The Washington State Legislature adjourned “Sine Die” just after 10 p.m. Sunday, April 23.

Following is a recap of key actions since our Friday morning release of “Notes From Olympia.”

Release and Passage of 2023-25 Budgets

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the Operating, Capital and Transportation budgets over the weekend. The Capital and Transportation budgets passed with broad bipartisan support, while the Operating budget passed on a party-line vote in the House and saw 8 Republicans joining Democrats to vote for passage in the Senate.

Of particular interest to loyal “Notes from Olympia” trivia readers, the final Capital budget does include funding to restore the skylights above the Senate and House chambers in time for the Legislative Building’s centennial celebration in 2028.

Start Early Washington updated its budget comparison document on our resources page to reflect the final early learning related budget items. Despite concern of a potential economic downturn as well as multiple competing demands, the adopted budgets contain significant investments for a number of early learning programs.

Lawmakers worked incredibly long hours to craft this budget and would no doubt appreciate hearing a “thank you” for prioritizing early learning investments. Legislative email addresses all share the format of firstname.lastname@leg.wa.gov. Specific emails can be found on the legislative website.

Updates on Outstanding Bills

We’ve updated our bill tracker on our resource page to include this weekend’s bill activity. Remember, bills that did not advance in 2023 can be revisited in 2024.

In what turned out to be the final bill vote for the 2023 legislative session, the House voted to concur in Senate amendments to 2SHB 1550 on a 60-37 vote, sending the legislation relating to Transitional Kindergarten to the Governor’s desk. Earlier in the evening, the Senate adopted a striker to 2SHB 1550 on a 39-10 vote.

As passed by the Legislature, the bill:

• Codifies Transitional Kindergarten and reconstitutes it as Transition to Kindergarten (TTK).
• Directs the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop rules for the administration of and standards for TTK. Initial rules must be adopted prior to the start of the 2023-24 school year with permanent rules by the 2024-25 school year.
• Provides that only school-district authorized charter schools may immediately offer TTK and the charter commission authorized charter schools may offer TTK beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
• Defines eligibility for TTK as those children who have been determined to benefit from additional preparation for kindergarten and who are at least four-years old by 8/31 of each year.
• Requires, as practicable, TTK programs prioritize children from lowest income families and those most in need of additional preparation.
• TTK is not considered a child-level entitlement.
• Unless excused by parents or caregivers, requires administration of WaKIDS at the start and end of the school year.
• Calls for a local child care and early learning needs assessment prior to beginning or expanding a TTK program. Also directs OSPI and DCYF to develop statewide coordinated eligibility, recruitment, enrollment and selection best practices.
• Provides that TTK programs must follow OSPI developed guidelines related to best practices for site readiness, developmentally appropriate curricula and professional development. OSPI must also develop a process for site visits to provide feedback on these guidelines.
• Prohibits charging of tuition as well as excluding children due to the presence of a disability.
• Allows TTK programs to blend and co-locate with other early learning programs.
• Provides that TTK students will be counted as a kindergarten student for funding purposes, but reported separately (to be able to get an accurate count of the number of TTK students). Funding is equivalent to the prototypical school funding model (including transportation), but is not considered part of basic education.
• Directs DCYF to make administrative changes to better align early learning programs.
• Finally, directs the caseload forecast council to forecast for TTK.

You can track the scheduling of bill signings on the Governor’s webpage. The Governor must act upon all bills that reach his desk by May 15.

Legislative Leadership Change Announced

On Sine Die, House Minority Leader JT Wilcox shared his plans to step down as the House Republican leader. The leadership change will occur when the House Republican Caucus selects a new leader. During an interview on TVW, Representative Wilcox stated he does plan to continue in the House.

Thank you for your partnership with us through the 2023 legislative session. We look forward to continuing our shared work to build more equitable systems for children and families in Washington state.

(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

This edition of “Notes From Olympia” will serve as our final weekly newsletter, signaling the end of the 2023 legislative session.

What Is Next?

• Look for an email early next week, which will include final budget details, bill status updates and a recap of the last days of the legislative session.
• We will share an update covering Gov. Inslee’s actions mid-May.
• Our “Notes From Olympia” will continue periodically during the interim to keep you abreast of early learning policy developments.

Trivia!

Which Governor was associated with “The Kick” incident in 1913?

Budget Details

Conference reports for the2023-25 biennial budgets will be released by Saturday of this week and voted upon prior to legislative adjournment. Specifically, the Operating budget details will be released Saturday, April 22, at noon. Because these actions will occur after this week’s newsletter publication, we plan to send out an email early next week including the final budget details as well as a recap of the last days of the legislative session. When completed, the budget summary will be available on Start Early Washington’s resource page.

