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Report from Olympia | June 5, 2018
 I enjoyed attending Felts Field Neighbor Day on Saturday.
Dear
Friends and Neighbors,
I hope you and your
family had a thoughtful Memorial Day Weekend, and that your summer is off to a
pleasant start.
Memorial Day is often
celebrated as the start of summer with barbeques, parades and trips to the
beach. For those who do try to uphold and honor the true meaning of the day,
there sometimes is confusion about what that meaning really is. While Armed
Services Day recognizes those currently serving in our military and Veterans
Day recognizes those who have served in the past, Memorial Day is specifically
a day to reflect on those members of the military who have made the ultimate
sacrifice and given their life for their country.
This continues to be
one of the busier interims (the months between legislative sessions) we have
seen in recent years. Court cases continue to be big news, with the public
challenging the way the majority in Olympia addressed raiding the state’s rainy
day fund, properly enacting initiatives, funding local transportation projects,
open records, and charter schools.
While the nation sees
record low unemployment, our state economy continues to grow, as new revenue
numbers indicate. We continue to work for the development of our local economy,
through improvements to transportation corridors.
You can read about
some of these issues in this Report from Olympia.
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 or send me an e-mail. We are here to serve!
Sincerely,
Senator
Mike Padden
 Donald Purdie, President of the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad, Senator Padden and the transportation policy specialist for the Senate Republican Caucus.
Last Thursday, I joined several lawmakers
from across the state on the Washington State Legislative Rail Caucus tour of
the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad.
The Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad is
the longest short-line freight rail system in Washington, serving five eastern counties:
Grant, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams, and Whitman. Over the years, the Legislature
has made substantial investments in the rail system through the capital budget,
with the hope that that the rail expansion will aid in economic development
along the short lines.
The tour included a presentation by the
Northwest Grain Growers, a briefing on train safety, a review of the Highline
Grain Growers and a tour aboard a locomotive from Reardan to the Inland NW Rail
Museum, wrapping up in Spokane at the state Grain Commission Office.
The short lines are a tremendous boost for agriculture, as well as a
critical aid in reducing traffic and wear on local roadways and highways.
Critically
important reforms still needed at state Department of Corrections
Jeremiah Smith, one of the thousands
of prisoners released ahead of schedule by the state Department of Corrections,
killed 17-year-old Cesar Medina of Moses Lake in a 2015 shoot-out at a Spokane
tattoo parlor. Late last week, Smith received a bench trial in Spokane County
Superior Court. A verdict is expected any day now.
Smith had been released from the
Washington State Corrections Center in Shelton 12 days before the shooting, and
should have remained in prison for another three months.
More than two years after the disclosure
of the deadliest agency-management failure in Washington history – the early
release of some 3,000 violent and dangerous felons – the state prison agency
still lacks an adequate process for Corrections employees to express concerns
about agency managers without fear of retaliation.
The Legislature this year passed a
bill creating an “ombuds” office in DOC, but only for prisoners and their
families, not for employees. Until employees feel free to speak up about
management practices, we risk another disaster. Unfortunately, some people in
state government appear threatened by that.
Gov. Jay Inslee objected strenuously
when the Senate chose to conduct its own investigation. We found much evidence
that agency managers and the governor’s office dropped the ball. When we put forward
a comprehensive reform bill last year, after overwhelmingly passing the Senate,
the governor’s office effectively quashed it in the House of Representatives on
the final day of the session. The governor never did tell us why he objected.
I can understand the sensitivity, but
public safety is at stake. We’ve gotten lip service and half-measures. Jeremiah
Smith’s trial is a demonstration of the deadly consequences of inaction, and
a reminder that important reforms have been left undone.
The state’s bipartisan Economic and Revenue
Forecast Council is tasked with producing a quarterly prediction of state
revenue based on in-state housing construction and real estate transactions, as
well the price of oil, the pace of the national economy and other factors.
The council’s latest report on revenue
collections – not a forecast, but the dollars actually taken in – recently came
in $80 million ahead of expectations.
This information continues to support the
position that there is no need for new taxes – like a state income tax or
Governor Inslee’s energy tax. In fact, I
continue to believe that now is the perfect time to start seriously considering
giving tax relief to families and employers.
Last month, parents and other supporters of charter schools went before the
state Supreme Court to defend the alternative public schools from legal
challenges brought by the Washington Education Association, other unions and
anti-charter school activists.
Their main argument is that charter schools divert public funding away from
traditional public schools and towards a system, which lacks public
accountability.
As the Yakima Herald-Republic recently pointed out, “charters are not about
to topple the public school system.” Of the approximately 1 million students
enrolled in Washington’s K-12 public schools, only about 2,400 are in one of
the state’s 10 charter schools in Tacoma, Seattle, Kent and Spokane.
Supporters of charter schools pointed out that programs, such as Running
Start, also operate without a school board, and having a school board is not a
constitutional requirement.
Rebecca Glasgow, an attorney for the state, argued, “Charter schools serve
at-risk students, some of whom — many of whom — are now excelling in a public
school for the first time.”
In fact, many charter schools not only serve minority students, but also
have an over-representation of minority teachers and faculty.
As the Yakima Herald’s editorial board rightfully declares, “charters won’t
solve all of education’s problems, but they can serve as a laboratory for
finding better ways to educate students.”
In the News:
By Michael Anderson | Spokesman-Review
Michael Coumont had come
to Yakima seven times with Freeman High School teammates in search of state
championships in basketball and baseball. Three times he’d been on the losing
end of state title games in basketball.
There was no way, he told
himself Saturday afternoon, that was happening one more time.
Coumont put on a
brilliant display of pitching to contact for the Scotties (24-3) as they
knocked off defending champion King’s Way Christian 6-2 to win the State 1A baseball
championship at County Stadium.
The win was cathartic for
the young men on the team and for a boisterous supporting community…
Note: Kudos to Coach Chad Ripke and the Freeman Scotties Baseball
team!
Click here to read the full story.
In the News:
By Will Campbell | Spokesman Review
Spokane Valley is growing quickly. It’s on track to break the
100,000 mark, and is growing faster than Spokane. It posted a 2.1 percent
growth spurt between 2016 and 2017, while Spokane grew 0.93 percent. If you
look at the span from 2010 to 2017, Spokane Valley grew 8.68 percent and
Spokane grew 3.64 percent.
“What really matters for population growth
is having an economic reason for people to be here,” said Grant Forsyth, chief
economist at Avista Corp. He said the housing market’s recovery and more
employment opportunities are causing more people to move to Spokane.
Whether the population growth is good or
bad, Forsyth said, depends on how well the city has planned for it, and
everyone has his or her own opinion. Transportation and water usage are the
issues he said might become bigger for Spokane.
Click here to read the full story.
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