The state just got a report card from the Supreme Court, Rep. Bruce Dammeier said, and it’s not good: “We got an F” on fulfilling the state’s paramount duty, funding basic education. He said House Republicans intend to break the cycle of under-funding education.

“Today, we’re going to offer to the legislature House Bill 2770. This bill is our education budget,” he said, adding that the proposal would gett the state back on the path of delivering on promises made to the state’s children.

“This is all about what dollars do you spend first,” said Rep. Charles Ross. “The number one fear amongst, I think, taxpayers is they don’t know what we’re doing … and today is the day that the House Republicans stand up” for education, he said.

Some of the highlights, according to Dammeier:

- Puts $580 million more toward education than Gov. Chris Gregoire’s all-cuts budget

- Does not cut any days from the school year; Gregoire proposed cutting four days

- Fully funds levy equalization; Gregoire proposed cuts

- Does not rely on a late payment, as Gregoire’s proposal does

He said their bill also gives local school districts the ability to make decisions about their local budgets. (more…)

Tags: education, House Republicans

The 2012 Legislative session kicked off on Monday, and we covered lots of ground here on the blog and on Legislative Review, our 10-minute wrap-up of the day’s events that airs nightly at 6:30 p.m. on TVW. Here’s a quick look back at what happened this week.

Monday: Opening ceremonies got underway with speeches from Reps. Frank Chopp and Richard DeBolt. TVW aired a two-hour opening day special of “The Impact” with interviews from the Governor and dozens of lawmakers, who touched on everything from the budget to gay marriage and medical marijuana.

Watch Monday’s Legislative Review here.

Tuesday:  Gov. Chris Gregoire gave her final state of the state address, calling for a $3.6 billion transportation package that would include a $1.50 fee per barrel on oil produced in Washington. Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, delivered the Republican response. That was followed by a news conference where several Republicans said they were concerned that the Governor’s proposed oil fee would cause prices to rise at the gas pump.

Watch Tuesday’s Legislative Review here.

Wednesday: After three years of delivering gloomy economic forecasts, the state’s chief economist Arun Raha announced he was resigning to take a new job in Cleveland — but not without cracking a few of his signature “Arun-ism” jokes first. We kept an eye on two environmental bills — one would ban plastic grocery bags in Washington state, and the other would ban petroleum-based plastic bottles. And, the Senate took a look at a proposal that would consolidate the healthcare benefits of K-12 public school employees under one insurance plan.

Watch Wednesday’s Legislative Review here.

Thursday: A bipartisan group of lawmakers held a press conference to announce their plans for education reform, including a bill that would authorize charter schools in Washington state. Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Burien, held a press conference to promote his version of a bill that would ban plastic bags. The employment department and chief economist Arun Raha gave an update on how the state’s economy is doing.

Watch Thursday’s Leglative Review here.

Friday: The Sandusky scandal prompted the Senate to hear a bill that would hold certain higher education employees responsible for reporting suspected child abuse. Also, the Senate honored Sen. Scott White, who died in October of a heart attack. Friday’s edition of Legislative Review airs at 6:30 p.m. on TVW.

Tags: Arun Raha, Environment, gay marriage, Gov. Gregoire, Legislative Review, Schools

This week: Senate Democrat Leader Lisa Brown and House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt share their views on the state budget, possible tax hikes, and other key issues facing the 2012 State Legislature. Enjoy.

Tags: Budget, House, Inside Olympia, Reform, Senate, taxes

If you miss Arun Raha already, don’t worry: He gives an economic outlook in today’s show. Also: We’ve got details on the education reform package and one of the programs that replaced Disability Lifeline.

Tags: Disability Lifeline, economic outlook, education reform

On this week’s edition of The Impact, host Jessica Gao outline the major themes of the opening days of the 2012 session, including the various job creation proposals. Plus, why the state’s Supreme Court Chief Justice is doing temp work in county court.

Tags: education reform, jobs package, supreme court, The Impact

Washington’s chief economist Arun Raha announced today in a press conference that he is resigning Jan. 31 to take a new job in the private sector.

Since taking office three years ago amid the Great Recession, Raha’s quarterly economic forecast reports haven’t exactly been rosy. “It was a challenge and any job I have after this will be a piece of cake,” said Raha, who is taking a position as an economist for manufacturing firm Eaton Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio.

“Two good things come from me leaving. One, I’m getting an out-of-state company to buy my house, ” Raha joked. “The second is that we’ve been on target since September, and I get to quit while I’m ahead.”

Raha is executive director of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, and the announcement comes weeks before he is due to give the state’s February revenue forecast. As forecaster, Raha is responsible for predicting how much money the state will bring in, as well as painting a picture of the overall economy. The state Legislature uses his forecasts as a blueprint for writing the budget.

