AMENDMENTS FLYING FAST AND FURIOUS

A number of amendments are flying back and forth in both legislative budget committees.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee late Wednesday night OK’d its version of the budget.

The committee rejected three bad amendments that would have forced you to pay more for health insurance under the guise of restoring cut programs in other areas. But state employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in economics to help bridge the budget gap, and these grandstanding amendments on health care were rightly defeated. But they may arise again on the floor of the Senate.

The committee did approve one bad amendment that would abolish the Select Committee on Pension Policy to save $250,000. If this sticks, it means state employees will have no seat at the table on any of their pension issues because the law prohibits bargaining on retirement issues.

Meanwhile, over in the House Ways and Means Committee, that panel today unveiled a number of amendments to bills, including some good ones to ESSB 5288, the Community Corrections supervision bill. But the committee did not vote on them.

The House panel is also considering bad amendments that would take out the “opt out” funding plan to keep parks open. Amendment sponsors instead want the Parks Commission and Department of Licensing to better market the existing “opt in” program, which has not raised anywhere near the funds needed to head off closure of some 50 state parks. The amendment is proposed to HB 2339

The House committee will also consider amendments to the generic drug bill that would require a generic drug alternative that is not only cheaper but equally effective to brand-name drugs. That would be an amendment to ESSB 5892.

We’ll keep you updated.