Sept. 11 sets Olympia agenda

By David Ammons

Associated Press

OLYMPIA — The long shadow of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks cloaks the state Capitol as state lawmakers gather today for their election-year session.

The Sept. 11 tragedy speeded Washington’s descent into the first recession in a generation, punching a billion-dollar hole in the state budget and leaving thousands of people out of work. Repairing the financial wreckage and finding ways to spur the sagging economy are foremost on lawmakers’ minds as they begin their 60-day run.

Even issues such as transportation and the state construction budget are being given the Sept. 11 spin, with Gov. Gary Locke and others openly worried about the economy that once was the envy of the nation.

These are tough times that call for tough decisions, the governor says.

Indeed, during the new session lawmakers will be asked to:

Chop state spending, including some pet programs of the new Democratic majority. State spending limits have restrained budget growth, but the trendline has been relentlessly upward, until now.

Expand gambling and boost the liquor tax, not to mention a whole host of fee increases and potentially unlimited college tuition increases. This comes after a decade of tax cuts by the Legislature and citizens via the initiative process.

Approve the largest traffic congestion-relief efforts in state history. Higher road taxes would be required — and lawmakers have to decide whether to put the question on the statewide ballot or handle the matter themselves in Olympia.

Besides providing the backdrop for the session, the events of Sept. 11 are also spawning a host of anti-terrorism proposals, anti-gouging consumer legislation and measures to make Washington businesses more competitive. Special committees have been formed on terrorism and the business climate.

But mostly, it’s a session about budget and transportation, both complicated and politically risky brews of public services and taxes.

Locke and lawmakers say voters are already to accept straight talk and decisive action to fix the state’s problems. Even Democrats are using Republicans — former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani, New York Gov. George Pataki and President Bush — as models for taking bold and reassuring action during trying times.

"Our nation is closer together because of Sept. 11, and people understand that government has a lot of important things to do," said Marty Brown, the governor’s budget director. "Mayor Guiliani and President Bush deserve a lot of credit. People didn’t panic. Decisions got made. And folks cared about each other."

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, says lawmakers are eager to get started, even though the choices will be unpleasant at times. Voters back home will understand, she said.

"People understand that Sept. 11 altered our lives and we are not coming out of it quickly," Kessler said.

Legislative leaders have fingers crossed that some of the national wartime unity will rub off on Olympia. Even though it’s an election year, Democratic leaders are hoping for bipartisan cooperation, particularly on transportation.

Republicans are making no promises.

Democrats badly wanted the majority and wrested the House away by winning special elections in Snohomish County in November, notes House Minority Leader Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee. The majority has the obligation to shape and pass an agenda and can’t expect a bailout from the GOP minority, he said.

That said, Republicans are willing to collaborate on selected issues, Ballard said. There could be GOP support for a transportation finance package, for instance, if Democrats pass some transportation reform bills and if the tax plan is modest and goes to the public for a vote, he said.

Transportation and redistricting are two opening-week specials.

Both chambers expect to quickly work on transportation-efficiency bills as a prelude to talking about taxes. Senate Minority Leader James West, R-Spokane, is calling for a vote by the end of next week on a ballot package, though Democrats don’t seem ready to make that decision just yet.

The two houses are expected to go along with Attorney General Christine Gregoire’s request for legislation changing the deadline for redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative districts to Jan. 1.

The change would be done retroactively, so as to remove a legal cloud over the work of the state Redistricting Commission. The citizen panel missed the Dec. 15 legal deadline, but approved both plans by the Jan. 1 deadline mentioned in the state Constitution.

Hearings also are scheduled on the governor’s operating and construction budget proposals, anti-terrorism, the aerospace industry, worker retraining, college tuition and local government aid.

There are dozens of less profound issues, too.

The House Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, for instance, is considering mold insurance.

And the House Agriculture and Ecology Committee is taking up regulation of Clopyralid, and herbicide that has turned up in compost, effecting plants and vegetables exposed to the contaminated compost.