858 provides institutions of higher education the authority to participate in group purchasing agreements.

House Bill 2973 passed this the House this evening (97-0). HB 2973 includes, in the definition of “resident student,” a student who resides in Washington and is on active military duty stationed in one of nine Oregon border counties. In addition, the bill adds a student who resides in Washington and is the spouse or dependent of a person who resides in Washington and is on active military duty stationed in an Oregon border county to the definition of “resident student.”

Finally, three bills that are intended to provide costs savings passed both the House and Senate and are headed to the Governor’s desk. 

House Bill 2998, House Bill 2921, and Senate Bill 6382 all passed the Legislature by end of day Wednesday. The bills, part of an agreed upon package by both the House and Senate, seek additional state savings by suspending state employee monetary performance-based awards through June 30, 2011; modifying appropriations for 2009-11 (does not impact Evergreen) by reducing approprations by $45.4 million; and continuing the freeze on salary and wage increases for exempt and Washington Management Service (WMS) employees of state agencies and institutions of higher learning is extended through June 30, 2011.

Caseload Forecast Up; Results in Increase in State Budget Deficit

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Today the Washington State Caseload Forecast Council released the latest report on public program and service caseloads.  It is not surprising the demand on public services (i.e. health and human services, public education, and corrections) continues to rise.

According to the Council, the rise in caseloads has resulted in an additional $96 million reduction to the state budget. The change pushes the state’s budget deficit to about $2.7 billion.

Though the state budget hole seems to have increased today the true size of the budget deficit will not be known until this Friday (February 12). On Friday, the Washington Economic Forecast Council will release the February economic and revenue forecast for Washington.

A preview of what might be expected was provided earlier this month. According to the preview of the forecast state revenues have increased slighlty by $45-50 million.

If the preview proves to be on the money, then the hit to the state budget ($96 million) would be reduced by nearly half .

$96 million decline – $45-50 million in revenue= $51-46 million additional budget reduction

So stay tuned…

New Revenue Sought by Closing Loopholes, Taxing Income

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On Friday three bills constituting an overhaul of Washington State’s tax system were introduced – two in the Senate (SB 6713 and SB 6714) and one in the House of Representatives (HB 3070). The Senate bills were introduced at the request of the Washington State Department of Revenue by Ways and Means co-chair Senator Rodney Tom and co-sponsored by several of his colleagues in committee.

Senate Bill 6713 effectively ends exemptions on sales of certain livestock equipment, as well as on the compensation of certain corporate officers, which the bill does not recognize as a legal exemption, but as “a widespread misunderstanding among corporate directors that the business and occupation tax does not apply to the compensation they receive for serving as a director of a corporation.” The bill proposes to clear up this misunderstanding by holding corporate officers responsible for their obligation via the Department of Revenue.

Senate Bill 6174 promises to close tax loopholes on real estate transactions and the use of certain digital materials (including downloads, software and online video services). The closing of these loopholes will be facilitated by an interest rate on all unpaid taxes.

House Bill 3070 levies an tax on the income of individuals in the State of Washington by way of a graduated scale based on earned income and marital status. Unlike previous proposals that sought to only tax incomes in the six figures, HB 3070 levies a tax on all eligible earners. The following tables break down the tax proposal:

For married taxpayers filing jointly:

If taxable income is:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The tax is:
Not over $49,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2% of taxable income
Over $49,900 but not over $120,650 . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,098 plus 3.5% of the excess over $49,900
Over $120,650 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3,574 plus 6.0% of the excess over $120,650

For “head of household:”

If taxable income is:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The tax is:
Not over $37,425 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2% of taxable income
Over $37,425 but not over $90,488 . . . . . . . . . . . . $823 plus 3.5% of the excess over $37,425
Over $90,488 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,681 plus 6.0% of the excess over $90,488

And for single or married filing separately:

If taxable income is:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The tax is:
Not over $24,950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.2% of taxable income
Over $24,950 but not over $60,325 . . . . . . . . . . . . .$549 plus 3.5% of the excess over $24,950
Over $60,325 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,787 plus 6.0% of the excess over $60,325

Each of the bills was referred to fiscal committees – Ways and Means in the Senate and Finance in the House.