Democrats Use Muscle to Pass $26 Billion Budget (WA State BARF Alert)

The Spokesman-Review | 4-25-2005 | Richard Roesler

[lilylangtree]

OLYMPIA--Racing through the final day of this year's legislative session, state lawmakers Sunday approved a two-year, $26 billion operating budget that steers money toward schools, public employees, health care and higher education.

"This budget reflects what the people of the state are asking us to fund," said Sen. Mark Doumit, D-Cathlamet. "It's an investment in our state's future."

"I'm happy with it," said Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane. "It will make a big difference in the lives of kids, families and vulnerable people."

The budget passed the House 56 to 42 and the Senate 25 to 22.

Republicans complained they had little say in the operating budget, which includes more than $481 million in new taxes. Among them: increases in liquor and cigarette taxes and reinstatement of Washington's estate tax for estates worth more than $1.5 million.

"If you're not a millionaire...not smoker and you don't drink hard alcohol..., there's no impact on the citizens of the state of Washington at all," said Gov. Christine Gregoire, who announced early on that she wouldn't allow broader sales, business, or property-tax hikes. Gregoire is expected to sign the budget.

But Republicans repeatedly called for budget cuts and efficiencies instead of tax increases. This two-year budget is 12 percent more than the last one.

"The way I look at it, Democrats just handed us the majority," Rep. John Ahern, R-Spokane, said, standing in the House wings. "In 18 months, the worm will turn."

Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, was gaveled down when he accused Democrats of "using children as shields to raise taxes." He was referring to Democrats' linking of the new taxes to spending on higher education and schools.

Senate Majority Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said that the operating budget is a good one for both the state and for Spokane.

"All in all, we feel like we really moved forward on education, health care, jobs and the economy," she said. The budget includes $100,000 for a street-kids program in Spokane, more money for child care providers and local hospitals, and new slots at area colleges.

One local loss was lawmakers' decision to eliminate $968,000 sought by the Inland Northwest Technology Education Center over the next two years. That's much of the economic development and job training organization's budget.

"That one did not make it," Brown said. "You can't get it all."

Still, Democrats' budget victory wrapped up what has been largely a good year for them. They have a solid majority in the House--55 votes to 43--and a smaller one--25 votes to 24--in the Senate.

"Hundreds of thousands of lives will be changed by what we did here," said House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle.

Urged on by their allies in organized labor, Democrats forced changes in the state's unemployment insurance law, increasing benefits for seasonal workers. By boosting taxes, they came up with hundreds of millions more dollars for schools, including cost-of-living increases for school employees and money to shrink class sizes. They also approved similar raises for state employees.

They overcame Republican objections and approved a version of California's tough auto-emissions law, a top priority for environmentalists. And they passed mental health parity, which will require health insurers to cover mental proiblems the same way they cover physical ailments.

Democrats did lose on a few issues. They failed to set up a family leave system that would pay new moms and others taking time off to care for a family member a $250-per-week stipend to make up for unpaid time off from work. And by a single vote, the Senate was unable to pass a bill banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

But overall, it was a banner year, Gregoire said.

"I've heard the old saying that nothing ever gets done in Olympia," she said. "Well, that has changed."

[lilylangtree]

Ole Fraudoire doesn't even mention the separate state gas tax hike (courtesy of her demoncRAT-controlled legislature) of 9.5 cents bring WA state's gas $.375--the highest in the West. Beginning in July the tax with start with an increment of $.03 from its present $.28. In 2002 the gas tax rose $.05 to its present $.28. Also in 2002 the budget was increased to $23 billion by raising taxes (separate from gas tax) when the lawmakers discovered that they had only $21 billion in revenues and $22 billion in expenses. Like this year, the lawmakers refused to cut spending. In fact the demoncRATS blatantly, arrogantly and proudly raises taxes 12% and are bragging about it. My pubby legislator informed me that environmentalists and unions control Olympia and the whole of the west side of the state. That assessment is right on the money. Also, the first thing the demoncRATS eliminated was the 60% rule so that they could raise taxes easier. Know what's really asinine: that this b*tching lawmakers put no assessments or evaluations on these programs to find out if the money would be used correctly. Wish Mt. St. Helens would blow to show her disgust! Why do these demoncRATS turn the state into the bastard sibling of CA?

[Not A Snowbird]

"This budget reflects what the people of the state are asking us to fund," said Sen. Mark Doumit, D-Cathlamet.

