House Passes Budget, Sends it to Senate

The House late Friday night passed the harsh budget to bridge a $9 billion budget gap on a vote of 54-42.

It now goes to the Senate, which must pass it and resolve any differences by the scheduled end of session on Sunday. The Senate Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a hearing for 8 a.m., tomorrow, Saturday, April 25.

The budget passed by the House tonight is pretty much as we outlined in our first message earlier this morning. You can review that message at www.wfse.org.

This is the budget that’s balanced with more than $1 billion in sacrifices you’ve made in terms of lost pay, reduced health insurance funding, lower pension contributions and projected layoffs. Health insurance would go to bargaining by the Federation-led Super Coalition of all state employee unions to preserve the 88/12 premium share split.

The budget saves several institutions, but mandates studies to close several come next year.

The budget directs the Office of Financial Management to study the possible closure or downsizing of several institutions, specifically in Corrections, Green Hill School and Maple Lane School in Juvenile Rehabilitation and all residential habilitation centers, like Yakima Valley School. The study is due Nov. 1. It must have a recommendation to eliminate 1,580 beds in DOC, 235 beds in Juvenile Rehabilitation and 250 beds in the RHCs.

So we have our work cut out for us if this proviso sticks. You can help now. Call the Legislature’s toll-free hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and urge your senator to reject the proviso in ESHB 1244 studying institutions closures. Lines will be open until 1 p.m. Saturday.

A few other budget provisos we’ve discovered:

• Sec. 907 requires the governor to create a work group to "identify consolidation opportunities" in natural resource agencies.

• Sec. 912 provides language allowing a voluntary retirement, separation, and downshifting incentive program that "is cost neutral or results in cost savings..."

• Sec. 913 provides for administrative reduction strategies "that will minimize impacts on employees..."

• Sec. 914 provides for state employee health care benefits.