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Budget agreement, sex
offender sentencing among late achievements for Legislature
The state Legislature
reached agreement on several key pieces of legislation, prompting local
lawmakers to deem the 2004 session a reasonable success. Bills to
increase penalties for sex offenders, establish long-awaited charter
schools and create a new primary system to meet the scrutiny of a legal
challenge were all approved and sent to the governor in the final week
of the 60-day session, which ended Thursday.
Twentieth District
Reps. Gary
Alexander and Richard DeBolt said some
Republican priorities were left unfinished by the politically divided
Legislature, including major tort reforms needed to help jump start the
state’s economy and restore access to affordable health care. But they
said the short session produced some significant results.
“Our primary goal was to keep our state on a path toward a quick
economic recovery and create job opportunities so families and
communities can prosper,” said DeBolt, R-Chehalis, who serves as House
Republican Leader. “Certainly there was more we would like to have done,
but we did make progress, for example, by extending tax incentives that
will bring high-demand, high-paying jobs to our state. We also sought to
gain trust with the citizens in government’s ability to address issues
important to them. We were successful in increasing penalties for child
rapists and giving parents more choices in the education of their
children by authorizing the creation of independent charter schools.”
Among the bills approved
on final day of session was the 2004 supplemental operating budget. The
general fund spending proposal added $145 million to the existing
two-year operating budget.
“The budget proposal funds some pressing needs, such adding slots in
high-demand fields in our state’s colleges and universities and pay
increases for home health care workers,” explained Alexander, R-Olympia,
who serves on the House Appropriations Committee. “But we have our work
cut out for us next year. We were already expecting a shortfall next
biennium simply to continue funding current services. This budget digs
us a couple hundred million dollars deeper in the hole when we sit down
to write the next two-year budget. We’re going to continue to work for a
sustainable spending plan that protects taxpayers and protects services
for those who truly need government assistance.”
The budget leaves just $304 million in reserves to meet emergencies and
unexpected needs throughout the final 16 months of the budget cycle – a
margin of only 1.3 percent of total revenues.
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For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Public
Information Officer: (360) 786-7698
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