Hope joins Hobbs to save money in capital budget
Published 10:40 am Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Looking to save money in a year when the state must fill a near $6 billion shortfall, State Rep. Mike Hope, R-Lake Stevens, is sponsoring a bill to eliminate a requirement that one-half of 1 percent of the cost of any new government building be set aside for public art.
The bill was supposed to be introduced on Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the House Capital Budget Committee.
“Money is hard to find in Olympia, and even though the capital budget does not have a shortfall like the operating budget, we should try to make every dollar stretch a bit further,” Hope said in a prepared statement. “This is a great way to do that.”
It appears the measure has bipartisan support, as State Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, already has filed the companion Senate Bill 5163.
“I’m excited to work with Steve to save taxpayer dollars and serve our district together,” Hope said.
Hope sits on the Capital Budget Committee in the House and noted he has already heard many requests for funding construction projects around the state.
“This measure would free up more money to spend on worthwhile causes like a Boys and Girls Club in Marysville, a sewer project in Snohomish, a senior center in Mill Creek, or the proposed interchange in Lake Stevens at State Route 204 and State Route 9,” Hope said.
