Inslee ready to take budget battle to GOP

Tax breaks and unfunded mandates are the cockroaches of the legislative process.

You just can’t kill them.

Even when one or two of each breed are eliminated by the men and women elected to run Washington, new strains of tax exemptions and state regulations are created by those same lawmakers.

Today the ritual will continue in two corners.

Gov. Jay Inslee this morning intends to name tax breaks he wants to end in order to generate additional dollars for the state’s education system.

The big reveal will be made when he releases a broad blueprint for balancing the next state budget and pumping more than $1 billion in new money into public schools in the coming two years.

Inslee is ready for a partisan throw down with Republicans. They will likely say the tax breaks he wants to erase will mean higher taxes for someone in Washington and remind the governor he pledged to not raise taxes while campaigning for the job. (Just wait till they hear Inslee call for continuing some taxes scheduled to expire in June.)

“We know we will take some heat and fire by trying to close tax loopholes,” said Jaime Smith, the governor’s director of media relations. “If they can do what we’re going to do without closing any tax loopholes, we’ll be very curious to see how they can do that.”

Meanwhile today, a Senate bill wiping a bunch of unfunded mandates on public schools off the books is before the House Education Committee for its expected approval. Whether it makes it through the full House is another story; only one mandate reduction bill has passed the Legislature since 2009.

Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, has been involved each time and told the House panel last week it’s probably the last time he’ll try.

His experience, like that of senators before him, has been one of limited success.

“Every one of those mandates has a voice behind it,” said Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell. “If it didn’t have a voice behind it, it would be gone.”

McAuliffe said she first tried two decades ago. A 1993 education reform law set up a committee to comb through existing state regulations in search of ones to repeal.

A bill got drafted. By the time it arrived at the governor’s desk in 1995, all that was left was axing of requirements for school districts to have a written job-sharing policy and to provide a 30-minute lunch break for teachers. The law allowed districts to “work out other arrangements” regarding lunch periods.

Fast forward to 2013 and

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.