Legislative Updates

With the Legislature poised to adjourn “Sine Die” Sunday, April 23, this week focused on finalizing actions on outstanding bills while budget writers and the amazing staff worked to put together the Operating, Capital and Transportation budgets.

As of this writing, only one active early learning related bill has not advanced to the Governor’s desk – 2SHB 1550, related to Transitional Kindergarten. We will include a status update in a post-session email. You can also check the status of specific legislation on the legislative website or via Start Early Washington’s bill tracker on our resource page.

As a reminder, you can track the status of gubernatorial bill signings on this webpage. The final day for Governor Inslee to act on bills that reach his desk is May 16.

After gubernatorial action, attention turns to state agencies as they start implementing the policies and related funding included in the enacted bills. Implementation planning can take weeks to months, depending on the issue or program and the extent external parties are involved in development. Additionally, state agencies are beginning to develop decision packages outlining their policy and funding priorities for the 2024 legislative session. The legislative cycle is always in motion!

Legislators burning the midnight oil during the final days of legislative session
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

What was the cost of constructing and designing the Washington State Governor’s Mansion in 1909?

Legislative Updates

Wednesday of this week was the final cutoff for bills to pass out of the opposite chamber. However, there is an exception to the cutoff deadlines for bills deemed necessary to implement the budget (NTIB). Both bodies put in long hours this week, with the House of Representatives working well into the early morning hours Tuesday and Wednesday. For a recap of the final steps of the legislative process, check out last week’s “Notes From Olympia.”

What to expect in the final 10 days. On Sunday, April 23 the 2023 legislative session comes to a close, also known as Sine Die (a Latin term meaning without a fixed day for future meeting). During the last few weeks of session, many bills will be amended to get them over the final hump. Some of the amendments will be done to reduce the cost of implementing the proposed policy or result from negotiations over policy approaches between the Senate and the House. It is a good idea to continue to check for amendments on bills you care about. You can do so by accessing the most recent bill reports or scrolling down to the bottom of the bill page to see if amendments have been adopted.

For example, House Bill 1525, which would provide child care subsidy eligibility to parents in state approved apprenticeship programs, was amended in the Senate Ways and Means Committee April 8. The amendment is toward the bottom of the page on the left and the adopted action (amended onto the bill) is at the bottom right of the table. An “Effect” section at the end of the amendment describes what the amendment would do.

In addition to wrapping up bills, the Legislature must finish, publish and pass the 2023-25 biennial Operating, Capital and Transportation budgets. Typically, the budget details and bills are released and voted on in the last few days of session. Now is the time to advocate for any additions or changes to the budget, as the Legislature will take an up-or-down vote (no amendments) once it is public and ready for action next week.

Bill Tracker: Key Early Learning Bills

As the legislative session progresses, our resource page will be updated 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.

Gorgeous cherry blossoms brighten the Capitol campus
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

Washington state was admitted to the Union in 1889. How many years did it take for the state to adopt an official state flag?

The Homestretch: What to Expect at the End of the Legislative Session

Monday was budget day in the House of Representatives with debate, consideration of amendments and ultimate passage of the Operating and Transportation budgets. As a reminder, the Washington Fiscal Information website contains links to the budget bills and their details. And Start Early Washington’s resource page includes a comparison of the various early learning budget-related proposals released to date.

As we near the final weeks of the legislative session, the Legislature faces deadline after deadline in rapid succession. After the April 4 fiscal committee cutoff earlier this week, attention quickly pivoted back to Floor activity as lawmakers worked to debate and pass bills that originated in the opposite chamber in advance of the April 12 deadline. At the same time, budget writers continue negotiations to reconcile differences between the two bodies’ approaches prior to the scheduled April 23 adjournment. Legislators, staff and lobbyists are all fatigued, but an end is in sight and the beautiful cherry blossoms throughout the campus are inspiring.

Legislative Lowdown

I have seen a lot of questions recently about the process for a bill to become a law during these frenetic final days. As we all know, this process is far more complex than Schoolhouse Rock led us to believe. The legislative website contains a full description of this process.

Here’s a quick synopsis:

Bills not amended in the opposite chamber. Bills that pass out of the opposite chamber without any amendments move directly to the Governor. For example, if the Senate approves a bill exactly as it left the House, the bill moves straight to the Governor’s desk.

