San Juan County Democrats

Claire Reuter of Orcas 2 has resigned and San Juan County Democrats are looking for a replacenebt - please call Errol Speed for information 376-7608

Greetings Whatcom, Skagit, and Island Folks,

We are now down to the wire in Olympia. Friday is the last day for any bill to move out of its’ house of origin and next week is the last of the legislative session this year. Many of the legislative priorities of the political left have been defeated or made toothless by amendment and opposition lobbying.

We have really seen where the chips lay as far as the priorities of our elected officials in Olympia. It seems that by and large that our legislators have caved to the interests of the business community. This includes the workers privacy act being utterly crushed, the death of the cap and invest bill, and the legislative stonewalling of voter approved I-937 which called for 15% renewable energy in our state by 2020.

SB 6035 however, is still alive but on life support. This is a chance to stop right wing business lobby efforts from dipping into a Department of Labor and Industry insurance pools and using the millions they skim for their political efforts. Jeff Morris, Dave Quall, and Kelli Linville need to hear from their constituents that enough is enough.

How many more races can we have decided under this current system where right wing candidates have access to skimmed millions? How much longer can we afford to have lobbyists funded by money that was rightfully directed as refunds to small businesses and employers, diverted so that groups like the BIAW can fight against Orca Whales from being placed on the endangered species list?

If you haven’t done so, please call your legislators and ask them to do the right thing and vote for SB 6035. Urge your friends, relatives, and acquaintances to do the same. Friday is the last day to make sure that the people who represent you in Olympia have heard your say on this.

Quall: (360) 786-7800

Morris: (360) 786-7970

Linville: (360) 786-7854

The message I would recommend: 

It’s time to fix this problem. These reforms are long overdue; no one should be allowed to divert workers compensation tax refunds into political campaigns.  The program operates in a black box without any reporting or accounting requirements, and the money should go to employers who need the money now more than ever to stay in business. Our small businesses need tax refunds rather than attack ads.

Some legislators respond that they are uncomfortable restricting anyone’s political activities.  Our response is that there is nothing in the bill that stops trade associations from spending money on TV ads or funding political campaigns.  They just can’t use money diverted from employers’ workers compensation refunds to do it – a common sense expectation for any government program. This program is a state-granted privilege to manage money owed to employers.  They have no rights to do whatever they want with the money.

 The bill does allow retro associations to retain a share of employers’ refunds for non-workers compensation purposes (like political campaigns) if they get permission from specific employers to use them for that purpose.

Retro Associations are making a number of other disingenuous claims about how they will be harmed that are broadly untrue.  If they aren’t abusing the funds, these reforms won’t hurt them.  The state has no business operating a multi-billion dollar program without these kinds of protections in place.

Thanks for supporting Retro Reform.

 Good Afternoon –

Sen. Kevin Ranker just posted a video release about the passage of his bill, SB 5289, which will establish the San Juan Islands ferry route and a portion of roads on Orcas and San Juan Island as the state’s newest scenic byway. The bill passed the House last night on a vote of 79-18, and is expected to be signed by the governor next week.

View the video here: http://blog.senatedemocrats.wa.gov/ranker/video-sen-ranker-on-the-scenic-byway-ferry-route/

As always, stay up to date by visiting Sen. Ranker’s homepage: http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/images/senators/100/ranker.jpg

40th Legislative District                       April 10, 2009

There are only two-and-a-half weeks left in this legislative session and budgets will dominate discussions as the House and Senate try to reach agreements on the final operating, transportation and capital budgets.

I look forward to lively but civil debate as we make some very difficult decisions. As always, I welcome your ideas and comments.

The Budget Proposals

Last week we introduced a two-year, balanced budget proposal that closes the state’s historic shortfall with serious cuts to valued programs and services. With tax collections continuing to fall, the Senate plan would eliminate thousands of jobs for teachers, higher education workers and other state employees as well as 10,500 students cut from our state colleges and universities.

The plan relies on $3 billion in one-time federal stimulus money and cuts to programs, health care and planned wage increases for teachers and state employees and leaves $850 million in reserves.

The budget the Senate proposed is a product of our ailing economy and every part of government faces cuts. Over 40% of our budget is spent on our state’s public school system. Unfortunately, the education of our children – the paramount duty of our state – faces dangerous cuts.

The biggest cuts our education system faces are the suspension of two voter approved initiatives that fund cost of living pay raises for school employees and reduce classroom sizes.  While I am reluctant to support a freeze on teachers’ salaries or severely cut I-728 I understand the reality of fairly distributing the burden of the budget crisis. But we can’t forget about the needs of our future.

Voters supported I-728 to reduce classroom size in 2000 by a 72 percent margin for good reason and I am working to reinstate additional funding for smaller class sizes into the final budget.  I am convinced that too many students get lost in overcrowded classrooms. Balancing our budget at such a cost to our students will only cost our state more in the long-run.

We need to realize this is a moment in our state’s history unlike any other and now is not the time to think of decimating education. Instead we must work together to plan for fully funding education and work on the investments that are needed to keep our schools competitive for generations to come.

The budget cuts that have been proposed represent some of the most difficult choices I’ve ever seen throughout my career in the public and private sectors. We’re tasked with finding that delicate balance between the values that people like you and I hold dear and the cold harsh budget realities facing our state.

