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Anderson sponsors bills to
restore state’s fiscal integrity
Rep. Glenn Anderson,
R-Fall City, has sponsored two bills aimed at getting Washington’s
budget back on track and ending the ongoing cycle of boom and bust
funding that has continued to plague Washington.
“Biennium after biennium,
our state faces a difference between tax revenues and the funds required
to meet the state’s spending wish list,” said Anderson. “Voters have
very clearly told us they want lawmakers to spend within our means on
priorities such as education, health care and the environment. They also
want us to steer clear of tax increases. These bills will help us do
both.”
House Joint Resolution
4210, introduced today by Anderson, would create a Required Reserve Fund
– also called a “rainy day” fund – within the state constitution. Under
the measure, 1 percent of forecasted revenue would be transferred each
fiscal year from the state general fund to the new reserve fund, with
the total capped at 10 percent of annual revenues. It would require a 60
percent majority of both houses of the Legislature to appropriate money
from the rainy day fund, unless revenue growth was less than 1 percent,
in which case a simple majority vote would do. While Washington has a
rainy-day fund, it is not set in the constitution, nor does it have
specific safeguards to prevent raiding of the account to support excess
spending.
Anderson also co-sponsored
House Bill 1835, a bill introduced today that would change Washington’s
constitution to restore the state’s statutory spending limit. The
measure would close the “two-way-street” loopholes that have allowed
lawmakers to raise spending limits and require the Legislature and
governor to create a budget that fits the spending limit, rather than
the other way around.
“The first measure would
make sure we set some reserve aside to protect citizens from needless
tax increases and draconian cuts to core services during economic
downturns,” Anderson commented. “The second measure would redefine how
program funding can be shifted to evade the spending limit and create a
more bipartisan approach to creating the state’s budget.
“Just as families act
responsibly by keeping spending within their income and saving for a
rainy day, these measures would help us conduct state budgeting in a
more dependable and realistic fashion. It’s time to get away from the
budget deficit trap and get on to responsible state budgeting.”
Anderson is the Assistant
Ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, which
considers the state’s operating budget and other bills with a fiscal
impact. Both HJR 4210 and HB 1835 were referred to that committee for
further consideration.
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For more information, contact:
Bobbi Cussins, Public
Information Officer - (360) 786-7252
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