Tag Archives: state legislature

Deja Vu in the Senate

Posted on by

This afternoon the Senate took action on several familiar bills and then adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.

The Senate passed 25-19 Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6444 (ESSB 6444) the Senate’s proposed 2010 supplemental operating budget. 

Here is a refresher on the Senate’s proposed operating budget as it relates to Evergreen and other higher education priorities.

  • Increases health benefits and salaries by $4,000.  
  • Appropriates $50,000 for research support to the Quality Education Council.
  • Reduces state funding by $1.18 million
  • Assumes a savings of $426,000 in compensation reduction activities. 
  • Shifts Maintenance & & Operation (M&O) funds from the Capital budget to the Operating budget in the amount of $3.247 for Evergreen.
  • Restores funding to the State Need Grant
  •  Reduces funding for public colleges and universities by $69.5 million
  •  Increases worker retraining funds by $27.8 million
  • Reduces state work study by 30% in the second year of the biennium
  • Suspends funding for the health professional conditional scholarship and loan repayment program. Funding will continue to complete scholarship commitments to current recipients, but no new applicants will be selected.
  • Suspends the Educational Opportunity Grant. Funding will continue to complete grant commitments to current recipients, but no new applicants will be selected.
  • Continues funding to complete commitments to students who receive the Washington Scholar and Washington Award for Vocational Excellence funds but no new applicants will be selected for 2010. 
  • Suspends the Future Teachers Scholarship. Funding will continue for current recipeints who were awarded the scholarships in prior years to complete their studies.  
  • Suspends matching funds to support innovations in child care delivery at the public universities.
  • Reduces the Passport to College program by 30%
  • Reduces funding by 30% to the State-funded GEAR UP Projects
  • Suspends the Western Interstate Compact for Higher Education Professional Student Exchange program. Funding is continued to maintain commitments to current recipients
  • Suspends funding for state work study experience for students considering careers in math and science instruction.
  • Suspends the state contribution in the second year of the biennium for the Foster Care Endowed Scholarship
  • Suspends funding for the Leadership 1000 program

The Senate passed four other bills that were left behind upon ajdournment of the 2010 regular session. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5899 provides businesses with 20 employees or less a credit against the Business and Occupation Tax for the creation of new employment positions for  which the business offers a health care plan. The credits are based on the amount of wages and are capped at a maximum of $10 million per year.

Second Substitute Senate Bill 6675 creates the Washington Global Health Technologies Product Development Competitiveness Program to be administered by a Board appointed by the Governor. The Board is charged to solicit funds from businesses, foundations, and the federal government, and make grants for the development of global health technologies and products.

Substitute Senate Bill 6706 requires state universities (by definition in the bill UW and WSU) to perform one of the following: (1) Provide collaborative research and tech-transfer opportunities; (2) Make commercialization processes and resources accessible; (3) Pair researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors through workshops, events, and websites; and (4) Provide opportunities through training for direct involvement in research and industry interactions. To achieve these ends, state universities are authorized to establish and administer bridge funding programs with federal and private funds.

Senate Joint Resolution 8225 changes the definition of interest payments for calculating the state debt limit to substract direct federal subsidies.

Finally, the Senate took action to move two bills from committee to the Senate floor for further consideration during special session.

Substitute Senate Bill 6503 directs state agencies, including higher education institutions to achieve a $69.2 million reduction in employee compensation costs from the near General Fund through mandatory and voluntary compensation reduction activities (i.e. furloughs, leave without pay, reduced work hours, voluntary retirements and separations, layoffs, and other methods).

Senate Bill 6789 provides a sales and use tax exemption for eligible server equipment and power infrastructure for eligible computer data centers. In order to qualify a data center must: (1) Be located in a rural county; (2) have at least 20,000 square feet dedicated to housing servers; and (3) have commenced construction between April 1, 2010, and before July 1, 2011. The tax credit expires April 1, 2018.

Washington Legislature Begins Special Session

Posted on by

Today at Noon the Washington Legislature convened the 2010 first special session. The Senate held a Pro Forma session at Noon to pass resolutions that determine the rules that will guide policymakers during this session.

In particular, both the House and Senate passed House Concurrent Resolution 4409 which specifies the status of bills, memorials, and resolutions for the 2010 first special session of the sixty-first legislature.

The passage of HCR 4409 allows the legislature to consider bills, joint resolutions, joint memorials and concurrent resolutions introduced during the 2010 regular legislative session during the special session.  In addition, all bills, joint resolutions, joint memorials and concurrent resolutions introduced in the 2010 regular session are reintroduced in the chamber in which they originated and will retain the same number and be given the highest legislative status attained upon adjournment.

