This is the Federation Hotline for Monday.
HERE’S WHERE WE’RE AT IN THE FINAL FOUR DAYS OF SESSION
The 2010 legislative session is set to adjourn its regular session Thursday. If they can’t come to agreement on a budget and revenue package, they would go into special session.
The Senate over the weekend passed and sent to the House a revenue package. Meanwhile, the House passed its version of the budget sent them by the Senate (ESSB 6444) and sent it back to the Senate. The House and Senate now must go into conference committee negotiations to see if they can reach a final compromise by 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
To recap Saturday’s message, the version of the budget passed by the House has gone the farthest in raising revenue and funding services with less balancing on your backs.
The pendulum could be swinging away from the anti-state employee crowd now that even the Seattle Times has busted the myth of “high paid” state employees.
More on that later.
Here are a few more details about what was in the budget (ESSB 6444) passed by the House Friday:
- On institutions closures, the House does not close RHCs or JRA facilities, but the House budget would close one cottage at Maple Lane School and two wings of a cottage at Green Hill School and Green Hill residents would be double bunked. The House, unfortunately, sticks to its original plan to close Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake.
- On furloughs, a note of caution. The furlough bill, SSB 6503, is still technically alive on the House floor with several proposed but still unadopted floor amendments, including one to take away personal holidays (which would require negotiations). But the budget passed by the House Friday stripped out budget language mandating furloughs, instead directing state agencies and higher education institutions to reduce state compensation costs by $48 million. Here is what the effect statement on that amendment says:
EFFECT: Deletes the section reducing appropriations related to SSB 6503 (temporary layoffs), and directs the Office of Financial Management to develop a schedule of reduced compensation expenditures of state agencies by $48,648,000 million General Fund-State and $51,975,000 from all other funds. The reductions are to be distributed to each agency and institution of higher education proportionately based on each state agency and institution's share of the total compensation of all state employees.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Reduces General Fund-State by $434,000.
Increases Other Funds by $40,066,000.
- On health insurance, the House adopted amendments that increase funding for your health benefits, but calls on the governor to go to the bargaining table to push for a change in the share of premiums the state and employees pay. Currently, the state pays 88 percent, employees 12 percent. Here is what the effect statement on that amendment says:
EFFECT: Increases the monthly employer funding rate charged to participating employers for the Public Employees' Benefits Board (PEBB) health and insurance benefits for fiscal year 2011 from $768 to $863 per eligible employee, and requires the PEBB not to adopt a plan for expenditures on benefits and administration that would project a total reserve level for the end of fiscal year 2011 of less than $90,000,000.
The intent of the Legislature is that the Governor immediately request to commence bargaining a corresponding increase in the employee share of health premiums with the coalition of all the exclusive bargaining representatives with which health care benefit funding is bargained.
Transfers $30 million from the Data Processing Revolving Fund (fund 419) and $13 million from the Public Works Assistance Account (fund 058) to the Salary/Insurance Increase Revolving Account (fund 406). This amount is appropriated for agency charges due to the increased monthly employer funding rate in lieu of an appropriation from the state general fund.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Increases General Fund-State by $22,340,000.
Increases Other Funds by $111,554,000.
Transfers $43 million in funding between accounts.
- The House also restored funding for seven positions at Eastern State Hospital and seven at Western State Hospital:
EFFECT: Restores 14.0 direct care vacant positions that were eliminated in the DSHS mental health psychiatric hospitals. The FTEs restored are 7.0 at Eastern State Hospital and 7.0 at Western State Hospital.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Increases General Fund-State by $2,434,000.
- And the House budget restored budget reductions:
EFFECT: Restores budget reductions in the following agencies:
Department of Commerce
Restores $625,000 in General Fund-State for Growth Management Act technical assistance.
Department of Health
Restores $200,000 General Fund-State for environmental health programs related to grants to local health jurisdictions for monitoring on-site sewage systems.
