The Half-Way Point of the Legislative Session
(Photo Courtesy: Erica Hallock)
Trivia!
Which current State Senator’s relative served in the House of Representatives in the early 1900s?
Highlights of the Week
State Budget Updates
On February 27, Governor Ferguson released a total of $4 billion in proposed reductions to state spending to help address the state’s estimated $15 billion four-year budget gap. The Governor proposed $254.8 million in savings for the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).
The Governor’s recommended reductions were informed by state agency proposals that were posted on the Office of Financial Management website on February 28. It is important to note that Governor Ferguson did not include all of the state agency proposals in his final recommendations list. He estimated the totality of state agency proposals he did not advance to equal about $1 billion.
DCYF’s recommended reductions total $248.8 million. Again, it is important to remember that Governor Ferguson did not accept and advance all of these recommendations and, as part of the Executive Branch, DCYF must align its position with that of the Governor’s.
In terms of what’s next for the state budget, the updated revenue forecast will be released on March 18 and the Senate and House budget proposals will be shared shortly thereafter.
Action Shifts to the Legislative Building
While week seven activity was in the fiscal committees, week eight was concentrated on the third floor of the Legislative Building, where the Senate and House of Representatives were either on the Floor debating on or voting on bills, or in their respective caucuses being briefed on or discussing bills that would be up for debate.
A lot of bills died in fiscal committees due to the state’s fiscal realities, which may have contributed to the intensity that built throughout the week as legislators and lobbyists were eager to get their remaining bills passed by the March 12 House of Origin cutoff. The fiscal realities continue to become clearer and bills with what would be considered a minimal fiscal impact in more typical years are not advancing.
Updates on Specific Legislation
Each Thursday, Start Early Washington updates its bill tracker with the latest information on bills we are following. As we reach each cutoff, we transfer the bills that are not “moving” into a separate chart below to make the active bills easier to identify. Please note that some bills in the “dead” or “not moving” category may end up becoming “Necessary to Implement the Budget” (NTIB) as deemed by legislative leadership. This work is an art, not a science and no bill or idea is truly dead until the final gavel goes down on Sine Die on April 27.
Early Learning Facilities Bills Moving
Late in the evening on March 5, the House passed HB 1314 (Callan and Abbarno) on a 97-0 vote. The bill sponsors Representatives Callan and Abbarno spoke to the bill’s aims to continue to refine and improve the Early Learning Facilities Fund so that it can continue to support capital investments for providers.
Earlier that day, Senate Rules Committee Member Senator Claire Wilson “pulled” HB 1314’s companion SB 5297 (Trudeau) so the Senate bill is now eligible for consideration on the Senate Floor.
Start Early Washington’s Policy Resources webpage has additional information on these bills – and other early learning policy related items. Check it out!
Early Learning Bills Stall in Fiscal Committees
As noted above, close scrutiny was given to bills with any level of fiscal impact. Fiscal notes that in typical years wouldn’t get a second look are generating amendments that reduce the fiscal impact.
As a result, many bills scheduled for consideration during fiscal cutoff week did not survive. In the early learning world, this included SB 5130 (C. Wilson) which would have eliminated child care licensing fees and SSB 5062 (Stanford) which would have established a Child Care Workforce Standards Board.
What’s on Deck for Next Week
Floor Cutoff and Back to Policy Committee Work
Immediately following the March 12 House of Origin cutoff, legislative work will transition back to policy committees hearing bills that passed out of the opposite chamber first thing Thursday morning, March 13. So far, no bills of note have been scheduled for policy committee activity next week. But we expect that to change as more bills pass out of their House of Origin.
