The House Judiciary committee is voting on several bills this afternoon, including legislation that would allow same-sex marriage in Washington state. They will also be voting on an adoption bill that would allow adoptees to access their own birth certificates, and a bill supported by Attorney General Rob McKenna that would tighten stalking laws. We will be live with coverage on TVW starting at 1:30 p.m., and we’ll have more on the blog and tonight’s edition of Legislative Review.

Also live on TVW today: At 10 a.m., the Senate Government Ops committee is holding public hearings on bills that would make changes to the state’s Growth Management Act, which was enacted in the early ’90s as a way to limit suburban sprawl. And at 3:30 p.m., the Senate Ways & Means committee is holding a work session on government reform.

Tags: adoption, gay marriage, Growth Management Act, Reform, stalking

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

Senate Democrats outlined what they hope to achieve this legislative session in an meeting for reporters Thursday afternoon.  Some items are already in consideration, and Sen. Lisa Brown said they plan to introduce others as bills in the upcoming weeks.

Among their priorities:

• Consolidating K-12 public school employee benefits (something we reported on earlier this week)
• Combining some regulatory permits, such as those related to the State Environmental Policy Act.
• Reevaluate leases on buildings. Government downsizing has created a lot of empty space in buildings with 5 or 10-year leases and “we don’t have an escape clause,” said Sen. Jim Hargrove.
• Create a commission that would look for cost saving measures and reorganization opportunities within state government.

They also handed out a packet with dozens more ideas — we’ll keep you posted on which reform ideas from across the legislature gain traction this session.

Tags: Reform, Senate Democrats

Gov. Chris Gregoire announced a package of government reforms that she hopes the Legislature will act on during regular session. She said the state has made real reforms in the past several years — and those changes have been difficult.

“Our public servants today are doing more with less,” she said, and are paying for more of their benefits and pensions.

Her new reform ideas? First, turn the lottery over to the private sector — or at least explore the idea. “Some have asked me, Should the state be in the gambling business?” She said she’s open to the idea of taking bids to see if the private sector could do better, similar to what the state did with liquor privatization bids before Initiative 1183 passed.

Second: She’s asking the Legislature to end the paid Liquor Control Board. The existing director and staff would take over the duties. “If a board is needed, I believe it should be voluntary,” she said, like the Lottery Commission. She said the move would save more than $700,000 a biennium.

Third reform: Expand the Department of Enterprise Services, which opened Oct. 1 and combines a five departments’ back-office functions into one. She said it’s already paid dividends, and she’s ready to look at expanding it.

Fourth: She’s issuing an executive order to all cabinet-level agencies to continue to find efficiencies through the LEAN process. A Boeing team of four executives will help the state with this process for another six months, free of charge.  Children’s Hospital and Group Health will also help.  “LEAN is about eliminating anything that doesn’t serve the customer efficiently and effectively,” she said.

“Three years ago I said to the people of our state, We cannot waste this crisis,” she said. “I can come to the people of this state today and say we did not and we will not.”

Click through to the jump to see press Q&A to the governor and the press release on the Governor’s reforms. (more…)

Tags: Gov. Chris Gregoire, Reform

The House considered a bill this morning to create more disclosure for campaign mailers. Rep. Troy Kelley says drafting the bill has been a long process. “It is very different than the Senate version,” he said, in part because “I am a lawyer (and I) attempted to draft something very narrow.”

His goal was to address three issues:  shadow Political Action Committees,  disclosure, and fines.

On the topic of disclosure, Kelley said that mailers sent out by Political Action Committees should be kept on file. He said the current system makes it very difficult to track down mailers — let alone who sent them.

He said repeat offenders — even if they are operating under different PAC names — should be fined.

Tags: campaign, disclosure, Reform

“Today we are announcing a significant new effort in how we’re going to create our budget,” Gregoire said, starting out her announcement. “We are seeing hopeful signs in our economic recovery but quite frankly, we are also seeing that things are not going to get back to the way they were anytime soon.”

She said in the first five months of this year, the state has added 14,000 new jobs — but that doesn’t hold a candle to the jobs lost. “Credit is tight for our businesses and tighter than it was two years ago.”

As a result of the economic crisis, she said, state revenues are down. When the 2011 Legislature meets, they’ll face a $3 billion projected shortfall.

“Today must mark the start of something different,” she said, to “think differently, to ask our questions in a new way.” She said tough choices aren’t new to the state, which has cut $5.1 billion in spending over the past two years.

She said the changes aren’t just about the process, they’re about building a strong financial foundation. “It’s about transforming government to meet the needs and the economic realities” of the future.

So: She wants to reform budget writing. “There are no sacred cows. We’re going to ask new and challenging questions” about state programs. “In addition to the rigorous budget process, I’ll challenge our state agencies” to go beyond “priorities of government” budgeting and consider fiscal responsibility, performance and efficiency.

