Trees anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Cherry Blossoms
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

A shoutout to Julie Pederson, Executive Director of The Foundation for Healthy Generations, for this week’s trivia content.

Which former legislator from Spokane was known for leading sing-alongs on the House Floor to add levity to late night sessions?

Revenue Forecast

On Monday, the State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council met to receive an updated revenue forecast from the State’s Economist Dr. Steven Lerch. Dr. Lerch reported that the proposed revenue for the next two biennia is $1.024 billion below what was forecasted in November. This breaks down as $483 million lower than projected for 2023-25 and $541 million lower for 2025-27.

Total state revenues for the 2023-25 biennium are projected at $65.7 billion. In comparison, total state revenues for the 2021-23 biennium were $64.1 billion. Put another way, the state’s revenues are only expected to grow by 2.4% between the 2021-23 and 2023-25 biennia. In contrast, state revenue grew by 20.7% from the 2019-21 biennium to the 2021-23 biennium (largely aided by federal COVID-19 relief funds).

The forecast estimates the Capital Gains tax will generate $942 million in 2023–25 and $1.069 billion in 2025–27.

During press availability following the revenue forecast, Senate Ways and Means Chair Christine Rolfes acknowledged that fewer resources will be available than were expected when the Governor’s budget came out in December. She went on to say that this forecast was not unexpected, and while it makes budget writers cautious, it does not require a change in their game plan.

Major reasons for the slowing forecast include lower Real Estate Excise Tax collections than forecasted, slightly lower personal income growth and higher interest rates.

Senate Budget Detail and Next Steps

Earlier this week, the Senate released its proposed 2023-25 Capital Budget. After a public hearing on the proposed Capital Budget on Monday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee approved the proposal on Wednesday evening. It is expected to receive a vote by the full Senate on March 24.

On Thursday, the Senate released its proposed 2023-25 Operating Budget. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed operating budget beginning at 2 p.m. on March 24. The operating budget will be voted on by the Ways and Means Committee on March 27 and by the full Senate likely later that week.

On March 27, the House is expected to release both its proposed operating and capital budgets with public hearings shortly thereafter, followed by votes by the full House. All current and proposed budget proposals can be found on the Washington State Fiscal Information webpage.

Start Early Washington has prepared a chart summarizing and comparing how the various budgets addressed early learning related issues. Be sure to bookmark our resource page to access the chart and the House version following its release on Monday.

The next step in the budget process following votes by the bodies on their respective proposals is conference committees. Legislators from each body will be appointed to work through areas of differences and arrive at a single budget proposal that will go before both bodies prior to Sine Die (adjournment) on April 23.

With One Month Left, Early Learning Bills Keep Moving

Several bills related to early learning continue to move through the legislative process ahead of the March 29 policy committee cutoff, when all bills must be passed out of the policy committees of the opposite chamber.

• House Bill 1199, which prohibits “common interest communities” such as a homeowners association from banning or limiting a licensed child care center or family home, passed the Senate Law and Justice Committee and is likely headed to the Senate Rules Committee next.
• House Bill 1525, which provides qualifying applicants and consumers of state registered apprenticeship programs eligibility for Working Connections Child Care subsidy, was amended to move up implementation to 90 days after session ends, awaits a vote in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
• Senate Bill 5225, which increases access to child care by providing subsidy eligibility to families involved in therapeutic court, bans limiting eligibility based on immigration status and authorizes child care subsidy eligibility for dependents of child care employees, awaits a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee.
• Senate Bill 5252, which updates state regulations regarding background checks to meet federal regulations, and Senate Bill 5316, which eliminates the requirement for applicants of child care and foster care entities to pay state and federal background check fees and licensing fees, are both scheduled for a vote in the House Human Services, Youth, and Early Learning Committee on March 24.
• Senate Bill 5580, which authorizes a post-delivery and transitional care program and updates the Maternity Support Services (MSS) program, has a vote scheduled on March 24 in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee. The fiscal note is almost $8M, which could make the final passage challenging given the tight budget conditions.

