OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire sidestepped one of the most anticipated decisions of her tenure Tuesday when she chose Congress rather than new taxes to save a bundle of government programs threatened by the state’s $2.6 billion deficit.
Interest had been building for weeks that Gregoire would propose new taxes to protect $780 million worth of education, health care and human service programs from her budget ax.
She raised expectations again Tuesday in her State of the State address, telling the Legislature she was rewriting her December budget to include new revenue from taxes and the federal government.
Hours later, the revised budget she presented to the Senate Ways and Means Committee raised the targeted sum with $675 million in federal aid and $105 million from repealing state tax preferences and changing tax laws.
Gregoire told senators Washington could receive as much as $1 billion. She said President Barack Obama is expected to outline a plan for federal aid to states in his address to Congress later this month.
She wants any federal money poured into 27 programs, including the Basic Health Plan, school levy equalization, state need grants for college students, all-day kindergarten, early learning and adult hospice care.
Republicans criticized the Democratic governor for showing a lack of leadership by sending the Legislature a spending plan balanced with money the state doesn’t have. Those dollars, if they arrive, will provide a one-time fix and make more difficult their task of dealing with a deficit already projected in the next state budget, they said.
“I think it’s not responsible budgeting to push the process out into the future when we need to make these decisions now,” said Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Gregoire, who will deliver her proposal to that panel today, fired back.
“Are you going to turn (federal money) down? I’d rather accept it and not raise taxes if I don’t have to,” she said.
Democratic lawmakers said they didn’t want the governor passing out a detailed tax plan Tuesday. Doing so might have incited tensions and created complications in what will be a difficult budgeting process in the Legislature.
“I think she was doing us a favor,” said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. “It may have been if she got too wedded to a particular package it may have been difficult to find an agreement or compromise with the Legislature.”
Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, said House and Senate Democrats need to figure out what programs they want protected and how much those cost. Then, if there is not enough federal funding, the conversation on taxes will begin, she said.
It will be the Legislature that decides, said Rep. Mark Ericks, D-Bothell.
“The governor doesn’t get to raise taxes. The governor can talk all she wants to about taxes. Ultimately the Legislature will decide whether to raise taxes,” said Ericks, vice-chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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