OLYMPIA — The House in Washington state passed the Democratic supplemental budget proposal on a 50-47 vote on Thursday, approving the plan that seeks money to reduce homelessness and raise the state’s portion of the lowest starting salary for public schoolteachers to $40,000 a year.
The proposal would add about $476 million to the two-year, $38 billion budget approved in 2015, including about $318 million from the state’s emergency fund. The Senate Republican’s proposal, which hasn’t been voted on yet, would spend $49 million in addition to the two-year budget. Both are part of larger negotiation on a final supplemental budget.
The House plan passed after hours of debate in the chamber over amendments and arguments from Republicans that it would spend too much, particularly from the emergency fund.
“It’s fine to say that the supplemental budget is to deal with emergencies,” said Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, during floor debate. “That doesn’t mean that every single thing is an emergency that has to be solved today.”
Democrats said the money is necessary this session because homelessness, the state’s teacher shortage and other issues deserve urgent attention. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction reports 93 percent of 733 principals in a 2015 survey said they either struggle to find qualified candidates to fill teaching openings or are in “crisis mode” looking for teachers.
“Our kids can’t wait,” said Rep. Kristine Lytton, a Democrat from Anacortes, on the floor. “They can’t wait for us to come back next year, they can’t wait to have a teacher fill that classroom and miss a whole year of having a quality education in that classroom.”
The House budget would provide $99 million aimed at recruiting and retaining teachers by raising minimum salaries and other measures such as bonuses for working in challenging schools. Democrats have proposed closing six tax exemptions to pay for the package, including one that revokes a sales tax exemption on bottled water.
Another $47 million would be directed to the state’s mental health system.
The budget proposal by Senate Republicans is similar to the House plan on spending for mental health and repairing damage from wildfires, but provides less for homelessness and wouldn’t raise teacher salaries.
None of the Senate’s spending would come from the emergency fund or tax exemptions, but would come from money-saving measures such as combining the pension plans of some teachers, law enforcement and firefighters and redirecting money from regional mental health services separate from the state’s main psychiatric hospitals.
More than 40 amendments to the House budget were debated before it passed. Many were rejected by the House, including one that would have barred any state money being used to enforce the state Human Rights Commission’s rule that requires buildings open to the public to let transgender people use the bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.
Another failed amendment would have provided money for additional costs from a tuition reduction at universities and technical colleges that was approved by the Legislature last session.