A striking amendment (or striker) for House Bill 1550, which would convert the Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program to a Transition to Kindergarten (TTK) program, was heard this week in the Senate Early Learning and K12 Committee starting at 29 minutes. As you may recall from the Feb. 19 “Notes From Olympia,” a “striker” amends everything previously included in the bill, replacing it with new content on the same subject matter. The HB 1550 striker heard on Wednesday would:

• Change the name “Transitional Kindergarten” to Transition to Kindergarten (TTK) and place the program in statute (law).
• Specify a funding formula for TTK using certain portions of the existing prototypical school funding model. Districts would consider TTK students as kindergarteners for funding purposes but would be required to report the TTK students separately.
• Focus eligibility for children determined to benefit from an additional year of preparation before entry into kindergarten and require children entering the program to be at least 4 years old by Aug. 31 in the year of entry into TTK.
• Ban school districts from charging tuition or excluding children with disabilities
• Provide enrolled TTK students with a student identifier number for data tracking, and districts would be required to administer WAKids unless parents ask for an exemption.
• Require the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to administer and adopt rules for TTK.
• Require OSPI to design a process for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to conduct site visits to provide feedback on early learning best practices and curriculum, as well as professional development opportunities. The striker language clarifies that these site visits do not provide DCYF with licensing or other regulatory or program authority.
• Require participating school districts to conduct a local child care and early learning needs assessment before starting or expanding TTK. This assessment must consider the existing availability and affordability of other early learning programs in the service area.

The striking amendment differed greatly from the bill that passed out of the House. The committee heard opposition to the striking amendment, mainly from early learning providers, who cited the lack of TTK program requirements, quality standards and the need for collaboration with school districts to keep existing early learning programs in operation. Supporters of the striking amendment, mainly school districts, spoke to the access of care children receive through TK and the positive student outcomes TK fosters in many areas.

The bill is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee on March 27.

Bill Tracker: Key Early Learning Bills

As the legislative session progresses, our resource page will update with a weekly bill tracker. Please note that legislation changes quickly, so the version on our website may not represent a bill’s latest version as it is published the Thursday of each week.

When welcoming a new baby, all parents and families–regardless of zip code or family income–could benefit from additional encouragement and support. We know it takes a village to raise a child, but in the early weeks and months of a child’s life, it can often be difficult for parents to navigate and connect to various health, early care and learning, and other services and resources.

UNSS approaches may look different depending on local contexts, but typically, a nurse home visitor, community health worker, or other trained professional will connect with families at the hospital shortly after birth and offer to visit families in their homes at around three weeks following childbirth. During this visit, the UNSS home visitor will complete a brief maternal and infant health screening and talk with the family to identify interest in any additional supportive services, including medical care, household needs, early childhood education, emotional supports, or other community resources.

While universal newborn support services are common in other high-income nations, it is still an emerging concept in the U.S. Scaling UNSS in Illinois will require cohesive messaging to build greater awareness and support for these services and systems, which is why Start Early was given the opportunity to develop a toolkit of resources to build awareness of UNSS interventions.

A rainy start to week ten
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

The Irv Newhouse Building on the Capitol Campus could be demolished as early as today to make way for a new Senate office building. What was the Newhouse building’s original name?

Legislative Lowdown

State revenue forecasts. Programs, services and institutions supported by the state government are funded by revenue from state taxes and fees as well as a few other sources, such as the federal government. As you may recall from a previous story, the Legislature must adopt four-year balanced budgets based on anticipated revenue.

Since 1984, the state has generated nonpartisan economic and revenue forecasts, which are overseen and approved by the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (Council). The approved forecasts serve as the basis for state budgeting. The Council currently includes four bipartisan legislators, the leaders of the state Department of Revenue and the Office of Financial Management, as well as the State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti. In addition, the agency has five staff including its Executive Director Dr. Steven Lerch, Ph.D. — the state’s Chief Economist.

Forecasts are developed four times a year, with the November revenue forecast serving as the basis of the Governor’s Proposed Budget, released annually each December. The revenue forecast released in February (even-numbered years) or March (odd-numbered years) provides the latest revenue estimates for legislative budget writers.

The economic forecasts consider a variety of factors that could impact the state’s economic condition, including overall economic growth (GDP), employment data, inflationary data, consumer spending habits, interstate and international trade, strength of the dollar, major global events impacting trade (ex., War in Ukraine), among other key factors. See the March 2023 Economic Review as an example of the complexities of these analyses. The revenue forecast will include an official projection of revenues as well as optimistic and pessimistic forecasts.