Department of Ecology
-Restores $500,000 from the State Toxics Control Account for the Hazardous Waste Cleanup Program;
-Restores $273,000 from the State Toxics Control Account for the Solid Waste Cleanup Program;
-Restores $3,501,000 from the State Toxics Control Account for the Toxic Cleanup Program;
-Restores $300,000 from the General Fund-State for the Air Quality Program;
-Restores $75,000 from the General Fund-State for the Water Quality Cleanup Program;
-Restores $75,000 from the General Fund-State for the Water Quality Monitoring Program;
-Restores $354,000 from the General Fund-State for the Shorelands
Program; and
-Restores $5,309,000 from the General Fund-State for local watershed planning.
Recreation and Conservation Office
Restores funding for the Biodiversity Council ($92,000 General Fund-State) and for salmon recovery data coordination ($78,000
General Fund-State).
Department of Fish and Wildlife
Restores funding for wildlife disease monitoring ($162,000 General Fund-State); scientific assistance for salmon recovery($250,000 General Fund-State); and land management ($264,000 General Fund-State).
Department of Natural Resources
Restores $75,000 General Fund-State for the Natural Heritage Program.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Increases General Fund-State by $7,859,000.
Increases Other Funds by $4,274,000.
Again, the Senate and House must work out their differences. And on institutions closures, furloughs, health care and other key areas, the differences are significant. So stay tuned.
STOP THE PRESSES! SEATTLE TIMES BUSTS THE MYTH OF “HIGH PAID” STATE EMPLOYEES—AND THE MYTH THAT THE SEATTLE TIMES CAN’T GIVE STATE EMPLOYEES A FAIR SHAKE!
The Seattle Times on Saturday busted two myths—that state employees make more than those in the private sector (and therefore should sacrifice even more) and the myth that the Seattle Times can’t give a fair shake to state employees.
To be fair, it’s been the editorial pages that have called for the state to stick it to you even more, not the news pages.
The analysis done by the Times compared some 200 standard occupational categories of state employees. It found that the median pay of state employees exceeded private sector workers in only 74 of the 200 categories. Median pay means half earn more, half less.
This finding left anti-state employee groups like the Evergreen Freedom Foundation and the Building Industry Association of Washington without their typically snarky comebacks.
And Sen. Joe Zarelli, who is leading the charge to take away state employee step increases, deflected.
“I don’t know,” he told the Times when asked if state workers are compensated better than private-sector workers.
Zarelli’s comeback: “Right now, our issue isn’t about competitive pay, it’s about balancing the budget and everybody sharing in that process.”
After sacrificing $1 billion last year, state employees would agree it’s time for more shared sacrifices!
The Times quoted an expert on state-employee compensation to verify its findings.
“In general, private-sector pay is higher than in the public sector, and the higher up the occupational hierarchy the job is, the greater the advantage for the private sector,” said Rick Kearney, director of the School of Public and International Affairs at North Carolina State University.
To read the entire Seattle Times story go to:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011277862_statewages07m.html
JOB ACTIONS CONTINUE
We told you about the impromptu sign waving on I-5 overpasses in Saturday’s message.
On Saturday, members from several locals congregated to waive signs at an overpass in SeaTac. Included were members from Corrections Local 308, Seattle Employment Security Local 435 and Whatcom-Skagit Local 1060.
Also on Saturday, members rallied in Medical Lake.
STOP THE RHC WIPEOUT BILL!
The Senate Ways and Means Committee resurrected a dead bill from 2009 that would wipe out all RHCs and passed it out of committee March 3.
Senate Bill 6182 now goes to the Senate Rules Committee, which schedules bills for votes of the full Senate. We need calls to the Rules Committee to keep SB 6182 off the Senate floor.
SB 6182 is bad. It would wipe out the statutory authority for all RHCs: Rainier School, Frances Haddon Morgan Center, Yakima Valley School, Fircrest School and Lakeland Village.
SB 6182 would allow the governor to immediately shut down any or all RHCs.
CALL TO ACTION:
1. Call 1-800-562-6000 and urge your senator to oppose SB 6182. RHCs are quality campuses that care for some of our state’s most profoundly disabled citizens when there are no resources for the kind of community care they need.
2. Contact members of the Senate Rules Committee, especially if the senator from your district is on the committee. Especially call if your senator is on the list of committee members below. If you’re able to call or e-mail them directly from your own phone and computer and on your own time, please do so.
