By Kim Justice, Senior Budget Analyst
By neglecting to raise new revenue, the Senate budget merely puts a Band-Aid on the biggest challenges facing our state. Ultimately, it doesn’t address a pressing issue: that we are failing to raise enough resources over time to keep up with the needs of a growing state.
Counting on unsustainable resources such as fund transfers is not a reliable solution to pay for the education of our children in the long-term. It also doesn’t produce enough resources to invest in the things Washingtonians value – health, good jobs, a clean environment, and support when they fall on hard times.
Here are the top 10 ways the Senate budget falls short on meeting the state’s needs and inhibits Washingtonians’ ability to have shared prosperity (These are in no particular order.):
- It raids funding from other dedicated accounts to pay for ongoing state needs. The Senate budget depends on $375 million in funding transferred from other accounts, including $200 million from the Public Works Trust Account that pays for local infrastructure projects like water and sewer improvements. Taking money that is intended for other purposes is not a long-term solution to addressing the failure of our revenue system to raise adequate resources over time.
- It banks on marijuana revenues to fund education, completely rewriting voter-approved Initiative 502. Initiative 502, which legalized the recreational market for marijuana, dedicates tax revenues to a variety of health, treatment, and prevention programs. The Senate proposes to rewrite the initiative to dedicate the majority of revenues to public schools. Not only does this undermine the integrity of the initiative, but it also hinges school funding on $300 million in revenue from the marijuana market – which is still in its infancy and highly uncertain.
- It relies on unrealistic savings from Lean management. Lean management is an organizational management strategy that state government has adopted to improve efficiency and quality. In the 2013-15 budget, $30 million in Lean savings were accounted for and those savings are anticipated to continue into the next two-year budget cycle. The Office of Financial Management has advised that, while improvements continue to be made to make services more efficient, it is unrealistic to expect any additional, significant savings from Lean. The Senate does not heed this advice. Instead, it books $50 million in Lean savings.
- It wastes $114 million in tax breaks. Rather than raising new, sustainable revenue, the Senate budget wastes resources on tax breaks. This includes extending a costly tax break for agricultural processors and re-enacting a tax break for high-tech research and development activities. A Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee audit found this to be a complete failure.
- It gives workers a raw deal by rejecting collective bargaining agreements. The Senate rejects the wage and benefit agreements reached by public workers and the state through collective bargaining. Instead, it proposes an arbitrary flat $1,000 wage increase for all employees in each year of the biennium and it strips health coverage from 20,000 spouses of employees. This undercuts hardworking state employees, like those who protect children from abuse and neglect, who haven’t had a raise since 2008.
- It strips $65 million from services that help families weather difficult financial times. The Senate budget fails to provide the resources for families and children who need help meeting their basic needs. The proposed budget: neglects to restore a previous cut to food assistance, impacting over 15,000 children; eliminates staffing positions that provide public assistance to struggling individuals and families; eliminates telephone assistance for people with low incomes; and cuts $41 million from TANF, which helps people find and keep a job.
- It cuts financial aid for students with low incomes who need it the most. While the Senate budget should be lauded for its efforts to reduce college tuition, it simultaneously reduces financial aid to students who need it the most. Rather than cutting tuition assistance, the funding should be reinvested so that more students can afford a higher education. There are currently about 30,000 students who qualify for assistance through the State Need Grant but are unable to receive it due to a shortage of funding.
- It cuts mental health treatment for people with low incomes. Increasing access to mental health services is imperative for the overall safety and health of our communities. The Senate budget invests in some parts of the mental health system, but it cuts $14 million from mental health treatment programs that serve people with low incomes who do not qualify for Medicaid. A cut of this kind not only jeopardizes the health of Washingtonians, but runs the risk of driving up costs elsewhere—in hospital emergency rooms, correctional facilities, and homeless shelters.
- It neglects to provide the necessary funding to maintain our parks. While the House budget provides $26 million to operate and maintain our state parks, the Senate invests a slim $5 million. This is an insufficient amount to preserve and protect our natural assets.
- It cuts $20 million from efforts to protect our environment. The Senate’s budget cuts $20 million from efforts to keep our air, water, and environment clean. Budget reductions include eliminating funding to address watershed issues and shifting funds and responsibilities to other accounts that are intended for other purposes.
