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Report from Olympia | April 14, 2015
Dear
Friends and Neighbors,
The scheduled end of the 2015 legislative session is only 12
days away. That’s a very short amount of time to complete all the work yet to
be done – especially on the budget.
This week the House and the Senate began formal negotiations
over their budget proposals. The two approaches vary greatly. The House did not
pass a full budget, but only a spending plan that would require an additional
$1.5 billion in new taxes. They have said that they intend to vote for these
additional tax increases, but they haven’t done so yet.
This means that the House budget doesn’t balance and is
therefore little more than an empty promise – like a check written with
insufficient funds.
With the state already receiving $3 billion more in revenue
due to the growing economy, the Senate has taken a much different approach – proposing
a budget that prioritizes education and protecting our most vulnerable – without
new taxes.
Much of the heavy lifting has yet to be done, especially
with the policy bills that will accompany the budget. One of those bills – our
measure to make a fourth DUI offense a felony – took yet another step toward a
final vote. You can read more about that below.
If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know.
Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed or written this week. Your feedback
and ideas help me represent you in the state Senate.
Best
Regards,
Senator
Mike Padden
On Friday the Senate adopted a
resolution
honoring people with Down syndrome and recognizing the efforts of people and
organizations working on behalf of those with developmental disabilities.
I was honored to offer this
resolution. There are more than 400,000 people living with Down syndrome in the
United States today; it is the most commonly occurring chromosomal condition,
with one in every 691 babies born with Down syndrome.
These individuals are a great
source of pride for our state. Many have represented Washington in national and
even international athletic competitions, and those with Down syndrome have
contributed to our state in countless other ways.
Several self-advocates for
those with Down syndrome attended the reading of the resolution, including Eric
Matthes of Seattle, who works for the Arc of King County, Special Olympics Gold
Medalist Heather Comer of Spokane Valley, and Special Olympics board of
directors member Angela Martin of Seattle (all pictured above with me at the
Senate rostrum).
We also took the reading of
the resolution as an opportunity to acknowledge the great work of U.S.
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represents us in the 5th
Congressional District.
Congresswoman McMorris
Rodgers has been a leader on this issue, setting up the Down Syndrome Caucus in
the U.S. House of Representatives. As the mother of a son – Cole – who has Down
syndrome, she has made a tremendous effort in Congress to bring awareness to
the needs of this community.
 Click here to watch the Senate honor those with Down syndrome, and hear directly from self-advocates.
Earlier today the House Public Safety Committee heard testimony
on our measure to make a fourth DUI conviction within 10 years a felony.
This change would help deter some people from driving drunk,
and take those who refuse to change their behavior off our roads.
Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell gave compelling
testimony on the need to get serious about dealing with repeat offenders. Lana
Weinmann, Criminal Justice Division Chief at the state Attorney General’s
Office, also testified in support of the bill. Overall, the testimony on SB
5105 was very compelling, and I look forward to providing you with a link to
the video of the hearing when it becomes available.
Also today Attorney General Bob Ferguson joined me in
publicly urging the House of Representatives to take immediate action to
advance Senate
Bill 5105.
“We must strengthen our DUI laws to keep families safe on
the road,” said Ferguson. “According to the Washington Traffic Safety
Commission, impaired drivers cause 50 percent of traffic fatalities in
Washington state. In 2013, 220 people died in crashes that involved an impaired
driver. While our state has worked hard to put smart new measures in place,
these numbers are still tragically high.
“I urge the House to pass this common-sense bill to hold
repeat offenders accountable and keep impaired drivers off the road.”
Forty-five states have felony-DUI laws; of those only
Washington requires five convictions within a 10-year period to constitute a
felony. Neighboring Oregon and Idaho require only three DUI convictions.
SB 5105 passed the Senate unanimously April 3, and is also
funded in the Senate’s operating-budget proposal, which we passed April 6.
Our 4th District taxpayers send a lot of their money to
Olympia. The state’s capital budget is our opportunity to return some of that
money to our district to help fund important projects in our community, as well
as create and preserve jobs.
Today the state Senate passed a bipartisan capital-budget
proposal for 2015-17 that would build more than 2,100 classrooms, fully fund 80
parks and trails, and devote money to local-government infrastructure projects
statewide.
We were able to secure funding in the Senate capital-budget
proposal for construction projects throughout the 4th Legislative District,
including $1.1 million for the third and final phase of the Spokane Valley Tech addition. When
completed, Spokane Valley Tech will serve more than 500 students in 10
high-demand science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs.
The Spokane Valley Tech addition will help provide an area
to train our next generation of workers for the unfilled STEM-related jobs here
in the Spokane Valley and the rest of Washington. This project has been one of
the top priorities for our district and for our employers who are looking for
the well-trained talent Spokane Valley Tech will produce.
I was also pleased to see that the budget includes $813,000
for the next phase of the Appleway Trail
development. Located just south of Sprague Avenue, along the former Milwaukee
Road rail right-of-way, the development creates a green space and trail where
walkers, bicyclists, strollers, joggers and others can enjoy the outdoors away
from busy traffic.
The trail, when completed, will connect the areas to the
east with the Spokane Transit Authority Center at University and Appleway, with
a paved trail – linking business and residential areas.
Prior to the capital budget passing, we were also able to amend
it to include funding for much-needed updates to the base area facility at
Mount Spokane. This
investment in facilities improvements and a new building will expand access to
recreation and generate economic benefits for our state.
The Senate’s capital-budget proposal will need to be
reconciled with the version offered by the House before a final two-year
construction budget can be approved.
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