Gov. Chris Gregoire today signed a long list of bills into  law. Here’s the list, courtesy of her office:

• House Bill No. 1016, relating to firearm noise suppressors.

• Engrossed House Bill No. 1028, relating to using state correctional facility populations to determine population thresholds for certain local government purposes.

• Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1055, relating to streamlining contractor appeals.

• House Bill No. 1069, relating to the disposition of unclaimed remains.

• House Bill No. 1129, relating to a bicycle and pedestrian traffic safety curriculum.

• House Bill No. 1150, relating to extending the time in which a small business may correct a violation without a penalty.

• Substitute House Bill No. 1247, relating to the staffing of secure community transition facilities.

• Substitute House Bill No. 1294, relating to establishing the Puget Sound corps while reforming the state’s conservation corps programs.

• House Bill No. 1298, relating to child support order summary report forms.

• House Bill No. 1345, relating to the uniform unsworn foreign declarations act.

• House Bill No. 1347, relating to sales and use tax exemptions for certain property and services used in manufacturing, research and development, or testing operations, not including changes to RCW 82.08.02565 and 82.12.02565 that reduce state revenue.

• Engrossed House Bill No. 1357, relating to providing the department of revenue with additional flexibility to achieve operational efficiencies through the expanded use of electronic means to remit and report taxes.

• House Bill No. 1412, relating to high school mathematics end-of-course assessments.

• House Bill No. 1424, relating to administrative consistency between conditional scholarship and loan repayment student financial aid programs.

• House Bill No. 1488, relating to updating the authority of the state board of health.

• Substitute House Bill No. 1571, relating to electric vehicle battery charging facilities.

• Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1572, relating to authorizing public utility districts to request voluntary contributions to assist low-income customers with payment of water and sewer bills.

• House Bill No. 1618, relating to public utility districts and deferred compensation and supplemental savings plans.

• House Bill No. 1694, relating to unauthorized insurance.

Tags: bills, Gregoire, laws

Gov. Chris Gregoire and Eldon Vail just held a very brief press conference on the correction officer killing in Monroe.

The takeaway: Gregoire says there had been no staffing reductions there, but that’s not the issue. “This is not about budget cuts, this is about are we adequately staffed,” she said.

She only took a couple of questions and then left.

Tags: correction officer, Gregoire

The December snowstorms have put 17 counties in a state of emergency, Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office said today. Those counties are Clallam, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, and Whatcom counties.

Important to note: This is from the December snowstorm, not the overnight slushfall.

“We are trying to offer as much support as possible to families, businesses and communities as they continue to recover from this period of bad weather,” Gregoire said.

Tags: Gregoire, weather

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen and four of her colleagues on the Senate Transportation Committee said in a statement today that the Governor’s plan to create a new layer of government to manage ferries is not the solution.

“Isolating the needs in our ferry system and creating another layer of government to address them is not the solution. Users of ferries already pay into the highway system just like everybody else when they pay gas taxes, in addition to ferry fares.”

The statement also points out that Seattle and Vancouver residents aren’t being assessed special taxes for the 520 bridge or Vancouver Crossing. The letter calls for a transportation budget that takes all of the states needs into consideration.

The statement was signed by Haugen and Sens. Jim Hargrove, Derek Kilmer, Kevin Ranker and Tim Sheldon.

Tags: ferries, Gregoire, Senate Democrats

“It goes without saying that we find ourselves in historic times,” she said. “We are on the road to economic recovery but it is truly a bumpy path to get there,” she said. The solution: Find creative, “transformative” ways to do business.

First up: The ferry system. “Around the globe, people equate our region with Puget Sound and our iconic green and white ferries,” she said, which carry 23 million passengers a year. She said the ferry system has a “stellar safety and on-time record.”

The problem, she said, is that ferries have been dependent on highway funds for the past decade or so because MVET funds disappeared. The ferry system faces a $900 million shortfall over the next decade, even if efficiencies are found, she said.

She said full privatization isn’t a realistic solution. “Passenger fees alone cannot sustain the system,” she said, adding that fares have probably been “tapped out” because as fares increase, ridership decreases.

She proposes forming a Regional Ferry District, with representatives elected by those in the area and others appointed by the governor. (more…)

Tags: DIS, ferries, Gregoire, information services, OFM, transportation

Now it’s Gov. Chris Gregoire’s turn to speak at the AP Legislative Preview. With her is her budget director, Marty Brown.

“The September forecast put us down $1.4 billion,” she said, and resulted in the 6.3 percent across-the-board cut. She said the November forecast meant across-the-board cuts were no longer feasible. “So that’s why the special session.” She said that one-day special session was historic because legislators “really did come together” to save $580 million. She said they have more work ahead: The 2009-2011 budget is still $400 million short, and the legislature will need to make those cuts first.

She said she’s instructed every state agency director to look at their budgets and ask eight critical questions, like: Is there a more efficient and effective way to get the job done? Who else could or would pay for or perform this service? And is the service essential? She said the answers to those questions were used to formulate fundamental changes to state government.

“We’ve got a significant challenge on our hands,” she said. “We will lay off aout 10,000 people,” she said, and state employees have already seen healthcare costs increase and wages decrease.

She said one proposal to Washington D.C. would allow Washington to pilot healthcare reform “without the hamstringing we have with rules and regulations with respect to Medicaid,” she said, which could save billions if the state is able to limit healthcare inflation to a reasonable level. (more…)

Tags: AP Preview, Budget, Gregoire

Gov. Chris Gregoire just began her press conference on the budget, which you can watch live on TVW now.

