Budget gap greets state lawmakers

The hallway outside of the Washington Senate Chamber was bustling again on Monday, the opening day of the 2009 session of the Washington Legislature, at the Capitol in Olympia. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

OLYMPIA — Washington lawmakers returned to the state capital on Monday, charged with fixing a budget gap some think could reach $7 billion in the coming months.

The starting point is Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed budget, which cut heavily from social services and other state programs instead of seeking higher taxes to bridge the shortfall.

Majority Democrats in the House and Senate will have some major disagreements with her approach, and those differences were visible on opening day.

In his opening speech, House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, urged colleagues not to give up on a long list of Democratic priorities, including affordable housing programs, "green" energy projects, education spending from pre-kindergarten to college, and subsidized health care for children.

"We have to be very careful this year not to let a budget problem rob us of our vision and values," Chopp said. "We can choose to react to this economic downturn by shrinking our hopes for our state, or we can keep our eyes on the horizon and direct our attention and resources to what is truly important."

Gregoire's proposed budget would trim projected spending by about $4 billion, including service cuts, pension changes and not paying for various labor contracts. Gregoire also assumes about $1 billion from a federal bailout.

Lawmakers caution things will likely get worse before they get better. Most expect that the next revenue forecast in March will bring more bad news.

"There's no time to appoint blame for the past and how we got to the situation we're in today," said House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis. "Whether you like it or not we're facing a huge budget crisis. There are ideas on this side of the aisle that can help solve those problems, Mr. Speaker, and we'd like to be a part of that."

The question is "whether we're going to manage through our budget dilemma with existing revenue or whether there is going to be a request for additional new revenue in the form of taxes. That's going to be the theme," said Senate Republican budget chief Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield.

Zarelli said Democrats needed to come to a consensus soon not to raise taxes so the Legislature could direct its attention to solving the state's fiscal crisis.

The Legislature operates under voter-approved constraints for raising new money, and majority Democrats alone can't get the required two-thirds majority to raise taxes without a vote of the people.

If lawmakers do try putting a revenue package on the ballot, it would bypass Gregoire and head straight to the voters.

Democrats won't talk taxes yet. But they're not happy with the current suggested cuts.

Sen. Craig Pridemore, D-Vancouver, said Democrats needed to find ways to fill the state's budget hole without cutting vital services to low-income residents.

"The biggest challenge is going to be putting together a budget that doesn't negatively impact citizens of this state," said Pridemore, a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

"My hope would be we do more to protect children's health care. A recession is the wrong time to cut services to people who need help the most," he said.

As lawmakers were assembling, many were learning that an agreement had been reached among the governor's office, city of Seattle, King County and the Port of Seattle on replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel.

The Legislature, however, is needed to make that deal a reality, and House Democrats said they hadn't been briefed on any agreement.

"As long as there's a legislative body that needs to approve any part of that then I would say that we need some people to start talking to us," said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam.

The House held moments of silence for Reps. Steve Hailey, R-Colfax, and Bill Grant, D-Walla Walla, who died recently. Grant's seat mate, Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, wiped away tears as Chopp memorialized Grant.

"With Bill gone, we all need to work harder," Chopp said.