March 6, 2009

Dear friends and neighbors,

This past week, we have been operating at a feverish pace in the Legislature, considering hundreds of bills that have made their way to the House floor for a vote. This pace will likely continue through next Thursday, March 12. That's the next deadline for the Legislature.

By next Thursday, all House bills must have passed the House, and Senate bills must have passed the Senate. Those that did not make it by the cutoff may be dead for the session. The exception are budget-related bills.

No bill is really completely dead until the final gavel falls at the end of the 105-day session. Some measures come to life in the form of amendments.  So it really makes for an interesting process.

Budget matters

At the end of last month, the preliminary revenue forecast showed that Washington now has a budget deficit of more than $8.3 billion. To put that in perspective, that's almost three times the size of the entire budget for the state of Idaho.

What concerns me is that we are now more than halfway through the 105-day session and very little has been done at this point to reduce spending. So far, we've had the opportunity to vote on a $300 million reduction in the supplemental budget. That's just nipping at the edges of a very large problem. Plus, there's a $700 million deficit in the current biennial budget.

The lack of action by the majority party has led me to believe that they've already given up -- they've already arrived at their solution and that's sending a tax increase to the voters.  I believe that raising taxes is NOT the answer.  We cannot balance this budget on the backs of families who are struggling to make ends meet.  We CAN balance this budget without raising taxes and still protect the most vulnerable.

As Ronald Reagan said, "Governments don't reduce deficits by raising taxes on the people; governments reduce deficits by controlling spending and stimulating new wealth."

Abolishing DSHS

One way to reduce spending is by eliminating the Department of Social and Health Services and reorganizing it into four smaller, more manageable departments. That's an idea I proposed through House Bill 2197.

The state has tried to put too many governmental functions into one super agency, and it has not worked. The agency is difficult to administer, costly, and it's very hard to measure whether the department is actually meeting its goals and responsibilities.

The House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee held a hearing and passed the bill Friday, Feb. 20, and the measure was referred to the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee. It seems, however, the governor doesn't like the bill. She asked leaders in the House to stop the legislation. I think she was worried, because the bill had bipartisan support with 16 Democrats and 17 Republicans as co-sponsors.

Unfortunately, the bill was bottled up in committee. However, I am now looking into the possibility of turning the measure into an amendment that I can attach to a similar bill, such as House Bill 2295. So while my legislation is on life support, don't count it out yet!

Other Armstrong bills that survived

I've had great success this year with legislation. Several bills are now under consideration or soon will be by the full House. Because the status of these bills seem to change by the hour, I'm providing links so you can see the progress of this legislation.

• House Bill 1025 - Requires college- and university-affiliated bookstores to provide a four-week advance notification of course material requirements.
• House Bill 1404 - Allows the State Capitol Committee name public rooms or spaces in the new state Heritage Center in honor of a donor, benefactor, grant-maker, or
  other substantial contributor.
• House Bill 1880 - Provides a cost savings to county auditors in the purchase of election ballot envelopes.
• House Bill 1996  - Requires the owner of underground facilities notify contractors  when the location of those facilities has been marked. 

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions about legislation in Olympia. It is an honor to serve you!

Sincerely,