She began by saying healthcare and pensions are growing and, if not retooled, will have “serious consequences.”  “Today, I’m announcing proposals that will help us rebalance that growth,” she said.

She there is a $7 billion gap between what’s been promised under PERS 1 and Plan 1 and what the state has funded.

“The increases that were provided in 1995 were not linked to inflation. The result is something unlike that which you experience in Social Security Benefits,” she said, meaning the plan values increase even when inflation is at zero. “Doing so would cut our unfunded liability by more than 60 percent immediately,” she said. The state would save over $2 billion over the next 2 biennium.

She said she and her husband are both part of Plan 1, and she understands the sacrifice.

In Pers 2 and 3, she said the plans are more sound but that they allow employees to retire early without penalty. She is proposing an end to that for all new employees. “With regard to higher education, we make to recommendations,” she said. First, a limit. “We recommend capping the state’s contribution at six percent,” she said, similar to the state employee pension. Second: No more retire/rehire. “These … will save us $57 million in the (20)11-13 budget.”

The complete pension proposal means $425 million in savings in the biennial budget.

Next, she said healthcare needs to be addressed. “In the past decade, the amount the state pays for healthcare each year has doubled,” she said. She said keeping up with that is impossible. The state needs to pay for outcomes — quality care — and not simply office visits.

Tags: Budget, Gregoire

Gov. Chris Gregoire just held a press conference in her office to discuss her trade mission to Asia and the upcoming Economic and Revenue Forecast. Here are some notes and quotes:

On the Revenue Forecast:

- Gregoire signed an executive order today that dictates what across-the-board cuts should be made to correspond with a drop in the revenue forecast. She earlier called for agencies to ready for 4 to 7 percent cuts. Now, she said, she thinks it could be more dire.

- “I don’t see 10 percent, but I do think it’s above 7 percent,” she said. She also said there’s “no question in my mind” that the news on Thursday will be bad.

- A 1 percent cut is equal to $82 million, she said.

- “Assuming we’re going to see some better (economic) trends, I don’t expect it this year.”

- Podiatry, hospice care: “Some of these programs are going to be gone this year.” (more…)

Tags: Asia trade mission, Budget, cuts, economy, Gregoire, recession

Gov. Chris Gregoire just started her press conference on the next steps for the state budget. You can watch live on TVW now and follow-along here.

She said recent federal legislation will kick in more than $200 million for education. “With the receipt of this money we were able to dodge a bullet,” she said, but the budget remains “under stress.”

She said in the spring there were positive economic signs, but “we must continue to be fiscally responsible” as the economy takes a step back. “It’s pouring down rain and so we have exhausted our rainy day fund.”

“Today I’m laying out four directives” to address the step back, she said. “I am directing my state agencies to prepare for across-the-board cuts from 4 to 7 percent,” effective Oct. 1 and based on the September forecast.

“Second, I’m asking agencies to prepare for a supplemental budget,” she said, by looking at $500 million of cuts from the current budget. She wants a supplemental budget ready for the Legislature in January.

Third, she said, she wants to prepare for the 2011-2013 budget, with a projected $3 billion shortfall. To that end, she’s asking agency heads to submit proposals for what they could cut.

“Finally, I’m taking action today to reduce spending in our welfare-to-work program” by more than $50 million. She said enrollment has surged in that program but federal funding has remained flat. “Fewer families will qualify” for extension of benefits, programs to help families stay in jobs and more. “Cuts are really just not a bunch of numbers.”

As to that 4 percent cut, she said here’s what it might look like:

Department of Revenue laying off staff, Department of Corrections closing another prison, hospice services eliminated, levy equalization reduced, 9,000 students turned away from community and technical colleges.

Gregoire shared stories of several unemployed workers in the state of Washington, including a 62-year-old in a retraining program whose unemployment benefits ran out, leaving him unable to afford gas to get to class.

Gregoire said the committee to transform Washington’s budget has heard from many people across the state. She’s challenging them to bring forward transformative ideas. “We have no choice. We must transform our state government. We must, however, in the process maintain those values” of the state. “We will continue to find ways to deliver services as efficiently as we can… we will survive this crisis and we will be stronger for it,” she said.

Now, questions. Gregoire was asked why wait for October to make across-the-board cuts? Why not make a smaller cut now?

Gregoire said the state’s economist, Arun Raha, can’t predict yet what the September forecast will say. She said the state needs to get ready for cuts and must know how big the problem is before implementing cuts. “I want them to be ready effective Oct. 1 but I’ll give them a specific number” after the September forecast.

What would a 7 percent across-the-board cut mean? “We’re going to see the end of programs, not a cutting of a program but the end of programs. No more podiatry, no more dental services, no more vision services,” she said of state healthcare programs.

What about schools? They have to have teacher contracts before school starts — how do you make cuts after that? Gregoire said schools will also lose levy equalization money, so many schools will get hit two ways.

Tags: Budget, Gregoire

Gov. Chris Gregoire will announce tomorrow at 11 a.m. what her next steps for the state budget are, and TVW will be live with the press conference.

Gregoire will discuss her budget plans for both the short- and long-term — including the 2011-2013 biennium, according to the press release.

Tune in tomorrow — both here on the blog and by watching TVW.

Tags: Budget, Gregoire