Walla Walla Tea Party Patriots: Budget Battle

April 28, 2013

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Today is the last day of the 2013 regular legislative session. We’ll be adjourning “sine die” today (a Latin phrase meaning to end without a date certain to reconvene), but as in recent years, additional time will be necessary to complete our work on a budget and associated policy bills. The special session will begin on May 13, and you can find more information on the dynamic in the Legislature and the current state of budget negotiations below.

I continue to welcome your thoughts and feedback about any issue facing our state. Please feel free to contact me anytime via email or by calling me in Olympia at (360) 786-7630 if you have questions or concerns about an issue, or if I can be of assistance to you and your family in any way.

Thank you, as always, for the continued opportunity to serve you in the state Senate.

Sincerely,

Sen. Mike Hewitt

Special session ahead – budget without new taxes still possible
Today marks the end of the 105-day 2013 legislative session. By all rights, we should be putting the finishing touches on the budget, wrapping up negotiations on associated policy bills and getting ready to head home. Instead, in what has become an all-too-common occurrence, a “special session” will be required to finish our work and will begin on Monday, May 13.

To me, the fact we’re entering another special session is disappointing and unacceptable. It’s become an unfortunate habit of the Legislature in recent years; there have been two special sessions in each of the last three years. These sessions are expensive – up to $18,000 per day – and they shouldn’t be allowed to become commonplace.

The primary sticking point is taxes. Despite the fact that the state is receiving more revenue than any time in history, some in Olympia are intent on raising general taxes. The governor and the majority party in the House of Representatives have proposed that taxes be raised on everything from prescription drugs to gas and most businesses in the state. In all, it amounts to around $1 billion over the next two years alone.

I do not support the tax package being proposed but there is one component that’s particularly concerning to me. In 2010 the majority party in the House and Senate enacted a 20 percent hike in the state’s business and occupation tax for the service industry. The increase was temporary – to expire at the end of this June – and at the time we were told in no uncertain terms that it was only to bridge the gap until the economy recovered.

Now the governor and the House are proposing to extend the tax on businesses. I feel very strongly that’s the wrong direction for our state. After all, how is the Legislature going to begin the process of rebuilding the trust of the people if we don’t keep our promises?

I wish that more folks in Olympia would remember the primary purpose of why we’re here – to pass a budget that represents the interests of the people who elected us. Through recent votes to reject an income tax proposal and sales tax increases on candy, soda and bottled water, the citizens of our state could not have been clearer about their feelings on new taxes.

While I am disappointed that a special session is necessary, the good news is that there's still an opportunity to reach agreement on a budget that doesn't raise general taxes. In the end, it's more important that the Legislature gets it right than gets it done quickly. You can count on me to continue to oppose general tax increases and to push for a sustainable, responsible budget.

Around the district
Earlier this week it was announced that Salvador Mendoza, Jr. was appointed to serve as Superior Court judge for Benton and Franklin counties. Mendoza, who was raised in a family of migrant farm workers, is currently a Judge Pro-Tempore in Benton County Superior Court and Franklin County Juvenile District Court. He is also a partner in a Kennewick law firm with an emphasis on adult and juvenile criminal law.

Notably, Mendoza helped start the Juvenile Drug Court program, has been a proponent of equal access to justice through his work with Benton-Franklin Legal Aid Society and served as a Columbia Basin College trustee. Mendoza will replace retiring Superior Court Judge Craig J. Matheson, who is stepping down after 26 years of dedicated service. Mendoza’s term begins effective May 6, 2013.

I’d like to thank Judge Matheson for his years of dedicated service and wish Judge Mendoza the best as he begins his tenure.

Opinions and news for Sunday

Tyranny

American Exceptionalism

All That For A Flag?

Terrorism

Liberal Mindset

Gun-Haters Eat Crow after Blaming NRA for Marathon Bombing

Taxes

Governors Group: Marketplace Fairness Act not a violation of tax pledge

Education, Liberal Mindset

Abortion

Big Government

Continuing the National Discussion

Media

Budget Battle

FAA furlough reprieve: 'No fair!'

