Editorial: State lawmakers’ to-do list chock-full of issues

By The Herald Editorial Board

Monday, the state Legislature begins its 105 — scheduled — days of work, crafting operating and capital budgets but also attending to numerous issues, some left over from previous sessions. What follows is a look — and recommendations — regarding just some of those issues.

School special education funding: Left over from the remedies undertaken following the McCleary lawsuit and the Legislature’s response has been a comprehensive solution to funding for special education. The state reimburses districts for a specific percentage of students for that funding, but most districts report a higher percentage of students requiring special education than the state provides for, noted Dan Steele, head of governmental relations for the Washington Association of School Administrators in a discussion with the board in December.

“Now’s the time to make sure that what districts are expending, they are actually reimbursed for,” he said.

All 295 school districts, Steele said, are spending more on special education than the state and federal governments have provided, meaning school districts are having to use levy funds to fill the gap, a basic education use for which levies were not intended. There have been incremental improvements, but full funding of special education — likely topping $1 billion — is part of the paramount duty of the state as outlined in the constitution and must be delivered.

School construction funding and bond election: Another perennial issue has been the difficulty that many school districts face in funding school construction. Built largely with district taxpayer funding, school districts typically use bond elections to fund construction. But bond elections require approval from 60 percent of district voters, a higher bar than is required for levy elections. Adding to the problem is the state’s school construction funding formulas, require that district-supplied funding; thus requiring successful bond elections.

A change to a simple majority for bond elections would make local funding fairer and more accessible, as would improvements to the state’s formula for school construction. But amending the bond’s passage threshold would take a change to the state constitution and approval of state voters. That question should be placed before voters.

Drug possession law: With a stop-gap measure expiring in July — which reduced the charge for possession of illegal drugs from a felony to a misdemeanor and further delayed that charge until a third contact with law enforcement — the Legislature is facing calls to provide a more certain path to convince those addicted to opioids and other drugs to seek treatment. Recently, the editorial board encouraged consideration of increasing the charge to a gross misdemeanor, providing more incentive to begin treatment.

Police pursuits: Among recent legislative reforms to law enforcement practices, the change regarding police pursuits has seen the most demand for local officials and law enforcement for further consideration. A bill last year that would have clarified guidelines around pursuits passed the House, but didn’t get through the Senate. Legislation that offers clearer guidance while assuring pursuits are used judiciously and safely — noting past instances where the public was put at risk of injury and death — will benefit public safety for all.

Nursing shortage: The state, as has been seen elsewhere in the nation, is facing a shortage of nurses at hospitals, long-term care facilities and elsewhere. Earlier, the editorial board recommended that as debate continues around a proposal to set nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, that lawmakers also look at funding more capacity at nursing schools in the state and joining a nationwide pact that accepts nursing licenses from other states.

Traffic safety: With the state expected to reach or exceed 700 traffic deaths to motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians in 2022 — a disturbing increase over 2013’s 436 deaths — the Legislature needs a renewed focus on traffic safety. The editorial board noted a proposal last year to decrease the legal limit for blood alcohol to .05 percent from .08; but also endorses legislation or other efforts that would require a driver’s education course to obtain a license, limiting right-hand turns at red lights and emphasizing standards adopted as part of the state’s transportation budget to encourage elements of road and other projects that improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

As well, there’s a responsibility for the State Patrol and local law enforcement to step up their efforts to cite drivers for infractions that pose a threat to safety, such as speeding, unsafe lane travel and use of phones and other distractions by drivers.

A road-use charge for electric vehicles: With a state requirement that would limit sales of new cars and light trucks to electric or other zero-emissions vehicles by 2035, work must begin to make the transition from financial support for roads and transportation from the state’s gas tax to a model that charges vehicles by the mile; what’s called a road-usage charge.

About 12,000 EVs are now on the road in Snohomish County, but the Snohomish Public Utility District has projected that figure will jump to about 660,000 zero-emission vehicles by 2040.

The state Transportation Commission, which has studied the issue for years, has recommended the Legislature begin rolling out a road-usage charge to replace revenue lost to declining gas tax funds, fully implementing the fee by 2028, the Seattle Times recently reported.

Currently, battery electric vehicles pay a flat annual fee of $130, in lieu of a gas tax, while plug-in hybrid vehicles are charged $65. Depending on use — weighed against a gas tax of 49.4 cents a gallon in the state — an equitable fee per miles driven needs to be adopted soon, out of fairness to all drivers but also out of the need to provide adequate revenue for roads, bridges and other transportation modes.

Fixing the state’s regressive tax system: After a long public process, a bipartisan and bicameral group of state lawmakers, the Tax Structure Work Group, has prepared its recommendations to present to the Legislature. But after looking at a range of proposals, including a state income tax, a wealth tax, a property tax exemption for primary residences and others, only a proposal for a replacement to the state’s business and occupation tax and an increase of the 1 percent cap on property tax increases seems most likely to move ahead as legislation. Neither proposal is likely to budge the state’s current No. 1 ranking as having the most regressive tax system in the nation, caused by its over-reliance on sales taxes for revenue, which disproportionately hit lower-income families.

As lawmakers consider the next budget this year and in future sessions, further consideration of reforms to the state’s package of taxes — even those now dismissed by the work group — deserve more discussion.