So now what was old is new again.

Governor Convenes Special Session Beginning Monday

Posted on by

This evening the Washington State Legislature adjourned the regular 2010 supplemental session. Shortly thereafter, Governor Gregoire signed a proclamation to convene a special session of the Legislature beginning Monday, March 15th.

The Governor asked Senate and House leadership to focus on reaching a compromise budget and revenue package to close the state’s $2.8 billion gap, as well as legislation to create jobs.

Gregoire is urging the House and Senate to complete their work in a seven day session. The overtime period can run up to 30 days.

Legislature Adjourns 2010 Session; Special Session Announcement Expected

Posted on by

At 8:40 p.m. the Washinton State Legislature adjourned the regular 2010 supplemental legislative session. The Legislature worked tireslessly through the evening to pass several major policy bills prior to adjournment, including major K-12 reform legislation. 

Despite the difficult and hard work by the Legislature to take action on several critical policy bills, the Legislature did not pass a supplemental operating budget or revenue legislation prior to adjournment this evening.  The Legislature also did not pass a supplemental capital budget. In fact neither the House nor the Senate passed their proposed supplemental capital bugets off their respective floors by sine die.

An annoucement regarding the timing and focus of a special session is expected.

One Day Until Adjournment: The Latest

Posted on by

With only one day to go until the Washington Legislature must adjourn the 2010 supplemental session several major pieces necessary to allow policymakers to leave Olympia without a special session remain in motion.

Here is the latest as of this evening.

Operating Budget
The 2010 supplemental operating budget (ESSB 6444) has passed both the House and Senate and is now in conference.

Capital Budget
The House proposed 2010 supplemental capital budget (HB 2836) is on the House floor waiting for further consideration. The Senate proposed 2010 supplemental capital budget (SB 6364) passed the Senate late this afternoon.

Revenue Legislation
As of this morning three revenue-related bills have made it into the end-game. Senate Bill 6143– increases taxes and closes loopholes –  and Senate Bill 6874 and House Bill 2493– increases tobacco product taxes. 

Senate Bill 6134 has passed both the House and Senate and is now in conference.

Senate Bill 6874 is on the House floor awaiting further consideration.

This morning House Finance Committee passed House Bill 2493 which increases cigarette tax by$1 per package and equalizes taxes on other tobacco products. HB 2493 now goes to the House floor for further consideration.  

Senate Passes Proposed 2010 Supplemental Budget

Posted on by

The Senate passed their proposed 2010 supplemental capital budget late this afternoon with a vote of 32-16.

The capital budget passed today includes language put forth by Sen. Fraser to provide $125,000 to Evergreen to complete a feasibility study on the College’s Biomass Gasification Project.

In addition, the Senate’s proposed capital budget:

  • Reduces appropriations for debt limit bonds by $139 million.
  • The reduction of $139 million is a combination of reducing new appropriations for the 2009-11 biennium by $73 million and the reappropriation authority for projects authorized in the prior biennia by $66 million.
  • Avoids exceeding the 9 percent constitutional debt limit.
  • Captures $48 million in savings for major higher education construction projects from competitive bids received for these projects.
  • Provides $36 million in funding for the replacement of Balmer Hall at the University of Washington.
  • Places greater reliance on Evergreen’s local funds, including the school trust and a portion of student tuition.

Senate Bill 6364, the Senate’s capital budget, was amended on the Senate floor to allow for several technical corrections in the bill. 

The bill now goes to the House for further consideration.

House Ways and Means Committee Moves Lottery Bill

Posted on by

This afternoon the House Ways & Means Committee took action on Seante Bill 6409, the lottery bill for financial aid.

The Committee took action on a subsitute bill that greatly limited the programs that would benefit from the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account. The substitute bill replaces the language in the original bill with the following:

  • Expresses legislative intent to use increased lottery account revenue for stabilizing and increasing funding for higher education student financial aid.
  • Creates the Washington Opportunity Pathways account. Funding from the Account may only be used for the State Work Study, Opportunity Grant, Washington Scholars, Washington Award for Vocational Excellence (WAVE), State Need Grant, GET Ready for Math and Science, Passport to College, and College Bound.
  • Provides that all net lottery revenue not otherwise obligated for paying lottery administration, lottery prizes, debt service on Safeco Stadium, or Qwest Field and Exhibition Center, gambling education and the Education Construction Account is deposited into the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account.
  • Net revenues from shared lottery games that were previously directed to the state general fund are now directed to the Washington Opportunity Pathway Account.
  • Requires the Lottery Commission, in consultation with independent experts and the HECB, to implement strategies to actively market the state lottery as an essential contributor to Washington early education and higher education programs. 
  • Requires the Lottery Commission to report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on key components, performance objectives, and anticipated revenue impacts of the marketing strategies by December 1, 2010.
  • Requires JLARC to complete a performance review of the Lottery Commission’s marketing expenditures and incentive pay structure by November 2010.

