With only a few weeks remaining in session, legislators are faced with significant work on the budget. This week, the policy committees worked to finish up by their April 2 deadline, and hearings for the various revenue bills that were proposed by both the House and Senate Democrats took place. The fiscal committees are now holding long hearings to pass any policy bills with fiscal implications by April 9. Then the action shifts to the floor of the House and the Senate to pass bills from each chamber, while a lot of work continues behind the scenes to agree on final bill language, especially on the budget bills. If bills are considered “Necessary to Implement the Budget,” then legislators can continue to introduce and hear those bills all the way until session ends. Session is expected to end by April 27 but legislators have a lot of work ahead of them over the next three weeks.
For a good look at the main differences between the House and Senate operating budgets, check out this chart created by the WEA.
After both the House and Senate passed their operating budgets (HB 1198/SB 5167) out of their respective chambers early in the week, Governor Ferguson held a press conference mid-week to share his opinion. Since both of them rely on an untested wealth tax for funding, the Governor said neither of the budgets are ones he could sign. This article from the Seattle Times has more on his press conference. Senate Republicans released a statement that said they appreciated the Governor’s stance. The Democrats are now having to regroup to sharpen their pencils and figure out their next budget moves.
This week, a bipartisan effort to create a Capital Budget was announced and while the House bill (HB 1216) and the Senate (SB 5195) bill are slightly different, in general, K-12 education would receive almost $1 billion for school construction, small district modernization, and seismic safety. Read more in this article from the Seattle Times.
The other significant budget that legislators need to agree on is the Transportation Budget. The House and Senate proposals are again different, and both rely on increases to the gas tax to achieve their spending goals. For more details on these budgets, check out this article from the Washington State Standard.
Two new policy bills were introduced recently. One is HB 2044, which would remove the requirement to file truancy petitions. The intent behind this bill is to save costs for the whole system (but not necessarily K-12). Based on feedback from principals across the state, we know that sometimes filing petitions can be an effective tool. I will testify “other” on this bill tomorrow and ask that this bill be amended to allow, but not require, the filing of petitions.
Another bill that recently dropped was HB 2068 (and its companion bill SB 5803) related to ending the sale of flavored tobacco and vapor products from the same bill sponsors as the earlier bills, Representative Kristine Reeves (D-Federal Way) and Senator T’wina Nobles (D-University Place). These bills would end the sale of flavored products and also address underage sales of nicotine pouches like Zyn, increase retailer fees and penalties, and increase taxes on all types of tobacco and vapor products. HB 2068 is going to be heard in the House Finance Committee on Monday, April 7 and if you want to sign in with your support, here are two options. One is our Action Alert below or follow this link to sign in by 9 a.m. on Monday, April 7 (one hour before the hearing).
For a look at all of the education bills that remain, see my complete bill tracking list here.
Bills Heard This Week
Monday
House Education, Executive Session
ESSB 5181 - Amending the parents’ rights initiative to bring it into alignment with existing law.
SSB 5412 - Providing temporary interfund loans for school districts.
Senate Ways and Means, Public Hearing
SB 5797 - Enacting a tax on stocks, bonds, and other financial intangible assets for the benefit of public schools.
SB 5796 - Enacting an excise tax on large employers on the amount of payroll expenses above the social security wage threshold to fund programs and services to benefit Washingtonians.
SB 5798 - Concerning property tax reform.
SB 5794 - Adopting recommendations from the tax preference performance review process, eliminating obsolete tax preferences, clarifying legislative intent, and addressing changes in constitutional law.
SB 5795 - Reducing the state sales and use tax rate.
Tuesday
Senate Ways and Means
SB 5195 - Concerning the capital budget.
Wednesday
House Appropriations
SB 5189 - Supporting the implementation of competency-based education.
SSB 5253 - Extending special education services to students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which the student turns 22.
SB 5358 - Concerning CTE in 6th grade.
SB 5570 - Public school instruction in tribal sovereignty and federally recognized Indian tribes.
SB 5769 - Addressing transition to kindergarten programs.
Thursday
House Finance
HB 2049 - Investing in the state’s paramount duty to fund K-12 education and build strong and safe communities.
Senate Ways and Means
2SHB 1273 - Improving student access to dual credit programs.
2SHB 1587 - Encouraging local government partner promise scholarship programs within the opportunity scholarship program.
House Appropriations
HB 2050 - Implementing K-12 savings and efficiencies.
Friday
House Appropriations
SB 5041 - Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers.
SB 5123 - Expanding protections for certain students to promote inclusivity in public schools.
SB 5543 - Providing equity in eligibility for the college bound scholarship.
Senate Ways and Means
HB 1296 - Promoting a safe and supportive public education system (Parents’ Bill of Rights)
HB 1651 - Concerning teacher residency and apprenticeship programs.
Saturday
House Appropriations
SB 5009 - Accommodating multiple vehicle types for transporting students.
HB 2044 - Addressing unexcused absences.
Senate Ways and Means
HB 1936 - Extending the expiration of certain school employee postretirement employment restrictions.
will go to your legislators. You can also add more information or anecdotes to this email if you’d like.
YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
Action Alerts
We now have several Action Alerts going on our “Advocacy and Action Center” page.
Please take action now and send an email to your legislators about these important issues. This is an easy way to get the word out across our state that K-12 education needs their support.
Click on the link above, and scroll down the page until you see the orange “Action Alerts.” Enter your home or school address and then you’ll see a prewritten email that will go to your legislators. You can also add more
information or anecdotes to this email if you’d like.
Get Involved
As always, many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. If you have questions or comments or want to get involved in our advocacy efforts, please reach out to me.
Thank you so much!
Important Links