Here is the methodology and detailed information on calculated costs, revenues and caseload forecasts related to the Governor’s Proposed Budget for the 2023-25 legislative biennium, as an example. Revenue and cost drivers include revenues and fees coming into the state coffers, caseload assumptions for major programs (ex., state-funded health care, prisons, etc.), increased costs of doing business, costs of tentative union collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), cost-of-living adjustments for the state pension and retirement programs, debt service and new gubernatorial policy and related funding priorities for the upcoming session.

The March 2023 revenue forecast will be released at 2 p.m. on March 20 and can be viewed on TVW. We expect both the Senate and House will release their respective Operating, Capital and Transportation budgets shortly after the revenue forecast.

Following the release of the budgets, the Senate and House fiscal committees will hold public hearings for groups and individuals to provide feedback about what is (and, more importantly, is not) included. As of this writing, the Senate Ways and Means Committee has a 4 p.m. public hearing on March 20 for the proposed Capital Budget as well as a 2 p.m. public hearing on March 24 for their proposed Operating Budget. House budgets are expected the week of March 27.

After the release of the respective budget proposals, the Senate and House will each appoint a “conference committee.” These conference committee members will work to resolve differences between the two bodies’ approaches prior to the release of finalized 2023-25 budgets that will be considered by both chambers prior to adjournment of the 2023 legislative session.

Bill Tracker: Key Early Learning Bills

As the legislative session progresses, our resource page will update with a weekly bill tracker. Please note that legislation changes quickly, so the version on our website may not represent a bill’s latest version as it is published the Thursday of each week.

(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

Republican Jeannette Hayner was the first female to serve in legislative leadership. Throughout her political career, how many elections did she lose?

Legislative Activity

Floor activity “5 o’clock bills.” Time seems to suspend during intense periods of floor activity. Each day bleeds into the next. It is hard to plan because you never know when votes will occur or what time the legislative bodies will knock off for the night (or early morning!). So far this year, the Senate wins the prize for adjourning at more humane hours while the House has frequently extended into the early morning.

The House of Origin cutoff (which hit Wednesday at 5 p.m.) is yet another point in the legislative process where bills stop advancing. Bills can be held in the Rules Committee or left to languish on the Floor calendar without action. Reasons for bills not moving forward are not always apparent, and it is frustrating to watch time run out on a bill you care about. There are situations where the minority party attaches a slew of amendments to bills on the Floor, simply to “run out the clock.”

Typically, both legislative bodies will select a controversial bill where debate is expected to run long to be their “5 o’clock bill” on the House of Origin deadline. They tend to start debate on the “5 o’clock bill” just prior to the magic hour to allow ample time for discussion. This year’s 5 o’clock bills revolved around firearms/assault weapons in the House and broadband in the Senate. On brand for the week, the Senate wrapped up by 5:15 p.m. and the House took their final vote at 8:20 p.m. (my bet was on them concluding at 11 p.m.).

Once the House of Origin deadline passed, the process quickly reverted back to policy committee meetings, with hearings beginning bright and early at 8 a.m. Thursday morning (coffee, please!). At this stage, policy committees will hear bills passed out of the opposite chamber. Sometimes, the opposite body has already heard the content of the bill if there was a “companion” bill on a similar subject. And, unlike the start of session, this policy committee review period is more abbreviated as they should (theoretically) have fewer bills to review.

The opposite chamber policy committee cutoff date is March 29 and the opposite chamber fiscal committee cutoff is quickly thereafter on April 4.

Active bills. Several early learning bills have moved on to the opposite chamber and need to have a hearing and be voted out of policy committees on or before March 29. These include:

