Even though the Legislature was facing a deficit, it stepped up to the plate on a number of funding issues, including public health, Thompson says.

“They did an adequate job of coming up with dollars for programs that were hardest hit by the initiative tax cuts,” he adds.

Transportation funding, too, was good news.

The cities and the counties each receive $16 million annually from the gas tax increase for much-needed local government transportation funding.

In terms of human services, the mental health parity measure helped. Insurance companies are now required to treat mental health programs just as they do regular health issues.

“That helps employees in human services and even the correctional officers because so many of the issues they support are mental health issues.”

A law on signature gatherers that Council 2 has been seeking for the last two years finally was passed. The measure, signed into law by Gov. Gregoire on May 3, requires signature gatherers to sign their petitions, making it easier for the Secretary of State and law enforcement officials to investigate signature fraud and other irregularities.

The Voter Education Committee, a Council 2 project, worked with a bipartisan legislative coalition, law enforcement and other groups to pass the legislation.

“Passage of this bill brings us one step closer to restoring some public faith in the initiative process,” says Chris Dugovich, Council 2 President/Executive Director. “Paid signature gatherers are no longer operating anonymously and in the shadows.”
That is where the good news ends, Thompson says.

Now for a look at the bad side of the session.

The Legislature failed to approve HB 1325 which would have implemented proposals from the Select Committee on Pension Policy.

“The state ended up under-funding pensions by $324 million to make up their budget shortfall,” Thompson says. “At least that’s not as severe as the $524 million they were originally talking about.”

The Legislature hopes to put the money back into the pension fund in future years.

“But the problem is that the more they under-fund it, the more the bill for future repayments goes up,” Thompson says.
He pointed out that the benefits being paid to those who receive local government pensions will not be affected by the Legislature’s action. “It only makes it harder for the future,”

Thompson says he is worried that the Legislature, like President Bush, will force local employees into a private fund rather than the state-run pension fund. “They might criticize Bush, but they are doing the same sort of thing for the pension plans they control.”

The good side of this bad news is that the Legislature might pass the bill next year, Thompson says. “We have been given strong indications they will try to take care of that next session,” he says. “I am cautiously optimistic we will be able to make headway then when not so many issues will be competing for attention and it might be a friendlier environment in which they can be more focused.

”They recognize their funding of the system is not a reasonable way. They formally want the Select Committee to come up with alternatives. That’s a job for the next session.”