Those three additional areas each have several questions. Example: Is this an essential service? If so, is it something that can be provided by others. “Could Washington State Ferries be managed by an outside organization,” she asked, by way of example. She said many ferry services are private run or on the way to that — ditto for the state data center. (more…)

Tags: Budget, Governor, Reform

Read Gov. Chris Gregoire’s press release after the jump.
(more…)

Tags: healthcare, Reform

The House is debating a bill to try to qualify for Race to the Top money and implement the new funding formula for schools over time.

“We’re no longer talking about Race to the Top, Mr. Speaker, we’re talking about race to the middle,” Rep. Skip Priest said. He said the provisions in the bill are not enough to win the federal grant money. But, he said, it’s critical to pass the bill — with the funding and Race to the Top provisions — now to keep the state moving forward.

Rep. Marcie Maxwell said she met with children from her district this morning. “I just want to strongly support it and say that every one of those kids is worth it,” she said.

Rep. Bruce Dammeier: “I am one that wishes it were bolder, that wishes we were moving a little stronger to the Race to the Top areas. We have an opportunity here and I wish we were taking advantage of it.“  He said the bill has a significant fiscal note, but he’s voting yes.

Rep. Mark Miloscia said he works as a substitute teacher. “I do appreciate a lot of the elements of this bill, I’m going to be a reluctant no… we don’t many times actually have true reform that actually has real accountability,” he said, and this bill doesn’t hit the mark.

Rep. Tim Probst said it’s a bill he’s proud to vote for. “We talk a lot about education and taking care of our kids … last year we had a major education reform and one of the things that we talked about is usually we do reform and we don’t follow it with funding and how that’s no way to make things happen,” he said, “And here we are keeping the promise.”

Rep. Reuven Carlyle said he’s torn and that the state is so much more than what its become. “If we were designing state government today with the depth of our Constitution’s commitment to public education, what would state government look like?” He said it would likely look different — with bigger commitments to education and public health.

Rep. Gary Alexander: “There is no money, Mr. Speaker, no money to address this requirement.” He said they’re setting up obligations in future budget periods that the state will not be able to pay for. “Don’t tell me about the fact that we funded it because we put it in the fiscal note,” he said. “I am just as dedicated to the education of our children as anybody on this floor, but until you show me the money — show me the money in the budget — I can’t vote for this.”

Update: The House passed the bill 76 to 22.

Tags: education, Reform

The bill to combine state Parks and the Department of Fish and Wildlife with the Department of Natural Resources is up for its first hearing right now. It’s live on TVW. And here’s what the sponsor, Sen. Rodney Tom, said about it yesterday.

Rex Derr, director of state parks, said the cost savings are largely unknown. He said his department put together the fiscal note last week and there were a lot of questions. He also said the bill calls for parks to create a plan for closure during their two busiest months of the year.

Sen. Kevin Ranker asked what the cost savings would be. Committee staff said the bill calls for a plan for closure by July, so there is no way to know yet. Here is the fiscal note.

“We view this bill as being consistent with the Governor’s recommendations on natural resources reform,” said Lenny Young with the Department of Natural Resources. He said they’re requesting an amendment so that the plan wouldn’t be due until Dec. 31 — as opposed to July 1, 2010. He also said they need more time to implement the plan.

Mark Quinn with Washington Wildlife Federation said the Department of Fish and Wildlife, despite its problems, is an important agency. “We are in a war to protect our natural resources and we need to fight it on several fronts,” he said — not by banking all natural resources agencies together.

Tags: DFW, DNR, parks, Reform

The Impact tonight is full of previews - a preview of the state’s September revenue forecast, a preview of possible reform efforts in the natural resources area of government, and a special sneak preview of TVW’s upcoming education series.

We start off with the quarterly Economic Revenue Forecast, due out Thursday, September 17.  Joining us is State Representative Ross Hunter, Chair of the House Finance Committee and Governor Gregoire’s Legislative Director Marty Brown. The governor’s supplemental budget is due out in December and the legislature will likely have to deal with a budget shortfall when it returns to Olympia in January.  Both Hunter and Brown offer their insights into the impact of this week’s revenue forecast on the budget and how soon Washington’s economy might recover.

Governor Gregoire spoke about it in her Inaugural address this past January – three scientists from three different agencies doing the same work in the same stream. This week a natural resources group working with the Governor’s office released its list of 26 different ideas to reform the natural resources area of state government. It includes streamlining the state’s permitting process and consolidating the work of many agencies to just two or three.  Now it’s your turn to weigh in on the ideas. Public comment runs through October 28. Joining us is the Governor’s Natural Resources Policy Advisor John Mankowski.

Finally, we’ll show you a sneak peak of TVW’s upcoming education series -  The Quest for Quality: The Debate Over Education Reform & Funding.  The special will air in two parts next Wednesday, September 23 at 8pm and Thursday, September 24 at 8pm.

Don’t miss The Impact, airing tonight at 7pm & 10pm on TVW and online: tvw.org.

Tags: Budget, education, natural resources, Reform, Revenue forecast