• House Bill 1199 prohibits “common interest communities,” such as a private communities with a Home Owners Association, from banning or limiting the use of a home, building or space for a licensed child care center or family home. This bill passed the House without any amendments and has a hearing on March 9 in the Senate Law and Justice Committee.
• Second Substitute House Bill 1525 provides qualifying applicants and consumers of state registered apprenticeship programs eligibility for Working Connections Child Care subsidy. The bill was amended to ensure an individual in a state approved apprenticeship program may receive child care subsidy for the first 12 months of enrollment in a state registered apprenticeship as long as the income requirements are met. The bill will be heard in the Senate Early Learning and K12 Committee on March 13.
• Second Substitute House Bill 1550 converts the Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program to a Transition to Kindergarten (TTK) program with new standards and changes the funding source and flow. There were no amendments to the bill during the House Floor debate and vote, which can be seen on TVW starting at the 26:00 mark. The bill awaits a hearing in the Senate Early Learning and K12 Committee.
• Second Substitute Senate Bill 5225 increases access to child care by authorizing care for families involved in therapeutic court, bans immigration status discrimination for eligibility and authorizes child care subsidy eligibility for dependents of child care employees. The bill was amended to prohibit DCYF from considering immigration status when determining child care eligibility. An amendment was also added to direct DCYF to establish policies to allow child care subsidy eligibility for families with children who, in the last six months, have a parent or guardian listed as a victim in a case in a specialty or therapeutic court (learn more about therapeutic courts on TVW). The bill is scheduled for a hearing March 14 in the House Human Services, Youth, and Early Learning Committee.
• Senate Bill 5252 updates state regulations regarding background checks to meet federal regulations. These checks are for applicants and employees of entities that work with vulnerable populations, such as child care workers. The bill was not amended in the Senate and will have a hearing in the House Human Services, Youth, and Early Learning Committee on March 15.
• Senate Bill 5316 eliminates the requirement for applicants of child care and foster care entities to pay state and federal background check fees and licensing fees. The bill was not amended in the Senate and awaits a hearing in the House.
• Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5580 authorizes a post-delivery and transitional care program and updates the Maternity Support Services (MSS) program. Several changes were made to the bill by the Senate, including extending implementation deadlines by a year to Jan. 1, 2025; clarification that qualifying new mothers can stay in the transitional care program for up to five days; and makes the modifications to the MSS program subject to appropriations (funding). It awaits a hearing in the House.

Legislative Lowdown

What is a budget proviso? We are at the stage in the legislative process where the terms “proviso” or “budget proviso” are frequently used. Budget provisos are clauses in state budget documents that set out specific conditions or limitations on the use of funding appropriated in the budget.

The following is an example of a budget proviso from 2021 related to voluntary home visiting:

(20)(a) $2,771,000 of the home visiting account—state appropriation for fiscal year 2022, $5,299,000 of the home visiting account—state appropriation for fiscal year 2023, and $3,000,000 of the general fund—federal appropriation (ARPA) are provided to expand home visiting services, enhance data collection, and support the local implementing agencies providing home visiting services. The department shall: (i) Contract with local implementing agencies to expand home visiting services by October 1, 2021; and (ii) Provide semiannual updates to the home visiting advisory committee established in RCW 43.216.130 that includes an updated number of families served in home visiting programs and a status of the home visiting services account balance.

Through budget provisos, the Legislature directs state agencies on how to use state funding. Provisos represent legislative budgetary priorities during the biennial or supplemental budget period that relate to a range of issues. For example, the Legislature may direct the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to create a workgroup on maternal health or develop a pilot project related to a new service need.

Budget provisos also function as a strategy to keep an issue or policy moving when a policy bill hits a roadblock. Legislators, lobbyists and advocates all use this tool for piloting issues or for funding a policy goal when a bill related to the issue was not introduced or did not pass through the normal policy bill process.

Unlike policy bills, budget provisos are more difficult to track during session. Essentially, any person or entity advocating for a proviso must wait until a budget proposal is released to see if it is included, rather than a policy bill that can be tracked throughout session.

Another major distinction between a budget proviso and passage of a bill is that budget provisos only “live” through the timing of the budget whereas enacted bills become a part of law in perpetuity (unless the statute expires or is subsequently changed).

To learn more about the state budget, here is a guide to the budget process from the University of Washington as well as a Budget and Policy Highlights overview for Governor Inslee’s 2023-25 biennial proposed budget.

Finnish President Visits the Capitol

(Photo Credit: TVW Screen Shot)

The week began with a Capitol visit from the president of Finland, President Sauli Niinistö. Following an address to a Joint Session of the Legislature, the Finnish President joined Governor Jay Inslee for a press conference.

According to Governor Inslee’s office, this joint legislative address is the first from a foreign head of state. President Niinistö discussed Washington state and Finland’s shared interests in trade, clean energy and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Bill Tracker: Key Early Learning Bills

As the legislative session progresses, our resource page will update with a weekly bill tracker. Please note that legislation changes quickly, so the version on our website may not represent a bill’s latest version as it is published the Thursday of each week.

