Shutdown Politics in Senate This Is No Way to Run a State Government
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Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO Non-Profit Org. 321 16th Ave. South US Postage PAID Seattle, WA 98144 AFL-CIO Seattle, WA Permit No. 1850 2015 LEGISLATIVE REPORT Wash ington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO 2015 LEGISLATIVE REPORT The WSLC’s report and voting record from the 2015 session of the Washington State Legislature Shutdown politics in Senate This is no way to run a state government. state employees, holding hostage their first raises in and middle-class workers pay more while the richest The Republican-controlled Senate embraced the seven years to push anti-union collective bargaining people pay the lowest taxes of any state in the nation. threat of a state shutdown this year so Washington’s bills that are part of a national campaign financed by As you’ll read throughout this report, it was a wealthiest could continue to avoid paying their fair billionaire right-wing conservatives (see story below). theme that played out in most policy areas this year. share and to pursue an ideological anti-union agenda. What did Senate Republican budget negotiators, Gov. Jay Inslee and the Democratic-controlled House After three costly overtime sessions and 26,000 pink- led by Sen. Andy Hill (R-Redmond), get out of it? pursued measures to address growing income inequal- slip warnings sent to state workers, a budget deal was They killed an effort to help fund schools though a ity and to make state government function better. The reached just hours before the shutdown was to begin. capital-gains tax affecting a tiny fraction of the state’s Senate, with its two-vote Republican majority, ob- It was a game of political chicken straight out of wealthiest families. They avoided closing corporate tax structed those efforts while serving the selfish few at the GOP playbook in the other Washington, and it loopholes for oil companies and other special interests the top and pushing a politically motivated agenda. brought needless stress to thousands of state employee by insisting on budget gimmicks, like assuming we’ll But in the end, 2015 will be remembered as the families and countless other people and businesses that all be smoking a lot more marijuana. They retained year extremist Republicans decided their right-wing rely on important state services. It also disrespected America’s most unfair tax system, where low-income wish list was worth shutting the state down. What got done, Deal with GOP’s what didn’t extreme agenda By JEFF JOHNSON at the ballot box While some good things came out Elections matter. of the 2015 session, huge opportunities Republican control of the Senate to lessen inequality and to the fix our and a significant Republican minor- structural budget/revenue deficit were ity in the House is hazardous to our dismissed and passed up by Sens. Mark state’s health and will continue to be Schoesler (R-Ritzville) and Andy Hill so until we change things at the bal- (R-Redmond) and their band of Tea lot box. Party Republicans. Three days The process was ugly and bizarre. SharedShared ProsperityProsperity out from the After Governor end of the sec- SESSION Jay Inslee signed the ond extra legis- SUMMARY operating budget on inin thethe HOUSEHOUSE lative session (I June 30, preventing refuse to call it a state shutdown, the House and Sen- Speaker Frank Chopp, leader of the Democratic- a “special ses- ate adjourned in the wee hours of July controlled House of Representatives, met with sion,” seeing 1 with voting only partially complete workers on March 3, the day the House passed nothing par- on the transportation package and the PRESIDENT’S bills from the WSLC Shared Prosperity Agenda: ticularly special COLUMN capital budget. Last-minute bargaining about it), Sen- derailed a Senate vote on suspending RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE ate Republicans Jeff Johnson the I-1351 class-size initiative, which to $12/hour over the next four years. introduced and temporarily left a $2 billion hole in the HB 1355, sponsored by Rep. Jessyn heard two bills. One would create a just-signed operating budget. Farrell, was supported by every 30-day continuing resolution to pre- Senate Majority Leader Schoesler Democrat in the House. vent the shutdown of state govern- decried as “extortion” the Democrats’ ment. You have to love the irony of refusal to vote on suspending I-1351 PAID SAFE AND SICK LEAVE for all workers in Washington state. this—it’s like the schoolyard bully unless a student assessment bill—one HB 1356, sponsored by Rep. Laurie Jinkins (pictured above at the far left), declaring that while we couldn’t that passed 92-6 in the House—was also was supported by every Democrat in the House. come to an agreement over the use also brought up for a vote. He and the of your lunch money, we will con- extreme right Republican Senate had Meanwhile, every House Republican—every single one—voted against both bills. tinue meeting over the summer. And just extorted the House and the governor House Democrats advance Shared Prosperity Agenda—See story on Page 8 Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 INSIDE Republicans target public employees’ rights State employees suffered 3 percent to be made up. But instead of supporting Transportation, aerospace tax Sens. Baumgartner, Braun, break accountability, workers’ wage cuts, were denied previously ne- those who support us, an unprecedented compensation .................... 