106 Newhouse Building ● P.O. Box 40404 ● Olympia WA 98504-0404

Report from Olympia |  July 30, 2015

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Even though we are no longer meeting in Olympia, many lawmakers still use the time between sessions – known as the interim – to better understand emerging issues and brainstorm with other lawmakers and experts from across the country on potential solutions.

We also work to build support for policy changes we hope to accomplish when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Below is some additional information about my efforts to speak out on important issues such as toughening our DUI laws and protecting innocent life, as well as looking at the impact of tax policy on jobs.

If there is anything I can do for you, or if you have questions about anything in this e-newsletter, please give me a call, send me an e-mail or come and meet with me.

My 4th Legislative District office is in Suite 305 at 11707 East Sprague Avenue, in the Spokane Valley City Hall building. It is staffed by my legislative assistant, Mike McCliment. The phone number is 921-2460.

It’s my privilege to serve you in our state Senate.

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

Washington becomes a model for the nation with historic tuition cut

Thanks to the efforts of Senate Republicans, college students and their families will see tuition reduced by 5 percent across the board this fall, and by even more in 2016, for a total 15 percent reduction at UW and WSU and a total 20 percent at Eastern, Western, Central and Evergreen. Our students at community and technical schools will also see a 5 percent reduction immediately.

More than 200,000 students will benefit from tuition relief that is equivalent to a quarter-billion dollar tax cut for middle income families.

This type of relief is historic, and is being highlighted by state and national media as a model for other states to follow. Here are just a few examples:

• Seattle Times: Legislature OKs new budget with rare tuition cuts and pay raises for teachers
• Seattle Times: ‘Historic’ tuition cut sets state apart from rest of U.S.
• Huffington Post: Washington State Moves To Cut Public University Tuition By Up To 20 Percent
• New York Times: Washington Legislature Cuts State Tuition by 15-20 Percent

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

In the News: House should follow Senate lead on toughening DUI law

The following is an excerpt from a guest-editorial I wrote that was recently published by the Seattle Times, highlighting the need for the House to approve our bill to make a fourth DUI conviction a felony.

By Mike Padden, Special to The Times

AFTER 176 days of work, state lawmakers passed a historic budget that lowers tuition for the first time, puts record amounts of funding into basic education and makes significant investments in mental health — all with no new taxes. But in a legislative year of big achievements, one glaring failure by House Democrats stands out.

Despite the state Senate unanimously approving a bill three times this year to get tough on repeat driving-under-the-influence offenders, the state House failed to hold a single floor vote on this important measure…

Why? Some have suggested that the bill did not receive a vote in the House, because Democratic leadership wanted the Senate to first pass a measure that would allow property-crime offenders out of jail early in exchange for supervision and then reduce that supervision when there is “positive-time” good behavior.

If true, it essentially boils down to a demand that the Senate go soft on property-crime offenders before the House would be willing to get tough on dangerous repeat DUI offenders. That’s an outrage.

Click here to read the full editorial…

Employers vote with their feet

Heritage Foundation economist speaks on the impact of taxes on where employers choose to locate and create jobs

This week, I returned from the annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council -- a gathering of lawmakers and policy experts from across the country. One of the highlights of the conference was the tax-policy discussion, featuring the Heritage Foundation’s Stephen Moore (pictured right). Before joining the Heritage Foundation, Moore served as a member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board. He also founded and served as president of the Club for Growth from 1999 to 2004. Moore is one of the authors of Rich States, Poor States, an annual economic competitiveness study co-authored with economist Dr. Arthur Laffer and Jonathan Williams, Director of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force at ALEC. Using years of economic data and empirical evidence from each state, the authors identify which policies can lead a state to economic prosperity.  In the report, and his comments, Moore pointed out that employers often vote with their feet, moving their businesses, and the jobs they create, to lower-tax states. "Generally speaking, states that spend less—especially on income transfer programs, and states that tax less—particularly on productive activities such as working or investing—experience higher growth rates than states that tax and spend more," he writes in the report. Moore ended his discussion with a call to repeal state income taxes of any kind. “There are [only] nine states that don’t have the income tax,” he said. “We need another no-income tax state. Let’s have 20 no-income tax states...” It’s a good reminder for Washington lawmakers. Our state ranks 35 out of 50 in economic outlook in Moore's study. But one of the economic advantages our state does offer is its lack of a state income tax. That's why it is so important that we continue to resist efforts by some in Olympia to sneak such a tax in through the back door. We successfully fought Governor Inslee’s proposed capital-gains income tax this session, but there will undoubtedly be more attempts to push an income tax next session. There always are.

