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Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Senate passes construction budget

By MIKE BAKER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- The state Senate unanimously passed a $244 million supplemental construction budget Monday, including more money for education projects and a new prison.

"There is a lot in this budget that will benefit this entire state," said Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, chairwoman of the Capital Budget Committee.

The House was expected to roll out its version of the state's supplemental budget today.

The Senate last week approved its version of the overall state supplemental budget and supplemental transportation budget.

In order to accommodate more prisoners who could be sentenced under a tougher sex-offender registration law they have already endorsed, senators approved $50 million in bonds to add about 500 more slots to the new state prison near Connell.

"I'm hopeful that we will spend less than that amount when we further look at the fiscal estimates," Fraser said. "But we have a lot in this budget for public safety."

Last session, lawmakers financed nearly 1,300 beds at the prison with $179 million in state bonds.

Monday, lawmakers also approved $10 million in bonds to develop the Columbia River Basin water supply development account, a centerpiece of the compromise between environmentalists and Columbia River water users.

The capital budget also addressed a number of education needs, adding more than $37 million to K-12 construction and repair programs and setting aside nearly $21 million for higher education renovations. Senators authorized Washington State University to spend $63 million on a new Life Sciences building.

The Senate capital budget also includes:

  • Almost $3 million for the Washington State Patrol's Vancouver Crime Lab, to help bring DNA analysis to about 1,000 backlogged cases.

  • $15 million for the Washington Bio-Energy Loan Fund, to give low-interest loans to businesses seeking to convert farm products into sources of energy.

  • $58 million for Ecology Department cleanup programs.

  • $7 million to improve juvenile rehabilitation facilities at Echo Glen and Green Hill.

    "All in all, the budget spans many policy areas, and I believe it reflects the considerations, desires and concerns of the Senate," Fraser said.

    In separate action Monday, lawmakers approved portions of the Senate's nearly $51 million proposed tax-break package. They were:

  • A 50 percent tax break for restaurants paying taxes on soda syrup.

  • A measure providing about $500,000 in business and operating tax exemptions for custom farm-service providers.

    Two bills aimed at jump-starting Washington's motion-picture industry. In an effort to entice producers to film in the state, one measure would provide tax breaks, estimated at $1 million per year, for film productions.

    The second movie measure would give businesses dollar-for-dollar tax breaks if they contribute to a new non-profit organization subsidizing up to 20 percent of the cost of movies made in Washington. Those tax credits could not top $5 million in any calendar year.

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