Bills amended in the opposite chamber. Bills amended in the second body must return to its original chamber so that entity can decide if it will “concur” with the other body’s changes. Bills amended in the opposite chamber are placed on the Concurrence Calendar in the House and the Concurring Calendar in the Senate (it would be interesting to learn why the slight difference in the naming of these calendars).

What happens if the first body disagrees (or fails to concur) with amendments made in the opposite body? When the original body does not concur with the amendments made in the opposite chamber, the originating body can request that the opposite chamber “recede” from its amendments. If the second body agrees to recede, the bill proceeds to the Governor.

If the second body does not agree to recede from its amendments, one of the bodies can ask for a “conference committee” representing members from both the Senate and House to work to resolve differences. (In legislative lingo, you may hear the statement that a “bill has gone to conference.”). If the conference committee is able to agree, it will produce a conference report that would then go before both chambers. Importantly, conference committee reports cannot be amended after adoption. If both bodies approve the conference committee report, the bill moves to the Governor. If one of the bodies does not approve the conference committee report (or does not take a vote), the bill fails.

After the votes are taken, do bills go to the Governor? Not quite. After bills pass third reading in both chambers, they must first be signed by the Speaker of the House, the Chief Clerk of the House, the President of the Senate and the Secretary of the Senate prior to transmittal to the Governor. This process is called enrollment. Prior to recent advancements in technology, the signed, paper bills were physically submitted to the Governor’s office. It is, of course, now done electronically, but there can still be a lag before it reaches the Governor.

Does the Governor have a time limit for acting on bills? Engrossed bills must be acted on by the Governor within five days of receipt unless the bill passes the Legislature with fewer than five days before adjournment. In that case, the Governor has 20 days to act on the bill (excluding Sundays). For the 2023 legislative session, the five-day cutoff is April 17. This means that bills that reach Governor Inslee’s desk by April 17 must be acted upon within five days.

The Governor may sign, veto or line-item veto parts of bills and usually executes at least a few vetoes every year for various reasons. It is possible for the legislature to override a Governor’s veto, but it does not happen often, particularly when the Governor and the legislative chambers are led by the same party.

The Governor’s website includes schedules of expected bill actions. Note that bill signings are no longer open to the general public but can be view on TVW.org.

Bill Tracker: Key Early Learning Bills

As the legislative session progresses, our resource page will be updated 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.

Let the blooming begin!
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

The Senate Capital Budget contains funding to restore skylights in the Legislative Building that were part of the original building design. What year were the skylights removed and what were two reasons for their removal?

State Supreme Court Upholds Capital Gains Tax

On March 24, the state Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling on the capital gains tax, declaring that the tax is constitutional. Capital gains constitute profits made by individuals from the sales of stocks, bonds and other capital assets (with most real estate holdings exempt). The tax rate is 7%, which will be applied to capital gains profits exceeding $250,000. It is slated to fund several early learning and child care programs.

When the tax passed in 2021, Washington became the 42nd state to enact this tax estimated to impact 0.2% of Washingtonians. The tax was challenged in court on the basis that it is considered “income,” which, per a 1933 State Supreme Court ruling, would violate the state constitution’s provisions against state income taxes. In its 7-2 ruling, the state Supreme Court found capital gains to be an excise tax related to the sale of the assets and not on the assets themselves. In other words, it is not an income tax and therefore is constitutional.

Check out the Washington Department of Revenue and this Crosscut article for more information about the capital gains tax and the Court’s ruling.

Budget Proposals Released

The budget process continues to move forward with budget writers and staff devoting many sleepless nights to running cost models, drafting amendments and doing their best to ensure all the numbers add up.

This week, the House of Representatives released its proposed 2023-25 Operating, Capital and Transportation budgets. The Washington State Financial Information website contains updated links to budget bills and summaries.

The budgets are massive and complex. I like to equate them to an onion as they have many layers and can make you cry. Start Early Washington updated our budget comparison document on our resource page to reflect the status as of March 30, including the House proposals. Note, this is an evolving process, and we will do our best to keep the resource document updated.

As of this writing, the Senate passed its operating budget on a 40-9 vote and its capital budget on a 44-0 vote with 5 Senators excused. In the very early morning hours on March 30, the House Appropriations Committee voted out its proposed budget after considering scores of amendments. Next, the full House of Representatives will consider the House budget. Then, budget writers will work to resolve differences in approaches prior to April 23 Sine Die (adjournment).

Legislative Updates

House Committee holds Early Achievers work session. The House Human Services, Youth, and Early Learning Committee held a work session on Early Achievers (EA) March 28, which can be seen on TVW at the 35 minute mark. Early Achievers is the state’s early learning quality system for ECEAP and child care programs and is funded by state and federal dollars. Committee materials provide a solid overview of the program and its impacts.