These challenges that lie before us are daunting but I sincerely believe that in a time of crisis like this, if we work hard and look toward the future generations of our state, we can position ourselves for great things in the years to come.

Infrastructure investments

Along with the operating budget, we have scaled back the state’s long term investments in the capital budget and our transportation investments. The construction projects that are funded in these two budgets will create local jobs and provide valuable infrastructure that will benefit our community for years to come.

The capital budget covers all our K-12 construction commitments and our most critical higher education projects. It also provides $115 million in bonds and $107 million in federal stimulus money in the form of grants to local government infrastructure projects. 

Locally, the proposed budget has over $90 million in investments heading to our communities which will shore up our infrastructure and stimulate our local economies. Some of these projects include:

·         Over $85 million of investment at Western Washington University, including more than $50 million for renovating the aging Miller Hall

·         Nearly $3.8 million  to Skagit Valley College for maintenance and preservation, and its Academic and Student Services Building

·         $265,000 to help with the Padilla Bay Reserve

·         Nearly $1 million to replace sewer lift stations at Moran State Park

·         Over $460,000 for investments at Department of Natural Resources Natural Areas facilities near Anacortes and on San Juan Island

·         An additional $1.5 million was added to a previous $4 million investment for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for preservation projects on Blanchard Mountain in Skagit County.

While we’ve had to make painful cuts to balance our 2009 operating budget, the capital budget investments will be paid with bonds over 30 years. We’re investing for the future and helping local economies today and looking toward a time when the economy is healthy again.

Transportation

I’m pleased to report that the Senate has passed our version of the 2009 transportation budget, which will invest over $4 billion across the state and over $90 million locally in our district. Funded primarily with our state’s gas taxes, these funds are constitutionally dedicated to building, maintaining and operating our state highway system — including the marine highways serviced by Washington State Ferries.

The many projects that will improve transportation throughout the district include ramp reconstruction and stormwater drainage improvements to I-5, widening SR-20, a new Chuckanut Park & Ride and ferry terminal improvement and preservation work on Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, Anacortes and Friday Harbor. We’ll also keep the Anacortes – Sidney ferry run operating, limit increases in fares to no more than 2.5 percent and speed up construction of new ferries by 10 years.

These are important projects that will improve transportation and also provide valuable jobs at exactly the time our economy needs them.

I am hopeful that budget negotiations with the House with result in a final budget that maintains these valuable projects.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on the issues we are considering in Olympia.  You may email me at ranker.kevin@leg.wa.gov, phone the toll-free hotline number to leave a message at 1-800-562-6000, or call my office in Olympia at 360-786-7678.

For the latest up to date news on what I’m working on while the Legislature is in session, please visit my web page at http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/ranker/

Take care. 

If at any time you decide you no longer wish to receive updates from me, please go to http://apps.leg.wa.gov/subscriptions/member.aspx?member=ranker to remove your name from the list.

Washington Senate Democrats – SenateDemocrats.wa.gov

Retro Bill

WHEREAS, the current system has overpaid industrial insurance retrospective rating plans by over 250 million dollars; and

WHEREAS, the current system pits the financial interests of small businesses against the political beliefs of their owners—forcing them to either choose to support the BIAW and their political actions or place their business at a financial disadvantage; and

WHEREAS, the actions of the BIAW have shown that the current system allows for enormous abuses against the intent of original legislation passed in 1999 in the form of political contributions tied to the donations of small businesses who do not get to control where their money is spent; and

WHEREAS, allowing the current system to persist represents a clear and present danger to free and fair public elections; and

WHEREAS, the State Senate has already passed SB 6035 for the above reasons;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE 40^th DISTRICT DEMOCRATS, that we fully endorse the legislative intent represented in SB 6035 and corresponding ESSB 6035; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE 40^th DISTRICT DEMOCRATS, that we should encourage our duly elected representatives to come out in early support for the bill in order for it to be brought to the floor for a vote; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE 40^th DISTRICT DEMOCRATS, that this Resolution be forwarded to the elected officials representing the 40^th District and forwarded to all three county democratic parties within the district (San Juan, Whatcom and Skagit.)

BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED BY THE 40^th DISTRICT DEMOCRATS, that all corresponding resolutions must be acted upon by April 17^th which is the last day for new legislation to be voted on the in the house.

 Here is a (very) rough draft for a resolution supporting the retro bill, please give input or make changes, I will synthesize multiple changes to the same area if necessary. In order for our actions to be useful, they will need to be done as fast as possible, as april 17th is the last day for this matter to be brought to the floor for a vote.

Dan Joyner is a representative from FUSE who is working to support this bill and trying to get Jeff Morris and Dave Quall on board
Natalie McCLendon is the Chair of the Whatcom County Dems
John McGarrity and Tim Douglas are on the Whatcom County Dems Eboard
Roni Beall is the Chair of the 40th.
Ruth Fleming is the Chair of the San Juan Dems
Jamie Stephens is the Vice Chair of the San Juan County Dems
Peter Chipalla is the Chair of the Skagit Democrats
Josie Hedgpeth is the Vice Chair of the Skagit Democrats