Yeah? Nobody asked me.

[lilylangtree]

DemoncRATS schizophrenia showing.

[tdewey10]

I thought the people of the state asked for Initiative 601?

[jtminton]

WA

[Brilliant]

To me it sounds like the impact on the average Joe is going to be primarily due to the fact that they are increasing spending by more than they are increasing taxes. Obviously, that will undercut their fiscal position.

Just goes to show that Dems don't care about deficits when they are in power.

[rockrr]

"Hundreds of thousands of lives will be changed by what we did here," said House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle.

Truer words were never spoken there chopper.

You just aren't smart enough to recognize the damage that you've caused. (Or decent enough to care....)

[lilylangtree]

People passed I-601 but this demoncRAT controlled legislature gutted it before passing all these taxes. The demoncRATS had to because they knew they couldn't get the 60% or supermajority rule. And you know the demoncRATS--they NEVER cut a budget or give the taxpayer a tax break. That's a SIN in their socialistic thinking.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

"And soon the godalmighty Legislature in Yankton will be sending its cousins up here to rob and steal from us." ------------- Al Schweringen, in Deadwood.

[Parmy]

April 22, 2005
Dear RevoteWa.com Petition Signer:

The Governor’s election mess just got messier. Attorneys fighting for a ReVote just forced King County Elections officials to admit they printed individual ballots ‘on demand’ during the election. No tracking. No accounting. No record kept at all. This latest revelation came during pre-trial depositions. The court trial on the lawsuit challenging the election begins May 23.

A successful lawsuit is now our only hope for a ReVote of the troubled Governor’s election. You know the Legislature refused to call for a new election even after a quarter of a million of us – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – signed the ReVotewa.com petition. Lawmakers ducked. They said the courts should decide. Attorneys for former Sen. Dino Rossi filed a lawsuit – an election ‘contest.’

This latest election mess revelation comes on top of more ‘found ballots’ in King County this month, news that a ‘faked' King County Absentee Ballot Report was used to certify the election, and the inexplicable fact that King County tallied more votes than voters.

We want to restore the integrity of our voting process.

We support the court fight. If Sen. Rossi wins, and the State Supreme Court upholds the lower court decision, the election can be nullified, the Governor’s Office declared vacant, and a new election can be held this fall. We will have a ReVote. We will begin to restore our faith in the bedrock of democracy: fair elections.

We'd like you to consider helping make the most of this opportunity to right a grievous wrong.

A legal fight is expensive. For example, legal teams have spent months in various county building basements sifting through voter cards and gathering other evidence. Each document needed has to be copied and stamped ‘official,’ with a $2 fee attached! Thousands have been spent just on documentation. Thousands of hours have been logged by a top-ranked legal team mounting the best possible case for a new election. We understand that the cost of bringing the lawsuit has reached $1 million dollars.

ReVoteWA would like to donate $50,000* toward legal fees in Sen. Rossi's election contest case. This is only a fraction of overall costs, but ReVoteWa petitioners could add much-needed fuel to the legal engine powering this case in court.

As we have spent nearly all of the $46,000 donated by ReVoteWa petition signers on television advertising, website administration, required election law reporting, bookkeeping and other paperwork, we are asking for your help now in the critical legal battle.

We ask the ReVoteWa petitioners who elected to stay on our email list to consider making a donation, either via Pay Pal (click link below)

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=donate%40revotewa%2ecom&no_shipping=0&no_note=1&currency_code=USD

or a check mailed to: Revotewashington, 321 High School Rd, #622, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

If we all donate $10, $20, or $30, we could make that contribution and strike a real blow for election reform in Washington State. The Revote office will tally the contributions, send them on to the legal team and report back via e-mail to you.

Let's keep the fight going for a Revote!

Thank you,

For Revotewa.com

Sharon Gilpin

info@revotewa.com

*ReVoteWa will retain ten percent of all money donated for its administrative overhead. Should we receive more than $60,000 in total, we will hold any extra funds in reserve to support further legal challenges such as Supreme Court appeals.

[Not A Snowbird]

I thought the people of the state asked for Initiative 601?

They did. The legislature decided they could ignore it. They now can raise taxes with just a majority, instead of the 2/3 the voters required.

Folks, if you want to see what the nation would be like with democrats in the White House and controlling the Congress, just look at Washington State.