For more than a decade, Lula M. Ford has served on Start Early’s Board of Directors, contributing to the organization’s growth and impact on families with young children across the country. While Ford joined the Start Early leadership team in 2009, her impact on and experience in the field of early education spans decades, particularly playing a monumental role in expanding opportunities for children and families throughout Chicagoland.

As for the next 40 years, Ford knows there’s more work to be done to ensure equitable opportunities for our youngest learners.

“Let’s continue to be a diverse staff, that is so important,” Ford said when asked about her vision for Start Early in the next four decades. “We’re on the right track, and we have an outstanding leader in Diana Rauner, and I can’t wait to see what we do.”

“One… two… three…” you say as you count your baby’s toys for them. Even though your baby can’t solve equations, let alone speak, they are building early math and language skills with each number they hear.

And you don’t need to stop at numbers — there are many early math concepts that you can introduce to your young child, simply through language, play and reading books.

The Illinois Policy Team at Start Early is pleased to release our annual Illinois Legislative Agenda, a snapshot of the budget requests and legislative priorities for which Start Early will be advocating during the spring 2023 legislative session in the state.

With the new legislative session underway, our team is focused on moving forward funding requests and legislation that will support families and providers across our early childhood system.

Our goals for the year include:

• Growing and strengthening the state’s early care and education system through an FY24 budget that includes the funding levels outlined in Governor Pritzker’s Smart Start Illinois proposal
• Creating a state family and medical leave insurance program
• Extending the sunset re: staffing flexibility in state preschool programs
• Codifying the state’s existing IDHS home visiting programs in law, among other priorities

Frigid winter weather hits the Du Pen Fountain in front of the Joel Pritchard Building.
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia

For this week’s trivia, let’s play a game. What jumps out to you from this “class picture” from 1889?

State Tax Collections Update

The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council is meeting at 8 a.m. on March 3 to receive an economic review. Meeting materials provide a preview of the topics of discussion. With regard to revenue, tax collections are $89 million (or 1.1%) over November 2022 projections. Consumer spending was also stronger than expected, but questions remain about whether the nation is headed toward a recession in 2023.

The next full revenue report will be released on March 20.

Floor Activity

This week’s legislative activity was squarely focused in the Legislative Building with both the Senate and House deliberating bills that passed their respective policy and fiscal committees. This action is expected to continue over the weekend as the 5 p.m., March 8 “House of Origin” deadline looms.

During Floor activity, lobbyists congregate on the third floor of the Legislative Building in clusters reminiscent of a high school quad, waiting to track down lawmakers with a nudge or question about a bill. This week also serves as a painful reminder that hours standing on marble floors wear on one’s feet and back.

The Transitional Kindergarten bill passed the Appropriations Committee with amendments. The House Appropriations Committee passed House Bill 1550 on Feb. 24. A discussion on the bill can be seen on TVW at the 2:01 mark and the vote at the 3:24 mark. As a reminder, this bill would convert the Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program to a new Transition to Kindergarten (TTK) program with new standards and would remove basic education as the funding source. The committee made several amendments to the bill including:

• Conversion of TK programs run by public school districts during the 2023- 24 school year to the new TTK program if they meet new program standards with intent to continue funding
• Requires the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to develop a process for public school districts to apply to operate or expand a TTK program by Dec. 31, 2023
• Requires TTK instructors with an early elementary education endorsement to have 24 college credits or 60 clock hours in early childhood education within five years of assignment to the program
• Changes the TTK funding formula from the estimated statewide allocation per kindergarten student (currently about $12,773/child) to the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) average rate (currently about $12,621/child) adjusted for the school district’s regionalization factor
• Provides TTK eligibility to children who lack access to an early learning program or have been referred by a licensed early learning provider
• Adds a null and void clause to the bill meaning that if the Legislature does not allocate funds for this purpose, the legislation is not enacted

An amendment to add charter schools and state-tribal education compact schools failed. Currently, charter schools have 288 students in existing TK programs and state-tribal compact schools do not currently operate TK programs. The bill is now in the House Rules Committee.

