2023 Washington Legislature, Day 82 of 105
Everett Herald political reporter Jerry Cornfield: jcornfield@heraldnet.com | @dospueblos
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OLYMPIA, March 31, 2023 — Good afternoon. Welcome to the Friday edition. Baseball is back. And a new season of bill signing too.
Gov. Jay Inslee, a righty in his third term, carried out the task surrounded by legislators, lobbyists and individuals who played a role in getting each passed. This marked Inslee’s return to in-person signing after an extended time out for the pandemic.
Sen. John Lovick led off with a hit for Snohomish County. Legislation signed by Inslee adds a judge to the ever busy Snohomish County District Court.
Eleven bills later, Sen. Karen Keiser closed things with a home run for Washingtonians who rely on insulin. Her bill makes permanent the state’s $35 cap on out-of-pocket expenses for a 30-day supply of insulin.
Many bills will get signed and a few will be vetoed in the coming weeks. Keep track here.
A tax hike lurks
A bill to ditch the 1 percent cap on annual property tax increases isn’t dead. It might wind up in a go-bigger-so-lawmakers-can-go-home deal on housing.
House Bill 1670 would reset the cap at 3% for counties, cities and special purpose districts. A top priority for local governments, it is sitting in House Finance Committee waiting for the call-up. I thought, because it doesn’t affect state revenues, it lapsed earlier this month. I was wrong.
“It may very well be exempt from cut-off,” House Speaker Laurie Jinkins said this week.
Democrats are eyeing ways to put more dollars into housing than the sums in their proposed budgets. Inslee wants a $4 billion bond. House Democrats like redoing the real estate excise tax (REET) to fill state and local government coffers. Senate Democrats are watching, chatting and seeing what can pass.
Enter the levy lid lift. A provision in the REET bill lets counties and cities increase local taxes on real estate transactions and use the money for housing-related endeavors. Fiscally-challenged local governments seek money for law enforcement and human services. Given a choice, many would prefer the higher cap to additional REET dollars.
These are only bigger pieces of a puzzle that may be assembled in the final weeks.
A pen and its failed predictions
Meanwhile, Jinkins said she got a new Predict A Pen after her old one disappeared without a trace.
The acquisition looks to be a lemon.
“This Predict A Pen predicted the capital gains tax would be found unconstitutional. Twice,” she said. It was upheld.
I then put it to the test.
Me: “Will the bond proposal pass?”
Pen: “Dude, no way.”
Me: “Will the REET bill pass?”
Pen: “Not for a million dollars.”
Let’s see how things turn out.
This deal took time
A series of difficult conversations between House and Senate members this week resulted in an unusual compromise on a bill to celebrate the heritage of Washington’s Chinese-American community.
Senate Bill 5000, in its original form, was two paragraphs long. It designated January as “Americans of Chinese descent history month” and encouraged schools to “commemorate the contributions of Americans of Chinese descent to the history and heritage of Washington state and the United States.”
It hit a wall in the House where Asian-American members of the House Democratic Caucus have been passionately opposed. Some didn’t like the month. Some preferred using Chinese-American. Some had issues with some of the loudest backers with whom they had political disagreements.
On Wednesday, with cut-off looming, the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee took action. Rep. Bill Ramos, the chair, prepared three approaches, negotiated with the main players. And got a winner.
Option A designated January as “Chinese American history month.”
Option B made it the month to “commemorate the contributions of Chinese Americans and Americans of Chinese descent to the history and heritage of Washington state.”
Winning Option C designated January as “Chinese American/Americans of Chinese descent history month.”
Along the way, there was plenty of commentary on the rationale behind Americans of Chinese descent and Chinese-American. Committee members felt inclusion of both recognized all opinions had merit.
“I am happy to see the bill moving forward after three years of working on a simple well-meaning and long overdue policy,” Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Woolley, said Thursday evening, leaving little space between the lines to read.
The House is expected to pass the bill.
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