The news last week that the state could expect about $415 million more in revenue than was initially projected should have brought the Legislature, divided over the next two year budget, closer to a deal.
While it may have closed some of the $1 billion gap between what House Democrats and Senate Republicans believe ought to be spent, there’s been little indication that the additional revenue has broken the stalemate between them.
The first 30-day special session concludes Thursday, and Gov. Jay Inslee is almost certain to immediately call the Legislature into a second special session. The consequences get more serious with each passing day, including the potential for a partial shutdown of state government agencies, which the Legislature flirted with just two years ago when it last extended budget talks into June.
But we won’t have to wait until June to see problems begin to crop up.
We’re already more than a week past the typical May 15 date when the state’s school districts, using the budget numbers they receive from the state, make decisions about staffing levels and either look to hire more staff or notify teachers if they’ll have a job in the fall. The final deadline for that budget information is June 15. Until the Legislature decides how it will handle teacher contracts, some distracts may also need to reopen contract talks.
Without a transportation budget, road and bridge repairs and construction, which ramp up during spring and summer’s good weather, are underway, but would have to be halted July 1. Add to that the potential for a partial shutdown of the state ferry system during the peak summer season.
The start of construction for the Washington State University’s new North Puget Sound center in Everett also is likely to be delayed without a budget deal soon. Contractors had hoped to break ground on July 1, but without WSU knowing how much funding it can expect, the project could be delayed, and delay eats into the project’s construction window.
No one is saying that legislators aren’t aware of these deadlines or of the problems their delay in passing an operating budget and capital budget will cause.
The split appears mostly to be a philosophical one over taxes. Republicans began the regular session insisting that little or no new tax revenue would be necessary to meet the state’s budget needs, particularly for making satisfactory progress on education funding. Gov. Inslee, whose own budget proposed $1.4 billion in new tax revenue now says that amount is unnecessary but some increase in taxes is, a position shared by most Democrats.
After years of budget cuts to state agencies, not to mention unfilled promises of cost-of-living increases for teachers, it’s past time for the state to begin making up some lost ground and restore state support lost during the economic downturn.
A willingness to budge some by each side can get us to a deal and avoid adding more delay and cost all around. And quickly, please.
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