Legislative Lowdown

Committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives play key roles during this period of intense Floor activity. Before a bill that has passed out of a Policy and/or Fiscal Committee can be moved to the Floor, it must first pass through the Rules Committee, whose members determine which bills will move forward and in what order. In short, the Rules Committees have the power to decide if and when legislation will go to the Floor for debate and a vote. The Rules Committees provide legislative leadership with an additional tool to manage and oversee the bills heading to the full chambers.

In both the Senate and House, the Rules Committee are made up of members from both parties. The House Rules Committee is led (or Chaired) by the House Speaker, currently Rep. Laurie Jinkins, and has 24 members, including 15 Democrats and 9 Republicans, this session. The Senate Rules Committee is chaired by the Lieutenant Governor, currently Lt. Gov Denny Heck, and has 16 legislators comprised of 10 Democrats and 6 Republicans. Rules Committee meetings can be scheduled or held “on the fly.” For example, the Senate Rules Committee issued a notification earlier this week of a Wednesday meeting “following adjournment or during the dinner break.”

The vernacular used to describe the process of a bill moving from the Rules Committee to the Floor is called a “Rules pull.” There are a variety of ways bills can be “pulled.” Individual Rules Committee members can be provided a specific number of “pulls” where they request bills move to the Floor for debate and consideration. Here’s an example of the results of some of these individual member pulls during the March 1 Senate Rules Committee meeting tracking which members requested specific bills move to the Floor. Note Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig used one of his “pulls” to move SB 5225 relating to Working Connections Child Care eligibility to the Floor.

Another way is a “package pull” (seen below, again from the March 1 Senate Rules Committee meeting). Package pulls are when a package of bills is voted on by the Rules committee all at once. This can happen before a cutoff, at the end of the legislative session, or when a body is going to address a topic with several bills.

The final way is called a “consent package bill.” This represents a consent list containing bills that have faced little to no opposition thus far in the process. Here is an example of a consent pull:

There are any number of reasons why a committee member may choose a bill to move out of the Rules Committee and onto the Floor including choosing a bill important to them or their constituents, or per a request by a legislator or stakeholder group, among other reasons. The Rules Committee hearings can now be seen on TVW throughout the legislative session. This coverage began during the pandemic and has continued, making these hearings much more accessible.

I already geeked out enough, so won’t describe the meaning behind the “green” sheet or “white” sheet, but check out the description provided on the legislative website if you want to learn more.

Bill Tracker: Key Early Learning Bills

As the legislative session progresses, our resource page will update with a weekly bill tracker. Please note that legislation changes quickly, so the version on our website may not represent a bill’s latest version as it is published the Thursday of each week.

As a parent, you want to ensure that your child is being compassionate and empathetic towards the people around them. However, according to research, children in preschool and kindergarten are still developing the cognitive skills to understand empathy.

In order for children to grasp the concept of “empathy”, they must first be able to recognize their own emotions. Understanding what we are feeling and why will give children the tools they need to talk about deeper concepts of feeling and emotion as they grow.

(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia

When Washington state legalized marriage equality in 2012, it joined how many other states in recognizing same-sex marriages?

Potato Day!

The excitement was palpable as the Washington Potato Commission held the first in-person “Potato Day” since 2020. Lines of potato fans stretched around the third floor of the Legislative Building well before the lunch hour as the common refrain of “did you get your potato yet?” rang throughout campus.

All joking aside, it is fiscal cutoff this week (see more information below about fiscal cutoff) and folks are tired/stressed/irritable. Friendly faces offering free comfort food is sometimes just what’s needed to put a pep back in your step! Potatoes are unifying.

The Washington Potato Commission brings comfort food to campus

(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Cutoff Time – Again

This week, legislative focus – when not on potatoes – was on fiscal committees as they held marathon meetings to work through public hearings, amendments and votes on hundreds of bills prior to today’s fiscal cutoff deadline. After today, bills with a financial impact that have not been approved by the fiscal committee in its house of origin are considered “dead.” Frequently, bills heard in fiscal committees are amended to include two clauses – “null and void” or “subject to appropriation.” These clauses allow bills to proceed through the process but provide “escape hatches” if the policies put forward in the bill are not funded in the final adopted budget. Put another way, inclusion of these clauses makes implementation of the bill contingent upon budget funding.

