 Greetings from Olympia,
The 2018 legislative session is finally over. I’m looking
forward to getting back in district to meet with you and discuss the mostly
low points of the session. It was a bad year for taxpayers, for the
legislative process and common sense. The new majority wasted no time
implementing budget gimmicks and ramming through half-baked legislation to
appease special interests and grow government.
Even though the state is bursting at the seams with your hard-earned
tax dollars (over $2 billion more than we expected), the majority spent all the
extra money. Then they diverted $700 million from the voter-approved rainy-day
fund, circumventing the law against the advice of our state Treasurer. This
move risks our state’s bond rating which could result in higher interest
rates. I guarantee the current majority will
be looking for a tax increase next years to cover increased costs of borrowing.
Using a
shell game to give you back 40 cents on a dollar?
We had the resources to provide needed property tax relief of
$1 billion this year, increase education funding for McCleary, and deposit $700
million into the rainy day fund savings account. The majority chose a different path –
voting down our budget proposal for 1
billion in tax relief this year, choosing instead $400 million next year. They spent much more than
we needed and set a “dangerous precedent” regarding the state’s savings
account.
Imagine, you get a bonus, and instead of paying down your
debt, you take out another mortgage on your house, deplete your savings, buy
a bunch of stuff and then spend your bonus – that is what the majority
did.
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 Your Second Amendment rights
I
warned early on that the new majority would make a big deal about guns. The
recent tragedy in Florida gave them an impetus to act. Fortunately, they could
not muster the votes to significantly impact your ability to exercise your
rights. I was able to get the original bump stock bill amended so it only
applied to the actual piece of plastic, not all semi-automatic firearms. The ban is just symbolism over substance. My
question is how does that make our students any safer tomorrow? All the
proposals that have now died in Olympia would just add more layers of
bureaucracy without fixing the problem. Click
here to
watch one of my video updates on the subject, and a proposal that I was
championing in the wake of the Florida shooting to keep our students
safe.
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Process matters
Aside
from poor budgeting, the majority also took great liberties with the
legislative process this year. They chose to debate important bills in the dead
of night, limited debate on other bills and circumvented the legislative
process to rush through legislation for special interests. Late in the evening,
the majority even pushed through legislation that no one had even read! It was
supposed to be a simple concurrence with the House but devolved into a dispute
because changes were made to the bill without anyone knowing what was in it.
Since they have the votes, the bill was approved. My seat on the Senate floor
is near where the Senate pages sit. I make a point to discuss the legislative
process with these young students who have taken an interest in state
government. The last night of the legislative session provided quite the lesson.
Government needs to get out of the way!
Sometimes in Olympia,
there are far too many solutions in search of a problem. The reality is that
government often just needs to get out of the way. Here are a couple examples. We
teach motorcycle riders to back into a parking spot, but local jurisdictions have
been fining people $125 for doing what they are taught! The fact is we needed a
law change that (I sponsored Senate
Bill 6070), instead of just using common sense.
Taxpayer
money is still taxpayers money no matter which budget it comes out of!
We have a problem bridge in our
district between Buckley and Enumclaw.
In the last 10 years, the bridge has been hit three times with over
height construction equipment. The transportation budget that was approved included repainting that bridge for $2 million (from transportation budget). I had an
amendment to stop the painting until we determine if the bridge could be
replaced. The response? “We have to
protect our infrastructure.” When the
bridge is repaired, it is a 17-mile detour for emergency services to get the
hospital. The solution? Upgrade a proposed pedestrian trail bridge to
handle emergency vehicles. That costs $8 million (from the capital budget). How
much is a new bridge? $10 Million. So, we are painting a bridge before we replace
it. Your tax dollars at work!
You can see a complete list of transportation and capital projects
by clicking here.
It's an honor to serve as your state Senator. Please don't hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns about your state government.
Sincerely,
 Phil Fortunato,
Your 31st District State Senator
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