Politics

State Government, Bill of Rights

GOP wants freedom of conscience protection for businesses

Corruption

Naturally: California awards billion-dollar high speed rail contract to firm partly owned by Dianne Feinstein’s husband

Second Amendment

Gallup Poll Shows Only 4% of Americans Think Gun Control is an Important Problem

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Saturday News

Tyranny

It's The Economy

Terrorism

WaPo: Joint Terrorism Task Force warned about Tsarnaev’s return from Russia

Big Government

Foreign Policy

Media

Obama~~Care~~Tax

Dems on Capitol Hill retreat from ObamaCare exemption; Update: Dems getting nervous about Obamacare?

Education, Liberal Mindset

German 5-Year-Olds Now Learning How to Achieve Orgasm: 'The vagina and penis feel nice and tingly and warm'

Politics

Budget Battle

Breaking: House passes bill to end FAA furloughs

Friday, April 26, 2013

News and Opinions for a Friday!

Tyranny

State Government, Budget Battle, Education

Education Budgets Compared

Big Government, Corruption, EPA

Terrorism

Foreign Policy

Politics, Liberal Mindset

Abortion

Silencing the Lambs

Obama~~Care~~Tax

Civil Discourse

War on Women: Kirsten Powers slams Media Matters commenters for calling women ‘whores,’ ‘banshees’

Taxes

Obama says new taxes aren’t negotiable

Second Amendment

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Bulletin from Representative Maureen Walsh

[Update: If you want to comment on this bill using the link provided by Representative Walsh, you may need to register on a new system, E-comments, to do so. Go here for more information. If you do not wish to sign up for E-comments, you can still submit comments by phone, e-mail, or in person.]

(Rep. Maureen Walsh sent this bulletin at 04/24/2013 01:18 PM PDT)

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We are in the final week of session and I am committed to ending on time, April 28. There are very different budgets from the House and Senate, and those differences will need to be worked out before the constitutional deadline.

The Senate budget was introduced first and does not include any new taxes. It funds $1 billion more in targeted education funding, and protects the most vulnerable populations in our state, like our folks with developmental disabilities. It leaves $611 million in reserves and would decrease tuition for four-year universities by 3 percent. This budget proves that we can balance the budget within existing revenue, while protecting the most vulnerable and fully funding education.

The House Democrats’ budget followed the lead of our governor’s budget outline by increasing taxes by $1.3 billion. While the governor says ending tax exemptions is not the same as increasing taxes, the reality is people will pay more to state government at the end of the day. I was extremely disappointed the governor so quickly abandoned his promises to not raise taxes. The House Democrats’ original proposal would have made temporary taxes on beer permanent and expanded to them to microbreweries, as well as increased taxes on insurance agents and even janitorial services. All of those were recently removed from the tax package in the Finance Committee after a major public outcry. However, $905 million in tax increases are still moving forward – on everyone buying bottled water, to real estate agents, to architects, to our hometown primary care physicians and many, many more.

A hearing on House Bill 2038, which would implement these taxes, turned out hundreds who came to testify from all parts of the state about how the tax increases would impact them. Several realtors testified that the tax would hit them at a time when the housing market is still down. Another man who provides architecture services testified that the temporary business and occupation tax increase on his business that is set to expire but would be made permanent under the proposal is preventing him from hiring two to three more people. People who work at our state’s ports testified that a new tax on trade will prevent growth in trade. A man from a bottled water company testified that a sales tax on bottled water would cut his customer base while his costs continue to go up. The tax increase that I think would affect our district the most is charging a sales tax on our shoppers from Oregon. This will have a detrimental impact on our retailers on the border, as Oregon shoppers realize they can wait and use their discretionary income at home. This will have an unintended consequence of reducing revenues to the state, as retailers will have less sales.

It’s not too late to share your opinion of these budgets and the Democrats’ tax package – you can submit public comments online or call the Legislative Hotline toll-free at (800) 562-6000 and ask to share your comments with all of the House Democrats. The public has proven their input is heard and does make a difference.

It’s an honor to serve you.

Sincerely,