Now, there are always exceptions to the rules, particularly in the legislative process, and the reality is no bill or idea is dead until the Legislature adjourns April 23. One exemption is that bills deemed “Necessary to Implement the Budget” (or NTIB) are not subject to cutoff dates. Further, concepts surfaced in bills can be amended into other bills or reflected in the budget.

Starting next week, action will turn to the respective Senate and House floors as those bodies work through all of the bills approved by the fiscal and policy committees. The next legislative cutoff is Wednesday, March 8 at 5 p.m. with the deadline for bills to be voted out of their house of origin (e.g., House bills must be approved by the House, and Senate bills approved by the Senate). We are at the time of session where you need to grab sleep when you can – kind of like living with a newborn. It is not unusual for one of the bodies (typically the House) to pull an all-nighter during this period.

Bill Hearings

SHB 1550. The House Appropriations Committee held a public hearing on Substitute House Bill 1550 Tuesday, which can be seen on TVW starting at the 34:45 minute mark. As a reminder, this bill would sunset Transitional Kindergarten (TK), replacing it with a new Transition to Kindergarten (TTK) program to be administered by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) with a role for the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

The Appropriations Committee hearing began with a panel that included State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter and Maddy Thompson, Governor Jay Inslee’s Senior Policy Advisor on Education and College Access. The opening panel spoke in opposition to the bill, stressing the importance of maximizing preschool access as well as the positive outcomes children are receiving from existing TK programs. Following that panel, several school district and education stakeholders reiterated the positive developmental outcomes from TK program participants as well as concerns that removing basic education as the funding source for TK could eliminate current programs as well as other supports for families such as school bus transportation.

Several early learning providers spoke in favor of the bill, focusing on the importance of the quality of services available in existing early learning programs. Additionally, early learning advocates stressed the importance of strong collaboration between school districts and community-based early learning providers so as not to negatively impact early learning programs.

As of this publication, SHB 1550 is on the possible executive session (vote) list for the Friday, Feb. 24 hearing.

Updates on additional early learning related bills include:

• Senate Bill 5225, which would increase eligibility for subsidized child care such as eligibility for dependents of child care employees and children regardless of immigration status, was passed out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee Wednesday.
• Senate Bill 5580, which would create a post-delivery and transitional care program and update the current Maternity Support Services (MSS) program, has a vote scheduled Feb. 23.
• One bill that did not receive a hearing is House Bill 1511, which would remove certain forms of income, such as Social Security benefits and child support, from income considerations related to child care subsidy and ECEAP. However, there are other avenues for priorities to move forward without a bill, including amendments onto other bills or as a proviso in the operating budget.

Legislative Lowdown

What is the state’s four-year balanced budget requirement? While much of the budgeting focus is on the upcoming two-year biennial budget cycle, 2012 legislation required the Legislature to pass four-year balanced budgets beginning in 2013. This means that our current budget writers must ensure both the 2023-25 and 2025-27 biennial budgets are balanced with a positive ending fund balance.

The Budget Outlook Workgroup holds a key role in this process by preparing an official state budget outlook for state revenues and expenditures. This outlook must include costs forecasted in the upcoming four years for continuing existing programs, projecting for future growth as well as implementation costs of various laws. The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council then approves this budget outlook and the Legislature uses this information to craft and pass a budget ensuring the state’s expenditures do not exceed projected revenues for the following four years.

Proponents of the bill establishing the four-year balanced budget requirement argued that a four-year balanced budget would move the state from reactionary, short-term budgeting to a more long-term view, resulting in more sustainable budgets that reduce out-year expenditure commitments that cannot be supported with existing revenues.

The requirement for a balanced four-year budget means that budget writers are keeping both a keen eye on the state’s recent and projected revenues (what they will have to spend) and its current spending commitments to ensure the final budget is balanced not just for the 2023-25 biennium, but also for 2025-27. As a result, it is not uncommon to see the strategy of “pushing a cost outside of the four-year” to mitigate projected costs. This can result in extending implementation dates for expanding services, so the law is on the books, but the costs do not hit the four-year budget.

To learn more about the budget process and related terminology, check out this helpful guide from the Office of Financial Management at the Governor’s Office which is updated annually.

Bill Tracker: Key Early Learning Bills

As the legislative session progresses, our resource page will update with a weekly bill tracker. Please note that legislation changes quickly, so the version on our website may not represent a bill’s latest version as it is published the Thursday of each week.