Legislature makes progress on defending life, but still much work to do

I was recently asked by Human Life Washington to assess the 2015 legislative session from a pro-life perspective, and why we, as defenders of innocent human life, should be hopeful about the future. Let me also share it with you.

Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups have spent a lot of money cultivating legislative support for abortion on demand, mandatory insurance coverage of abortion and state tax dollars for groups that provide abortions.

Since Republicans took control of the Senate in 2013, we have prevented anti-life legislation from moving forward, and are actually beginning to go on the offensive with legislation aimed at protecting life.

Here are highlights from the 2015 session: You may have read or heard recently about how several Seattle public schools are offering contraception – including the actual implanting of intrauterine devices (IUDs) – to girls as young as 6th-graders, without their parents’ knowledge. In all six of their budget proposals, from late March to late June, the Democrats who control the House of Representatives proposed making this program available to approximately 12,000 more people in our state. Our Senate majority went in the opposite direction, proposing a budget that would have made a 10 percent reduction in funding to the state Department of Health, in an area that would have been felt by Planned Parenthood. The final budget that was signed by the governor does not support expansion of the contraception program. I would have preferred to also maintain the 10 percent cut in Department of Health funding that was in the original Senate budget, but at least we held the line on the amount of money that can make its way to Planned Parenthood. The parents’-rights legislation best known as the “parental notification” bill made it farther this year – all the way to the Senate voting calendar. That means the bill not only had to receive policy-committee approval (in the Senate Law and Justice Committee I chair) but win support in the powerful Senate Rules Committee, which chooses legislation to go on our voting calendar. The parental-notification bill would not prohibit an underage girl from having an abortion, but it would require that her parent or guardian be given the chance to talk with her ahead of time, or get ready to care for her afterward. The law already recognizes parents have a responsibility and a right to be informed about medical procedures performed on their children – and an abortion is certainly a more serious medical procedure for a girl than having her ears pierced or receiving an aspirin at school. The fact that Senate Bill 5289 was not brought up for a full-Senate vote this year is no reason to be discouraged. We’re still building support for it across the Senate that would be essential to improving the bill’s chances in the House.  The Senate this year approved what may be the first change to the assisted-suicide law created by Washington voters in 2008. That law allows terminally ill adults who want to end their life to request a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. Senate Bill 5919 would require physicians who have received such a prescription request to inform patients of feasible alternatives including, but not limited to, comfort care, hospice care, pain control, treatment for the purpose of cure, and treatment for the purpose of extending the patient's life. The bill received solid bipartisan support in the Senate and a public hearing from the House Health Care Committee but no committee vote. In years when we must develop a new budget, such as this year, policy issues tend (understandably) to wait. In 2016 there should be more opportunity to focus on advancing the parental-notification bill and changing the assisted-suicide law. It will take time to move fully where we want to be on this issue, but in the meantime, thanks to our Senate majority, we are clearly moving in a positive direction.

Great news for veterans and college students looking for work

This week, a major phone/TV/Internet company announced it will build a new call center right here in Liberty Lake. This is expected to create 750 jobs, which is great news for those looking for work in our district – especially college students and veterans whom the company indicated would make up the target workforce.

The Legislature has been working for several years to make hiring our returning veterans a priority, so I am pleased to see projects like this one move forward.

The Liberty Lake call center will handle inbound customer-retention and sales calls. The company plans to hire for positions in customer service, human resources, training and management. While the pay range for these positions have not yet been announced, the company has confirmed that compensation will include benefits such as health and dental insurance, a 401(k) retirement-savings plan and tuition reimbursement.

In addition to jobs needed to staff the center, the building of the 80,000-square-foot facility is also expected to generate $7 million in economic activity and construction jobs.

Employers who are interested in hiring veterans and veterans who are looking for work should visit their local WorkSource center or call 800-562-2308 for information.

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