Dear Friends,
We are now less than one month
away from the end of the 2017 legislative session. Today was the date for
Senate policy committees to pass House bills – measures that must be considered
by the Ways and Means and Transportation committees have another week to get
through the committee process.
The House Democrats have
finally released their operating budget, and it’s a doozy – with massive tax
increases on small businesses and even a capital-gains income tax. Only time
will tell if they have enough members willing to actually vote for these tax
hikes.
The Senate this week also
released its bipartisan capital budget proposal, and there are some big wins in
it for the Tri-Cities.
You’ll find more about these
spending proposals below.
Also this week, we had some
Tri-Tech Skills Center students and staff visit Olympia (see photo above). I
was so proud to see some of our local young people in Olympia dedicating their
time to serving others – in this case, our homeless veterans. You can learn
more about that by watching this week’s video update.
As always, if there
is anything I can do for you, please write, call or send me an e-mail. It’s an
honor to serve you in Olympia.
Sincerely,
Sharon Brown State Senator 8th District
Tri-Tech students build tiny houses for homeless veterans
This week the Democrat-led House of Representatives proposed a
2017-19 operating budget of nearly $45 billion – a $6.4 billion increase from
the current budget. It assumes nearly $3 billion of new tax increases, growing
to $4.8 billion the following budget cycle. And this nearly-$8 billion over the
next four years is on top of the $3 billion in additional revenue the state is
already expecting due to the growth in economic activity!
Their
tax increases are found primarily in House Bill 2186 and consist of:
- a
tax on personal income from capital gains – a precursor to a broader state
income tax;
- a
B&O rate increase of 20% on most businesses in the state;
- repealing
six tax incentives;
- implementing
a graduated real estate excise tax, and
- assuming
streamlined sales-tax revenues.
The
House budget also assumes passage of HB 1764, which would eliminate the 1%
revenue growth limit on property taxes and increase state property taxes by
$500 million over the next 4 years and local property taxes by more than $900
million during that same period.
Separate
from this proposal, Democrats are still floating the idea of doing a carbon tax
on fuel, home heating, and other essentials that poor and middle income
families the most.
The House budget would invest $500 million LESS in K-12 over the next 4 years than the Senate plan, but uses education as an excuse to raise taxes and spend it on growing government in other areas. And it does nothing to change what the state Supreme Court ruled is the unconstitutional over-reliance on local levies to fund basic education.
This is the wrong approach and one I will be working hard to have the Legislature reject.
On Tuesday the Senate
released its 2017-19 capital-budget
proposal, and we were able get major projects for our region included in the
plan.
I’m happy to report that the bipartisan Senate plan includes $8
million for the Science Laboratories Infrastructure (SLI) project in Richland. If
completed, this project, which is likely to attract $89 million in federal
grants, is expected to result in approximately 300 jobs in Washington over a
two-year period. It would also provide approximately $60 million in short-term
construction costs and building-trades jobs.
The capital budget also includes $1.5 million in funding for the
Whitehouse Addition Homeownership Program. The capital campaign is a project of
the Habitat Tri-County Partners, which includes Habitat for Humanity partners
in Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties. It would be used to help
construct 24 affordable homes for families in our region.
Click
here to read more about our local projects funded in the Senate capital budget
proposal.
Richland High School’s Mock Trial Team visit Olympia
Last Friday, several members of the Richland High School Mock
Trial team visited the office while in town for the YMCA State
Mock Trial Competition, held March 26-28.
In Mock Trial, teens work with legal professionals in their
community to develop an understanding of real-life case law and the role of the
court system in a democratic society. Students act out actual trials before
real Superior Court judges, who then rate the effectiveness of their
presentation.
Our RHS team earned its spot in the state competition by
winning first place in the district competition held in February at the Benton
County Courthouse.
Tri-City economy pulls out of midwinter slump
March 28,
2017 | Wendy Culverwell, Tri-City Herald
A midwinter slump is standard for the Tri-City economy. Pulling
out of it in February is standard too as the agriculture and construction
industries awaken.
So far, 2017 is pretty typical. The local unemployment rate
dropped to 7.8 percent in February, its best February rate in recent years and
nearly a percentage point below the 8.6 percent level posted in January,
according to figures released Tuesday by the Washington Employment Security Department.
… Major
growth sectors include Hanford, which is up 900 jobs over the year…
Click here to read the full story.
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