Democrats unveil state budget plan

OLYMPIA -- Despite a $522 million downgrade in the state's estimated available revenue, House Democrats have crafted a supplemental spending plan that keeps intact almost all of the $33 billion budget passed last year.

Their plan to save at least $1 billion, which developed only after the 2007 Legislature adjourned, appears to be the biggest casualty of the recent downturn.

Democrats dismissed Republican critics who say the plan, released Wednesday, sets the state up for $2.4 billion in red ink on next year's budget. They largely avoided questions about how this year's spending would reflect on future budgets.

"We find that when you try to carry forward, if you are talking politically, that's a different number, if you are talking actually and historically, that hasn't proven to be the case," said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. "We are going to just do as responsible job as we can."

In its $33.7 billion budget, the House leaves $750 million unspent. That is $453 million less than Gov. Chris Gregoire saved in the budget she based on the November revenue forecast.

Since then, the demand for government services such as schools, prisons and health care has increased by $98 million and the revenue forecast has been downgraded by $423 million.

"I hope I never said we'd save $1 billion," said Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Helen Sommers, D-Seattle. "I didn't think that was realistic."

But while Sommers was quietly skeptical, leaders, including Kessler and House Speaker Frank Chopp, had vowed to save $1 billion.

"That was before we were hit with over $521 million in caseload and revenue shortfalls," Kessler said. "Given that impact, it would have been sort of ridiculous to say we could save a billion."

Other cutbacks include $16 million that would have gone toward expansion of all day kindergarten and an $11 million downsizing of the WASL program.

But the new budget counters the $185 million in cuts and savings with $471 million in new spending, more than half of which is discretionary.

New spending includes $39 million for a 1 percent teacher salary increase, $7 million for foster care, $7 million for expanded family planning services and $11.4 million for housing programs. (House Democrats also revealed a plan to provide $90 million for a low-income Housing Trust Fund in their separate capital budget.)

Rep. Gary Alexander of Olympia, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said the majority party is simply putting off the harder choices it will have to make next year.

"This is an irresponsible approach that ignores economic realities, and I'm worried about what it will mean for families in the future," he said.

"Their plan spends more, adds more in new programs and creates more trouble for the next biennium than what the governor is proposing. It fails to come to grips with the clear signs of a slower state economy and lower growth in revenues," he said.

Leading Democrats disagreed.

"The investments we made in the 2007-09 biennial budget put us on a strong footing," Sommers said. "We concentrated on our priorities: improving our education system at every level, creating a strong economy, and ensuring that more Washingtonians -- especially our children -- have access to high-quality, affordable health care."

The lowered expectations and belt tightening may have critically hit the environmental agenda.

Clifford Traisman, state lobbyist for the Washington Environmental Council, said the House has not fully funded the environmental community's core priorities to create "green" jobs, plant more trees and combat global warming for this year's session.

Environmentalists had said those priorities would cost $10 million; the House budget provides $2.8 million.

He said the environmental community had already scaled back its expectations for this off-year budget and will continue pushing for its modest goals.

"We are not asking for the sun, moon and sky here," he said. "We felt that our $10 million was a reasonable request given the year we were asking for it."

The powerful Service Employees International Union, which has a history of bad blood with Appropriations Chairwoman Sommers, was quick to criticize.

"The House budget provides a needed cost-of-living increase to nursing homes. Unfortunately, the budget reduces the governor's proposed funding increase, and fails to recognize either the disparate need for funding at the nursing homes that care for the lowest-income residents, or the need to direct some funding specifically to improve access to affordable health care for low-wage nursing home workers," spokesman Adam Glickman said.

But Gregoire lauded the plan as a good starting point for negotiations, while the campaign of her expected Republican challenger in the fall, Dino Rossi, continued its attack.