The substitute bill removes the recruitment of entrepreneurial researchers, innovation partnership zones, and research teams as well as early childhood education and assistance program (ECAP) as programs to receive funds placed into the Washington Opportunity Pathways Accounts.

Substitute Senate Bill 6409 now goes to the House floor for further consideration.

House Finance Committee Passes Cigarette Tax Bill

Posted on by

The House Finance Committee passed out of committee House Bill 2493, which increases taxes on cigarettes and tobacco related products.

House Bill 2493 increases cigarette tax by$1 per package and taxes on other tobacco products are equalized. The substitute bill passed out of committee makes several changes to taxes related to other tobacco products and also requires the revenue generated by the taxes to go into the general fund instead of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Account. 

  • Eliminates the separate Other Tobaccob Product tax classifications for roll-your-own tobacco and capsular smokeless tobacco.
  • Lowers the maximum rate cap on large cigars from $3.025 to 65 cents per cigar.
  • Eliminates the annual $18 million transfer from the general fund to the tobacco prevention and control account (The entire amount is deposited in the general fund). 
  • Makes the tax on moist snuff purely weight based by taxing moist snuff at the per pack rate for cigarettes for each 1.2 ounce can. 
  • Makes the bill effective April 1, 2010, except the tax on moist snuff, which is effective October 1, 2010. 

In addition the bill was amended in committee to specify that the moist snuff tax rate is the greater of: 95% of the sales prices or 83.5% of the per pack cigarette tax rate.

House Bill 2493 now goes to the House floor for further consideration.

Three Days Until Adjournment: The Latest

Posted on by

With only three days to go until the Washington Legislature must adjourn the 2010 supplemental session several major pieces necessary to allow policymakers to leave Olympia without a special session remain in motion.

Here is the latest as of this morning.

Operating Budget
The 2010 supplemental operating budget (ESSB 6444) has passed both the House and Senate and is now in conference.

Capital Budget
The House proposed 2010 supplemental capital budget (HB 2836) is on the House floor waiting for further consideration. The Senate proposed 2010 supplemental capital budget (SB 6364) is on the Senate floor waiting for further consideration.

Revenue Legislation
Two revenue-related bills have made it into the end-game. Senate Bill 6143– increases taxes and closes loopholes –  and Senate Bill 6874 – increases tobacco product tax. 

Senate Bill 6134 has passed both the House and Senate and is now in conference.

Senate Bill 6874 is on the House floor awaiting further consideration.

House Passes Revenue Legislation

Posted on by

Late last night the House passed their proposed revenue package (SB 6143) with a vote of 52-45.

Though the House passed their proposed revenue package from committee to the floor last week  (HB 3191), it is the Senate’s proposed revenue legislation that the House voted on last night.

The House passed a striker, which removes the language from the Senate’s revenue legislation and replaces it with the House’s proposed revenue package (HB 3191). As a result the House effectively passed their proposed revenue package using SB 6143 as the vehicle.

The striking language passed by the House narrows or eliminates numerous current tax loopholes; removes sales tax exemptions for bottled water, elective cosmetic surgery, candy & gum, and custom software; and includes various other measures.

The House considered 18 amendments to the bill, of which nine were adopted.

  • Requires the applicant for the rural county sales tax exemption/deferral program to provide information on new jobs for the local work force.
  • Requires the department of revenue and the other members of the streamlined sales tax project advisory group to recommend modifications to the definition of candy under the streamlined agreement.
  • Removes provisions imposing sales tax on janitorial services.
  • Changes the effective date of the minimum nexus provisions from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2010. Makes a technical correction.
  • Eliminates the July 1, 2020, expiration date for the livestock nutrient management sales and use tax exemption.
  • Expires, on July 1, 2011, the section that allow the DOR to disregard tax avoidance transactions.
  • Changes the effective date of the provisions modifying the 1st  mortgage deduction from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2010.
  • Caps the aircraft tax for aircraft manufactured in 1970 and before to an amount that is twice the current aircraft tax.
  • Clarifies that the nexus and apportionment provisions only apply to state business and occupation taxes and not local taxes.

The House’s revenue legislation generates $700 million in new revenue for the 2009-11 biennium. This is approximately $190 million less than the revenue passed by the Senate over the weekend.  

SB 6143 now goes back to the Senate for concurrence. If the Senate does not agree to the changes the House made then the bill will move to conference.