Published date: February 27, 2024
10 Days left to the 2024 Legislative Session
As of this writing, there are only 10-days left to the 2024 session. Last Wednesday was the cutoff for bills to be voted out of their policy committees in the chamber opposite to where they started. Monday, February 26th, was the deadline for bills with a financial impact in the fiscal committee. Now, the chambers will return to the floor full-time to debate bills until Friday, March 1 when they will turn attention to final concurrence and passing final budgets until Sine Die.
Legislators leaving:
The end of session is nearing and some legislators are beginning to make other plans. In response to the impending retirement of Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-5th Congressional District), Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber (R-7) has announced her intention to run for the seat. Maycumber, a former legislative assistant, was first elected to the House in 2017 and serves as the minority floor leader for her caucus. Another Republican will be handily elected to that safe seat. On the west side, Rep. Spencer Hutchins (R-26) has announced he will not seek reelection, noting the part-time legislature has taken a financial toll on his business. This will be an expensive swing race for Gig Harbor and the east side of Kitsap peninsula. On Tuesday, the Lewis County Board of Commissioners voted to appoint Joel McEntire’s (R-19) stepdaughter Lillian Hale to temporarily serve as his replacement beginning at the end of session as he has been called to active service in the Marine Corps reserve. Hale is studying nursing at Lower Columbia College. While not required, it is customary for a family member to fill in for deployed state officials. And finally, Senator Sam Hunt (D-22) has announced his retirement after nearly 24 years in the legislature. Rep. Beth Doglio (D-22) has indicated she is not interested in the seat, but Rep. Jessica Bateman (D-22) has announced she will seek it. Olympia City Councilmember Dr. Lisa Parshley announced she will run for Rep. Bateman’s House seat.
Initiatives:
Last week, House Speaker Jinkins (D-27) and Senate Majority Leader Billig (D-3) announced which of the six Initiatives to the Legislature will be heard during session and which will advance directly to the ballot. The House and Senate will hold joint public hearings on February 27th and 28th on I-2113 (police pursuits), I-2111 (state income tax), and I-2081 (parental rights). These are the initiatives that would have been more likely to pass at the ballot and would have made it more difficult for voters to simply reject all initiatives. I-2117 (repeal of the Climate Commitment Act), I-2109 (repeal of the capital gains tax), and I-2124 (opt-out of Washington’s long-term care program) will go to the ballot. These three are higher stakes for Democrats and their supporters and in their estimation, worthy of a greater, more expensive fight. If passed at the ballot, a repeal of the Climate Commitment Act would cost the state dollars that are currently being spent on environmental programs, $1.8 billion already. If repealed, the capital gains tax would remove state money being spent on education and childcare. The state has already raised nearly $900 million from the tax. And the third initiative, a repeal of the long-term care program would cut funds that ultimately go to SEIU 775, one of the most powerful unions statewide that represents long-term care workers.
Budgets:
Both chambers have passed their budget proposals and the budget negotiators are attempting to craft agreements before the end of session, March 7th.
The 2023-25 House and Senate transportation budgets have a $56 million revenue shortfall due to reduced ferry ridership and diminished registration and title revenues. Those traditional revenues are being supplemented by the Climate Commitment Act. More than $1 billion in CCA revenues will fund transportation projects related to ferries, port electrification, public transit, safe routes to schools, and fish barrier removal projects. The Senate proposed transportation budget shows a slightly more conservative outlook and invests more in roadway maintenance and ferry staffing.
The proposed capital budgets have a big discrepancy to work out. The House and Senate have about a $144 million difference between what they propose for spending on public school construction.
For Week 7, TVW’s Legislative Review covers budgets, bills to place new rules on firearms dealers, eliminate the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, help police officer recruitment, regulate what schools can do with instructional materials, and more.
Upcoming Dates:
March 1 – Floor Cutoff
March 7 – Last day of Regular Session
Something to ponder:
The Legislature gave itself only 4 days to vote on bills from the other chamber, and they are using portions of those days to hold joint hearings on the initiatives mentioned earlier. Assuming they use floor time on these very contentious initiatives, this leaves even less time to vote on the many bills passed out of the committees. This forces legislative leadership to decide which bills merit this limited bandwidth, and which bills, due to amendments or opposition, may use too much floor time to justify their consideration.