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE
Chair: Lt. Gov. Brad Owen
(360) 786-7700
ltgov@leg.wa.gov
Franklin, Rosa
Dist. 29
(360) 786-7656
franklin.rosa@leg.wa.gov
Hewitt, Mike
Dist. 16
(360) 786-7630
hewitt.mike@leg.wa.gov
Brown, Lisa
Dist. 3
(360) 786-7604
brown.lisa@leg.wa.gov
Eide, Tracey
Dist. 30
(360) 786-7658
eide.tracey@leg.wa.gov
Fraser, Karen
Dist. 22
(360) 786-7642
fraser.karen@leg.wa.gov
King, Curtis
Dist. 14
(360) 786-7626
king.curtis@leg.wa.gov
Kohl-Welles, Jeanne
Dist. 36
(360) 786-7670
kohl-welles@leg.wa.gov
Marr, Chris
Dist. 6
(360) 786-7610
marr.chris@leg.wa.gov
Murray, Ed
Dist. 43
(360) 786-7628
murray.ed@leg.wa.gov
Parlette, Linda Evans
Dist. 12
(360) 786-7622
parlette.linda@leg.wa.gov
Pridemore, Craig
Dist. 49
(360) 786-7696
pridemore.craig@leg.wa.gov
Regala, Debbie
Dist. 27
(360) 786-7652
regala.debbie@leg.wa.gov
Schoesler, Mark
Dist. 9
(360) 786-7620
schoesler.mark@leg.wa.gov
Stevens, Val
Dist. 39
(360) 786-7676
stevens.val@leg.wa.gov
Zarelli, Joseph
Dist. 18
(360) 786-7634
zarelli.joseph@leg.wa.gov
CRITICAL DAYS AHEAD—KEEP THE PRESSURE ON
CRITICAL CALL TO ACTION ON HEALTH CARE
STOP HEALTH CUTS! Call 1-800-562-6000. Tell legislators to fund state worker health care at a fiscally responsible level in the supplemental budget (ESSB 6444). They will know what you mean. They want to triple your health care costs—that is unacceptable on top of the $1 billion you’ve already sacrificed and the average hike of $1,100 a year in health care costs imposed on you this past Jan. 1.
KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING WITH CALLS ON THE KEY ISSUES:
Call 1-800-562-6000. Tell your legislators:
- STOP HEALTH CUTS! Tell legislators to fund state worker health care at a fiscally responsible level in the supplemental budget (ESSB 6444). The plan passed by the House March 5 is a good start.
- CLOSE TAX LOOPHOLES! SUPPORT HB 3176 to close tax loopholes. It will recoup hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue.
- OPPOSE FURLOUGHS! OPPOSE SSB 6503, the state employee furlough bill. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less. Several proposed but unadopted floor amendments also await action in the House. The House version of the budget (ESSB 6444) passed March 5 does not mandate furloughs but directs agencies to reduce compensation costs. It’s unclear if furloughs are still in the mix, so we need to keep the pressure on.
- OPPOSE INSTITUTIONS CLOSURES!
- PASS INTERPRETERS’ COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BILL, E2SSB 6726. Give state Medicaid interpreters a voice on economics and workplace issues and a seat at the table on a reform-oriented work group. It has passed both houses, but the Senate must now take up House amendments. The effect statement on the House amendment adopted March 5:
EFFECT:
Specifies that the working group's plan must describe the best possible means by which access to services is maintained or improved.
Modifies the mandatory subjects of bargaining. Provides that economic compensation is "such as the manner and rate of payments." Deletes rules and procedures regarding payments, work rules, and reimbursements. Also deletes certification procedures.
Specifies that, if a language access provider provides written authorization or the collective bargaining agreement includes a union security provision, the state must require through its contracts with third parties that: (1) dues be deducted from payments to language access providers and transmitted to the bargaining representative's treasurer; and (2) records showing that dues have been deducted be provided to the state. Makes this provision applicable only if the state does not make payments directly to providers.
Restores language specifying that bilingual services are provided through contracts with local agencies or other community resources (as well as language access providers).
Deletes the requirement that the Department of Social and Health Services certify providers in a manner consistent with any collective bargaining agreement.
Makes a technical correction.
That’s it for now. Call Tuesday for the next message but this may be updated sooner as events warrant.
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