Governor Unveils "All Cuts" Budget, Calls for New Taxes

This morning the governor unveiled her proposed 2010 supplemental budget, then quickly walked away from it. As expected, Gregoire said that resolving a $2.6 billion shortfall in the current biennial budget without new revenues was unacceptable. She explained her thinking in a letter to the public. Referring to the current revenue budget, she writes:

Today’s document does not reflect our values as a state. It does not reflect the Washington I know and love or the Washington I want for our future and the future of our children and grandchildren. I am convinced it is not the plan for the future that Washingtonians would choose, either.  

She is required by law to present a balanced budget within current revenues. This budget will be followed by another in January, one which will restore the cuts she finds most egregious - Basic Health, levy equalization, early childhood education, development disability services and more.

In his Seattle Times report on the press conference, Andrew Garber asks and answers a pertinent question.

Why should anyone pay attention to today's budget?

The governor's office wants lawmakers to read it, see what an all-cuts budget looks like and, presumably, hope it will scare the bejesus out of anyone hesitant to vote for a tax increase.

Brad Shannon for the Olympian summarizes the cuts this way.

It kills off what's left of the Basic Health Plan, ending subsidized health coverage for about 65,000 low-income workers. It cuts Apple Health insurance coverage for many kids, gets rid of health care and cash for the chronically unemployable, eliminates state financial aid for 12,300 college students, peels away more than $370 million from public schools including levy aid to poorer districts, cuts 25 State Patrol positions and makes other cuts to services for the elderly, needy and disabled.

Smaller-government advocates might like this one feature: Overall, it cuts another 1,527 jobs in the state-government and higher-education workforce, on top of the roughly 3,200 positions eliminated in those sectors through the original 2009–11 budget, according to the Governor's Office.

Plenty of coverage of what everyone believes is a nonstarter.

TVW's Capitol Record has her answer to why no reduction in employee benefits. That still may not satisfy Sen. Zarelli, who argues (see this Brad Shannon blog post) that unionized state workers are getting 5 percent pay increases.

Curt Woodward has a good rundown of the budget for AP. He also looks at the mechanics of a tax hike.

Raising taxes would require changes to Initiative 960, the voter-approved tax-limiting measure passed in 2007. That initiative effectively kept a lid on any tax plans during the last legislative session, but its two-year expiration date arrives this month.

After that, the Legislature can amend the initiative with a simple majority vote. Democrats have enough votes to take that step on their own, although threats to a rural- serving program like levy equalization could attract some Republican votes.

More later.