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Dear friend,
Our
2009
legislative session is now in the books. I'd like to
share with you what took place in the 105-day session,
and how it will impact our communities.
While the legislative session may be over, I'm your
full-time legislator. If I can be of assistance, or if
you ever need a guest speaker,
please contact me. I always look forward to hearing
from those I am so fortunate to represent.
Sincerely,
Barbara Bailey
P.S.
-- If you know anyone who might be interested in
receiving my
e-newsletter, please let them know they
can sign up
here.
Operating budget sets our state up for more
problems
The
legislative session was dominated by the state's
unprecedented $9 billion operating budget shortfall. As
assistant ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means
Committee, I was directly involved with this issue.
Let's start
with the good news: bills to
create a new state income tax
and to
increase the state sales tax
failed. I fought
against these measures because taxpayers should not be
expected to bail out the poor budgeting decisions of the
majority party the last four years. Similar proposals
could still end up on the ballot in the form of
initiatives, but only time will tell.
 Below
represents the bad news about the budget and why I voted
against the proposal:
$777 million from the capital
budget, which could have been used for
infrastructure improvements and job creation;
Cuts $794 million in K-12 education,
and $1.2 billion in health and human services; and
Sets our state up for another multibillion budget
shortfall, which will intensify talk of tax
increases.
The majority party also
rejected attempts to improve the budget process from
those who want to prevent current problems from
happening again. I supported a
proposal that would have brought transparency,
sustainability and accountability to the budget process.
The Olympian daily newspaper said the proposal
"…makes sense – and therefore will likely be rejected
out-of-hand by Democratic budget writers."
Unfortunately, this is what happened.
Our state
can, and must, do better with how it spends your tax
dollars. We can do this by prioritizing education,
public safety and protection of our most vulnerable
citizens, and restructuring how the state delivers
programs and services. This won't be easy, but I will
continue to put forward solutions.
Transportation budget makes ferry promises that need
to be kept
I
voted for the $7.5 billion transportation budget because
of the commitment it makes to improve and add vessels to
our state ferry system. It's vital these promises are
kept. You can view my House floor speech on this budget
by visiting
here.
Below are some ferry-related facts on
the transportation budget:
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Funds ferry projects
until 2013;
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$212 million for construction of three Island Home
vessels from 2010 to 2012;
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From 2011 to 2013, there is about $70 million
available for the purchase of a fourth Island Home vessel. If
additional revenue is approved, a 144-car vessel would be built
instead, with a second 144-car boat planned in the 2013-15 budget
cycle;
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Terminal improvement projects are funded on a
limited basis;
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Continued operation of the Anacortes-Sidney ferry
run;
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The ferry system and the Transportation Commission
must submit a business plan if they consider imposing a fuel
surcharge for ferry fares;
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WSF will begin planning for a reservation system
subject to legislative approval; and
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Ongoing fare increase of 2.5 percent each year.
One concern I have with the
transportation budget is it only funds highway projects
until 2015. Beyond 2015, project funding
will be at risk because the 16-year financial plan is
not fully balanced. This is not fair to many communities
and voters who supported the 9.5 cent state gas tax
increase. Promises made need to be promises kept.
All state parks should remain open
I am happy to report that, despite budget woes, all state parks should
remain open. There were proposals that ultimately failed that would have
closed some state parks in an effort to save money. I opposed these
proposals.
State parks are so special to families across the
state, especially in the 10th District, and vital to tourism. I know my
family loves our state parks, and I will continue to support them as a
state lawmaker.
 I
am, however, disappointed with the process in which the state will now
generate more revenue for state parks. The previous process (see
graphic), which I support, offered people the option of voluntary
contributions when renewing car tabs. This was an opt-in system.
Under a new process adopted this year under
House Bill 2339, people will now be automatically charged a $5 fee
for state parks when renewing their car tabs -- unless they opt out. I
just think this is a sneaky way to get more money from people. When
state government creates confusing processes for the public, it leads to
distrust.
I supported four amendments -- including
one I sponsored -- to improve the legislation, but they were
rejected. I will continue to support finding more efficiency and savings
in state government to ensure stable funding for state parks, as opposed
to increasing fees on the public.
Island County will now have more flexibility with its
pay periods
A bill that I prime
sponsored
was recently signed into law by
Gov. Gregoire.
The measure will give smaller counties more flexibility
and control with their pay periods, and will help many
jurisdictions around our state.
House Bill 1461 will allow counties to adopt a
weekly pay period for county officers and employees. It
will also allow a county using a semimonthly pay period
to adopt a biweekly pay period and make payments no
later than 13 days after the end of each pay period.
I want to thank Island County Auditor Sheilah Crider
for bringing this idea to my attention. It was a
pleasure working with her, and I had hoped that she
could have attended the bill signing.
To view a video of the bill signing, click
here.
Six other
bills I prime sponsored are signed into law
I'm
proud to tell you that, in addition to
House Bill 1461, five other bills that I
introduced will be or have been signed into law. Below
is a description of them.
House Bill 1869
will require the disclosure of all fees
and charges for care services by health care providers
and licensed facilities, at the request of the patient.
This
will provide transparency and better public information
on the cost and quality of health care.
House Bill 1548 will eliminate the
requirement that members make contributions for
interruptive military service upon return to state
service if that service is during a period of war. It
will also refund past member contributions for
interruptive military service, if that military service
was rendered during a period of war.
House Bill 1567 will change Medicare
Supplement policy replacement standards and require the
reporting of premiums for tax purposes to be consistent
with the basis the insurer used to report in the
insurer’s annual statement.
House Bill 1568 will prohibit certain
practices for surplus line brokers, apply a number of
statutes to surplus line brokers, and make a number of
language and grammatical changes.
House Bill 1749
will modify licensing, education, and background check
standards for mortgage brokers and loan originators.
Good legislation I will continue to support
I supported many bills that
unfortunately stalled in the legislative process --
measures that focused on our economy, health care
system, roadways, and community safety. I will continue
to support these bills next year, including:
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Reduce regulatory burdens on
Washington businesses (House
Bill 1617);
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Provide access to out-of-state
health carriers (House
Bill 1871);
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Allow insurance carriers to design
tailored health plans for adults ages 19 to 34 (House
Bill 1866);
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Modify transportation policy goals
to include congestion relief as a higher priority
for the Washington State Department of
Transportation (House
Bill 2037); and
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Require GPS monitoring for Level 3
sex offenders and those registered as transient (House
Bill 1834).
View my video updates
I taped video updates every other week this legislative
session and posted them in my Web site's newsroom.
In these updates, I expand on many of the issues
addressed in this e-newsletter. To view them, please
click
here and look for the
"VIDEO UPDATE"
entries. You will also find my news releases,
e-newsletters and opinion pieces.
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