Nicole Rose, Assistant Secretary Early Learning at the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) presented on behalf of DCYF and provided an overview of related state and federal policies, funding mechanisms and the functions of the system, including the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and professional development. Assistant Secretary Rose also provided an overview of the child care and ECEAP workforce and education requirements.

Early learning bills continue to make progress. A number of early learning bills continued to move through the legislative process after the March 29 policy committee cutoff, when all bills had to be passed out of policy committees in the opposite chamber. Fiscal committee cutoff is rapidly approaching on April 4. Both the Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations Committees are scheduled for marathon public hearings and executive sessions (votes) to meet this deadline. This is a very fluid time in the process, with bills coming on and off committee schedules and rumors tend to fly! It is important to remember that no concept is truly “dead” until Sine Die.

After the fiscal committee cutoff, legislators will go back to voting bills off the floor, reconciling differences between House and Senate versions of bills and sending them to the Governor for consideration.

Bill updates as of March 30:

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, is waiting to be pulled from the Senate Rules Committee to the Senate floor. If the bill passes with no amendments on the Senate floor, it will head straight to Governor Inslee for signature.

House Bill 1525, which provides qualifying applicants and consumers of state registered apprenticeship programs eligibility for child care subsidies, had a public hearing and 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 immigration status discrimination for child care subsidies and authorizes child care subsidy eligibility for dependents of child care employees, has a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee Saturday, April 1.

Senate Bill 5252, which updates state regulations regarding background checks to meet federal regulations, passed the House Human Services, Youth, and Early Learning Committee and is headed to the House Rules Committee, where it awaits placement on the floor calendar.

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, awaits a hearing date and a vote in the House Appropriations Committee.

Senate Bill 5580, which authorizes a post-delivery and transitional care program and updates the Maternity Support Services (MSS) program, was voted out of the House Health Care & Wellness Committee with an amendment that adjusts the timelines for increasing the income eligibility thresholds for pregnant and postpartum Apple Health coverage to both go into effect Nov. 1, 2023. SB 5580 will need a hearing and a vote in the House Appropriations Committee by April 4.

Finally, a new striking amendment (or striker) for Second Substitute House Bill 1550 (2SHB 1550), which converts the Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program to a Transition to Kindergarten (TTK) program, was passed out of the Senate Early Learning and K12 Committee on March 27 and can be seen on TVW starting at the 3:30 minute mark.

A striker replaces all previous content with a new bill on the same subject matter. The 2SHB 1550 striker had modifications presented during the March 27 executive session that were different from the version that received a hearing on March 22. The new striker that passed committee would:

• Change the name “Transitional Kindergarten” to “Transition to Kindergarten” (TTK), place the program in statute (law), and clarify that TTK is not a K12 basic education program.
• Require the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to administer and adopt rules as well as a state site visit process for TTK. Initial rules would need to be adopted in time for the 2023-24 school year and permanent rules would need to be adopted by the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.
• Create TTK eligibility for children determined to benefit from an additional year of preparation before entry into kindergarten, and children must be at least 4-years-old by Aug. 31 in the year of entry into the program. The striker would ban discrimination against students with disabilities, bar tuition and provide school districts with the option to prioritize children from lowest-income families and those needing additional preparation prior to kindergarten entry.
• Require enrolled TTK students to receive a student identifier number for data tracking and require districts to administer WaKIDS twice a year unless parents ask for an exemption.
• Require participating school districts to conduct a local child care and early learning needs assessment before starting or expanding TTK. This assessment would need to consider existing availability and affordability of other early learning programs in the service area.
• Require OSPI and DCYF to develop statewide coordinated eligibility, recruitment, enrollment and selection best practices and adds a requirement that school districts and public schools adhere to OSPI guidelines related to TTK. The bill also directs DCYF to make administrative changes to better align ECEAP implementation with state-funded early learning programs serving 3 through 5-year-old children offered by school districts and requires a report by July 1, 2024.
• Provide a funding formula for the program based on the reported full-time equivalent of eligible children in the program and calculated under certain portions of the prototypical school funding model. The striker also directs the Caseload Forecast Council to forecast eligible children participating in TTK at regular intervals for state budgetary purposes.
• Clarify that school districts and OSPI cannot develop a state-funded program specifically for children that do meet standard K12 entry requirements without legislative approval.

HB 1550 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee March 31.

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.

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.

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.

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.

(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.