New Tax Foundation Study – Where do states spend their money?

I find the research this organization does fascinating, which probably says more about me than them, but there it is. The Tax Foundation is the organization that brings you “Tax Freedom Day.” I agree with them on some of their principles about well-designed tax systems, but they have a “less is more” strategy to government that pervades all of their work.

Nevertheless, a report they have just released is pretty interesting. They compare the 50 states on the percentage they spend on various sectors of the economy. It’s worth looking at the summary charts, which are available here:

http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/25452.html

Washington ranks high in the concentration of spending on housing/environment and health, but not on K12. This data is based on 2007 numbers, and I expect it to change dramatically when they look at the 2009 numbers in a few years. We cut everything else much more deeply than we did K12, which will skew the results significantly.

McCleary Case – Education Funding in the courts

Closing arguments were heard last week in the “McCleary case.” The summary below from one of our non-partisan staff attorneys is very brief, but clear. (As is usual with her work – we are lucky to have someone this smart working for us.)

This suit will provide further impetus for the legislature to finish the work we started in 2261 last year and actually specify the numerical values in the bill. More on this as we get our legislative strategy prepared for the session.

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520 Financing Options Discussion

The SR 520 Legislative Workgroup will meet on October 20th for a rousing discussion of the financing plan for the bridge.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sound Transit- Union Station, Ruth Fisher Board Room
401 South Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104

The proposed agenda is

  • Overview from WSDOT staff on the current SR 520 funding delivery plan.
  • Discussion of potential additional funding options, including federal reauthorization, potential future local and regional sources, and tolling options.
  • A report out on the Joint Transportation Committee’s state funding study.

Time and location details for these meetings and the remaining meetings scheduled in November and December are available on the SR 520 Legislative Workgroup Web site.

Most of these meetings have been recorded for later display on TVW, and it may make more sense for you to watch it on your computer while you’re doing something productive, like playing Reversi or something.

Tolling I-90?

One of the issues we will need to decide this year is if we should add a toll to I-90 to help pay for the 520 bridge. There are a number of reasons why this might be a good idea – the diversion from 520 to I-90 might turn it into a parking lot, there might be no other way to raise the money, etc. Here is a short (1 question) poll to see what you think.

Revenue Collections – October

Every month we get a report on the amount of tax revenue collected over the previous month. We all put it in our teacups and swirl it around hoping to see some wisdom in it, but are usually denied any new wisdom. Compared to our prediction we are down about $20 million for the month, or 2%. This is based on a prediction made last month.

The economy does seem to be recovering in some kind of a global sense, though I believe that we will have a long, slow recovery. Our unemployment rate has tracked to rest of the nation (more unemployment) though it’s a little better than we thought when we left session.

You can read the report here: http://www.erfc.wa.gov/pubs/oct09.pdf

Ending Homelessness?

Last week I attended the annual breakfast for the Committee to End Homelessness in King County. We’re 3 or 4 yours into a ten-year plan to take this on. I’m concerned that the financial crisis we’re in will delay accomplishment of some of the goals, but these folks are serious, practical people who are working a complex, integrated plan to address the issue.

The January 30, 2009 count put our total at 8,961 individuals in shelters or living on the street in King County. There are hundreds or thousands more that didn’t get counted for one reason or another. Over half are families with children.

Their plan has a bunch of moving parts and it’s well thought out and documented. You can read about it at www.cehkc.org. Their legislative agenda this year has some unrealistic financial goals given the state of Washington’s budget, but it’s important to keep this in front of us  – we need to make sure we continue to invest in housing for the very poor segment of this population that needs transitional help. My personal belief is that we will need to do some work to rationalize land-use planning with local zoning to provide a higher supply of building lots close in, that are affordable, and that are within walking distance of public transit before we’ll be able to make serious inroads into housing affordability for the working poor, but that shouldn’t block us from making sure we’re starting at the most needy with public investment.

One item on their legislative agenda will come before the Finance committee – ensuring that property tax assessments are commensurate with resale restrictions on affordable homes. If someone buys a home through Habitat for Humanity and it has a clause that restricts the resale value built into the deed that restriction should be reflected in the assessment. If not, the carrying costs of the property will be out of scale with reality. There are other cases where this comes up and it’ll be something we look at carefully. Property tax assessments are a complex beast and I try to be careful about how we change the system, but this looks doable.

Forum on 520

My seatmate Rep. Deb Eddy (D-48) is hosting a forum on the design process for 520 tomorrow night (Tuesday Oct. 6) at 7:00 PM at Bellevue City Hall. She’ll have DOT people there with fabulous maps, timelines, etc. It’s her event, but I expect we’ll have a lively conversation. Here’s what Deb said about the agenda:

Our purpose is to review the various “projects” involving SR520 (which includes the tolling work and pontoon construction in addition to remaining design issues, all kind of going on parallel tracks right now), next steps and timelines.  While working with eastside chambers, cities and other civic groups is important, it’s also important for us legislators to facilitate these forums, community you’all-comes, which allow us to talk about issues that are outside WSDOT’s purview or authority.

I am sorry about the late notice – I have just got my website/email system back up.

Electronic Tax Filing

Last year we passed legislation requiring businesses to file their tax payments and returns electronically. The intent is to save significant time and effort in the Department of Revenue (DOR) processing paper forms. This will also cut down on errors on both ends of the process. I believe we get to eliminate 14 positions as a result of this change.

I had a constituent express some concern to me about “allowing the DOR unfettered access to his bank account.” This is not an unreasonable concern, though the department did promise me they would smile while they stripped business bank accounts. In following up with the department I got the following response, which lays out 4 options in increasing distance from the department. I believe one of these options will work for almost everyone.

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520 Working Group Meeting 9/22/09

520 Bridge with traffic

Today I’m attending a meeting of the 520 Legislative Workgroup, trying to work out an agreed upon design for west end of the 520 bridge and a financing plan. You can look at the official documents at the website the state maintains for the project. I’ll provide some links to interesting ones in the middle of the post, but the basic website is www.wsdot.wa.gov/partners/sr520legislativeworkgroup/.

We heard community presentations from groups representing the proponents of each of the three alternatives we’re looking at for the Westside design. These were largely focused on specific details of the proposals and were somewhat dense. I have difficulty figuring out the politics of who each of these groups represent; it seems very complex.

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Fun things you get to do as a legislator

In August I attended a picnic put on by Alpha Supported Living for their residents. They held the picnic at Crossroads Community Park (a fabulous place behind Crossroads mall.) The main activity at this annual event is provided by a group called Outdoors for All. Their mission is to enrich the quality of life for adults and children with disabilities through outdoor recreation.

There was a lot of enriching going on. They had a collection of adapted bicycles (mostly trikes) that worked for people with disabilities. Watching people use these bikes was fabulous. I was reminded of the look on my kid’s faces when they first got a bicycle to work without training wheels.

To check out the work of the Outdoors for All people, go to their website www.outdoorsforall.org. I urge you to support them.

Getting the helmet on
Getting the helmet on

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