[Eva]

There was an article on the front page of the WSJ about how the state of Maine is suffering for the lack of loggers. I have a suggestion, let's send our seasonal workers to Maine for the off season. They seem to log year around there. The shortage is so severe that they allow Canadian loggers to have work visas to log in Maine and sell the logs to US paper mills. The article was about the feds only allowing the Canadians to have six month visas instead of year around.

[They'reGone2000]

But overall, it was a banner year, Gregoire said.

"I've heard the old saying that nothing ever gets done in Olympia," she said. "Well, that has changed."

MOVEON.CHRISTINE

[dhs12345]

"not smoker and you don't drink hard alcohol..."

The dirty little secret is that the government wants you to drink alcohol and smoke so that the revenue money continues to flow.

Don't be fooled when they claim that they are concerned about public health.

Look at how many states spent the Tobacco settlements.

[lilylangtree]

I don't think Gregoire will acknowledge Dino Rossi for the below award. Anyway, here's my problem with Dino Rossi even though I would personally like to see an accurate accounting of the ballots even if that means a revote.

In 2003 taxes were raised. The state was facing $21 billion in revenue; $22 billion in expenses. Gary Locke and the demoncRAT-controlled House and the pubby-controlled senate passed a $23 billion budget. The senate pubbies gained controlled the previous November (2002). No one would cut the budget. It's a fiscal impossibility to pass an increase of $23 billion budget without raising taxes $2 billion. This was confirmed by two of my pubby legislators when I confronted them. Taxes were raised. That's why Dino Rossi and Cathy McMorris upset me in no uncertain terms when both kept echoing demoncRAT Gary Locke's praises of "passing a good budget without raising taxes." All of them lied through their teeth.

---

Evergreen Freedom Foundation
A Non-Profit Public Policy Organization
PO Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507
(360) 956-3482, www.effwa.org

---

"...Because Freedom Matters"

Press Release

April 22, 2005

Contact: Booker Stallworth, Communications Director
(360) 956-3482

Gregoire highlights state's nomination for award for no-new-taxes budget written by Sen. Dino Rossi

OLYMPIA—On April 20, Governor Christine Gregoire issued a press release highlighting the state being a finalist for Harvard’s “Innovation in Government Award.” Washington was nominated for the award because of its use of the priorities of government (POG) budget model in crafting a no-new-taxes budget in 2003. Then-Senator Dino Rossi used POG to write the 2003-05 budget, which he prioritized within available revenue despite facing more than a $2 billion budget deficit.

Gregoire’s release read in-part: “Washington’s pioneering budgeting method—which follows a process to prioritize state services within available resources—is among 18 government initiatives from across the nation to emerge as finalists out of an initial field of more than 1,000 applicants.”

The Governor went on to say that she “used the POG process to prepare the budget [she] proposed…,” even though her budget exceeds available revenue.

Abandoning POG, a majority of legislators are now set to approve a record $26 billion 2005-07 budget that relies on nearly $500 million in tax increases, raids of dedicated accounts and other one-time budget gimmicks. Based on the Democrats’ planned budget expenses, the state will have a budget reserve of less than one percent to address any unforeseen emergency.

To implement the tax increases necessary to reach their record level of spending, Democrats altered the voter-approved I-601 spending limit to allow them to raise taxes with a simple majority vote and to redefine the state’s spending limit for the 2007-09 budget so state spending can grow at an even faster pace than currently authorized.

“Since the governor ran on a no-new-taxes platform, raising half a billion dollars in tax increases and gutting the voter-approved spending limit is nothing short of a betrayal,” said Jason Mercier, budget analyst for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. “A tax increase is a tax increase, no matter what label you slap on it.”

“The governor appears not to understand what prioritizing within available resources means,” said Mercier. “Raising taxes by half a billion dollars to increase state spending by nearly 12 percent is not prioritizing spending within available resources. This budget is not based on priorities of government— it’s a $26 billion tax-and-spend deficit maker.”

[Not A Snowbird]

The dirty little secret is that the government wants you to drink alcohol and smoke so that the revenue money continues to flow.

Bingo! Didn't Gregoire admit over the weekend that the tobacco settlement money is NOT going to public health programs?

[mpreston]

Washington State needs Tabor.

[MD_Willington_1976]

It will make a big difference in the lives of kids, families and vulnerable people

cough cough bullsh!T cough cough

screwing over the working man...yeah that's the plan!

[lilylangtree]

You're stating what I'm thinkin'. BS!

[lilylangtree]

Pardon my ignorance, but who's Tabor?