3 Hill lead ideological attacks gotiated pay increases, and were forced number of attacks were leveled against to provide more services to the public workers this session as the Republican “Good, Bad & Ugly” bill By JOE KENDO with fewer resources. City, county, and controlled Senate went full ALEC (the sponsorships ...................... 4 Since 2008, public sector workers state employees paid more for their corporate-funded “bill mill” American 2015 WSLC. Legislative have made significant sacrifices to help health care during this period, and pub- Legislative Exchange Council) in their Voting Records ................ 5 the state, counties, and cities make ends lic workers at all levels of government treatment of the public sector. Education, state employee meet as state revenue plummeted during were subject to unpaid furloughs and In the Commerce and Labor Com- contracts, college faculty ..... 6 the recession. Public workers gave up other workload increasing burdens. mittee chaired by Sen. Michael Baum- more than their fair share while legisla- After nearly seven years of deep gartner (R-Spokane) no fewer than nine State revenue, Voting Rights Act, health care .................. 7 tors resisted raising revenue to fund cuts, increased work load, and losses in bills were heard to weaken, overburden, increasing demands for services during pay, it should come as no surprise that this period. in 2015, a great deal of ground needed Continued on Page 8 State’s solution What got done, what didn’t Continued from Page 1 economy is made up of services but we have no sales at the ballot box tax on services. Our Business & Occupation tax system by forcing a poison pill into the transportation package Continued from Page 1 is unfair to small business and our major industries pay that blocked the governor from doing anything admin- a relatively small share of the overall tax burden. Our istratively on clean fuel standards for years. It seems the second bill calls the operating budget good system is top heavy with tax loopholes that should be that one person’s extortion is another’s good policy. and done—still leaving about a $300 million gap closed. Unlike 41 other states, we do not have a capital Legislating is getting harder to do. We have now between the House and Senate spending levels gains tax, never mind an income tax. And our property had 21 extra legislative sessions in this century, so far. and would only fund state employee contracts if taxes are capped at a one-percent growth rate. Nearly a third of them (6) since the GOP took control limitations to future collective bargaining rights Both Gov. Inslee and the House Democrats put a of the Senate in 2013. Another three extra sessions were passed, SB 6126. number of tax alternatives on the table—capital gains, happened when they controlled the Senate in 2003. At the beginning of the Ways and Means B&O reform, carbon fee, and closing tax loopholes. The Republican Senate, with Sens. Michael Baum- Committee hearing Sen. Andy Hill (R-Redmond) Sen. Hill didn’t like any of these ideas. At the end of gartner (R-Spokane) and John Braun (R-Centralia) in had the chutzpah to say that the debate over tax- the day, Republicans agreed to close a few tax loop- the lead, kept up a relentless attack on collective bar- es, education funding, and the social safety net holes but only at the cost of extending others and also gaining rights, injured worker benefits, and a refusal to was over. As if we have come even close to fix- creating some new ones. The net increase in revenue deal with raising the minimum wage or paid safe and ing these gaping problems from this exchange was very small. sick leave. Limiting collective bargaining rights (SB and the myriad of other is- Once again the opportunity to make our state a first 6126) remained on the table until the last day of the sues we have not addressed class place to live, work and learn was cashed in for second extra session. as a state. Republican ideological beliefs. The Republican Senate also refused to pass the But Hill’s job was to Voting Rights Act to address discriminatory voting stay on message. His mes- practices in cities and counties that have prevented Transportation sage was that the Senate candidates of color from being elected to public office.