Rep. Ed Orcutt, Chair of the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, said that Steve Lerch will take over as interim forecaster and will deliver the February forecast. Raha has promised to be available to Lerch so that the transition is “seamless” as possible, Orcutt said.

The council will launch a national search for Raha’s replacement, which could take as long as six or seven months, Orcutt said. In 2010, the most recent year for which data has been released, Raha earned $140,833 in salary.

Raha said that he feels comfortable leaving before February’s forecast because he doesn’t see much changing from his November projections. Revenue updates will be published today, he said, and the forecast is .03 percent off, or about $9 million dollars below projections. “I don’t see any reason to change it upward or downward from November,” Raha said, adding there is plenty of time for things to change before the February forecast.

Tags: Arun Raha, Budget, economic forecast

Sen. Joe Zarelli delivered the Republican response to Gov. Chris Gregoire’s State of the State address. You can watch it all here:

He started off by saying that he agrees with the governor on one point: The budget is the most important issue this session. But he disagrees on how to solve the $1.5 billion budget gap. He said temporary solutions — like the proposed half-cent sales tax increase — are not the way to go.

“We can go for a short-term fix that is based on new – and in some cases, temporary – revenue. Or we can seize opportunities that will help make state government more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable now and for years to come.”

Tags: Republican, state of the state, taxes

Gov. Chris Gregoire is delivering her final state of the state speech now to a joint session of the House and Senate. They’re also joined by the Supreme Court and other elected officials. Watch live on TVW, and refresh this post for updates throughout the speech. (After this, we’ll be covering the Republican response.)

“While our challenges are unprecedented, so, too, are our opportunities,” she said, adding that Washington knows how to turn challenge into opportunity. “Many believe that government is the whole problem, and many believe that it’s the whole solution. But that’s not our Washington,” she said, adding that here, people understand that safe communities and good schools are critical, but that government can’t do it all.

She said Washington needs to “win in the turns,” meaning hit the accelerator while others are breaking. “It’s now up to us. This is our time. Our time to win in the turn, our time to build a better future for our children and grandchildren,” she said. To that end, she’s asking for four things: 1. That the Legislature quickly passes a budget. 2. Ask voters this spring to approve a temporary half cent sales tax. 3. Pass school reforms. 4. Pass a major transportation and jobs package.

“First, let’s solve the budget problems,” she said. She said since the Recession began, the Legislature has “cut and cut and cut.” She said some states are talking about reforms, but Washington has made big changes. “We’ve made our pension system one of the five most sustainable in the United States,” she said, as one example. “One of the fastest growing, biggest and most complicated drivers of our budget is healthcare,” she said, adding that reforms passed already have helped contain costs.

“While we must cut and reform again, we must also realize that this problem demands a courageous solution. We must look for new revenue for the state of Washington,” she said.

“I ask you to send to voters a temporary, three-year, half-cent sales tax” to save “vital services,” she said. “We are about to shred very core services. It is time for all of us here in this chamber to stand up for Washingtonians.” She said she knows the sales tax is regressive, but making further cuts to the safety net will be even more regressive. (more…)

Tags: Governor, state of the state

The Senate and House just wrapped up opening session. Here’s a scene from the House.

Rep. Frank Chopp outlined his priorities, including education taking early learning “to the next level.” He also said one goal this session is to save the state’s safety net.

“One thing we’ve learned is that an overtaxed industry stifles innovation,” said Rep. Richard DeBolt, in a response. He also said the state has to break it’s dependence on the federal government, move Medicare to block grants and put pressure on the federal government to give the state more flexibility on federal match programs.

Tags: House, Legislature, opening day, Senate

We just wrapped up an interview with Gov. Chris Gregoire as part of our special opening day edition of “The Impact.” You can catch the rebroadcast at 7 p.m. tonight, and we’ll post web clips as they become available.

Gregoire spoke about her proposal for a half-cent state sales tax hike, gay marriage, education reform and medical marijuana.

The Washington Supreme Court’s recent decision on the McCleary case — which said that the state isn’t doing its duty to fully fund education — emphasizes the need for a sales tax increase, Gregoire said.

“The court put an exclamation point behind my recommendation,” Gregoire said during the interview.

Gregoire said she hopes to get a gay marriage bill out this week, and possibly as soon as today. The bill would make gay marriage legal in Washington state.

Current domestic partnerships would transition to marriages within two years, she said, unless those partnerships are dissolved. Heterosexual or homosexual couples over the age of 62 who are in a domestic partnerships for financial reasons will be able to continue that relationship if they choose, she added.

She also spoke about her continuing efforts to get the federal government to reclassify medical marijuana as a Class II drug, which would give it accepted medical uses.

Tags: gay marriage, Gov. Gregoire, medical marijuana, sales tax