105 Newhouse Building ● P.O. Box 40404 ● Olympia WA 98504-0404
4TH DISTRICT OFFICE (open through December 2014): (509) 921-2460

Dec. 30, 2014

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas, and that you are enjoying this holiday season.

In two short weeks, the 64th Legislature will convene. The 2015 session is a budget year, meaning it is scheduled for 105 days (opposed to 60 days in a non-budget year) and the Legislature is required to approve a two-year budget. As a result, there will be competition for both policy and budget priorities.

The Senate Law and Justice Committee is sure to be busy again; at the top of the list will be new proposals to strengthen our state's anti-DUI laws and to update our laws reflecting some of the consequences of I-502, the legalization of marijuana. The Majority Coalition Caucus that controls the Senate has created a new committee that will be focused on making government more efficient and more accountable to taxpayers. I am pleased to be a member of this committee dedicated to improving the way government works.

If there is anything we can do for you, or if you have questions about anything in this e-newsletter, please give my office a call or send us an e-mail.

Have a safe and Happy New Year. 

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden
4th Legislative District

 

Committee assignments in the new legislative session 

Members of the Majority Coalition Caucus recently announced committee assignments for the 2015 session that starts next month. I will continue to serve as chairman of the Law and Justice Committee, which deals with civil and criminal law and will assume responsibility for corrections issues.

In the last two years, the committee has addressed issues ranging from impaired drivers and human trafficking to public safety and the separation of powers. I look forward to continuing to lead the committee in its effort to improve our courts and corrections system.

My colleagues also selected me to serve on the Senate's budget committee, known as Ways and Means, and the Human Services and Mental Health Committee, as well as a newly created committee dealing with issues involving the management of government, including transparency, efficiency programs and strategic planning.

This new Senate Accountability and Reform Committee will be chaired by Senator-elect Mark Miloscia, R-Federal Way, and I'll assist him as vice chairman. Mark Miloscia has been a leader on issues of efficient and effective government and has made them a trademark of his career in public service. His leadership on lean management and performance audits make him the ideal choice to chair this committee. I'm really excited to work with him to improve the way our government does business. Sen. Brian Dansel, R-Republic, Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Thurston County, and Senator-elect Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, are the other members of the committee.

If you have any ideas about how we can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state government, please don't hesitate to share them with me. Your ideas are always welcome. 

 

New staff joining the 4th District team

As many of you know, Mike McCliment has been my legislative assistant since I returned to the Legislature in 2011. He has been serving the people of the 4th Legislative District since 1996, and 2015 will mark his 20th year. Joining Mike in my Olympia office will be two new names: 

Esther Ripplinger will be our 2015 session aide. Esther brings a wealth of real-world experience to the office, having previously co-owned two businesses and managed a staff of thirteen. She has a proven track  record of high performance and hands-on problem solving. She has a passion for improving the lives of citizens through better public policy. In addition to her managerial and business background, Esther is also a tremendous communicator. For more than four years, she served as a communications director in the non-profit sector, where she created, produced, and maintained a television broadcast, successfully implemented a live-studio audience format, wrote press releases, coordinated events, and was instrumental in creating a speakers' bureau and addressing hundreds at  local and national conferences. Esther will be a tremendous asset to our team, and she is looking forward to meeting many of you face to face when you visit Olympia.

Tyler Sherwin will be interning in our office this session. Tyler is a student at Walla Walla University, studying business finance, while also serving as a student senator. Tyler has a passion for politics and is hoping to pursue a future career in public policy and law. His interest in state government started shortly after graduating high school when he went on a scholarship trip to Washington, D.C. to lobby for religious-freedom concerns. He later served as a volunteer on U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers' campaign in Walla Walla. As a finance major Tyler is fascinated with financial institutions and how public policy affects them. He hopes that by serving as a legislative intern, he will gain further insight into the process of enacting legislation that can have a positive impact on the economy.

 

Applications being taken now for Senate page program

As mentioned in my previous update, one of the best parts about serving in the legislature is the privilege of sponsoring local teens to serve as legislative pages during the session in Olympia. If you are between the ages of 14 and 16, please consider applying for the 2015 session.

Pages spend a week performing tasks like delivering items, assisting legislative offices and working on the floor of the Senate chamber. Part of the day is also devoted to attending Page School where students learn all the ins and outs of the legislative process in a more detailed way. You can find out more information by watching this video.

 

State's budget outlook influenced by Initiative 1351

In the November election, Initiative 1351, which would require school districts to hire more teachers and support staff, just barely squeaked out enough votes to put it into state law. (The law, which took effect one month after the election, was opposed by more than 53% of voters in the 4th Legislative District.)

The measure was opposed by every major newspaper editorial board, and even the governor, but was funded and pushed by the largest state teachers' union. I-1351 has strong implications for this year's budget-writing process.

Our state's budget outlook had been getting steadily stronger this year. In fact, the final revenue forecast for this year (released Nov. 19) indicates the rate of revenue growth is approaching 9 percent (or nearly $3 billion), without any change in the tax structure. It appeared this "natural" growth of revenue would position the Legislature to put much more money into education, not only to address the state Supreme Court's demand for funding (the McCleary ruling) but also to give teachers a pay raise, as required under Initiative 732, passed in 2000.

The governor's own budget office estimates it will cost $4.7 billion over four years to implement I-1351. With a price tag like that, I-1351 immediately became a factor in state government's budget outlook, because it comes on top of the Legislature's obligation in the McCleary case. The initiative did not identify a source of funding to pay for all the new school-district hires, nor the construction of the new schools that would be needed.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have acknowledged that meeting the demands of I-1351 would be a budget-buster. We'll have to wait until the start of the session to see how lawmakers address it, but any solution will require broad bipartisan support. This is because making changes to an initiative law in its first two years after passage requires super-majorities in both the House and Senate.

Options include agreeing to postpone implementation of the new law or sending it back to the voters with a tax or fee increase large enough to fund the new law. 

 

Join me Jan. 20 at the 2015 Washington March for Life 

Right around the corner is the 37th annual Washington March for Life, which will be held at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 20 in Olympia. It's always uplifting to welcome the marchers from across our state, and some from our area, who make their way to the Capitol steps, then fan out to visit their local legislators with messages of hope and life. That message will be vital this year, as the Legislature is likely to consider the parental-notification bill and the insurance abortion mandate this session. If you have plans to be in Olympia for this year's march, please stop by my office and say hello. You can call my office to schedule an appointment, just stop by or look for me on the Capitol steps.