Southwest Washington lawmakers criticized the budget approved by the state Legislature on Tuesday, saying it will hurt those who rely on mental-health services in Clark County.
State Rep. Sharon Wylie, D-Vancouver, gave an emotional speech to her colleagues, explaining her “no” vote.
“My concern is for my region today,” she said, adding that the budget is “shortchanging our community systems.”
Lawmakers wrapped up an overtime legislative session, adjourning Tuesday night after approving the supplemental operating budget of nearly $38.4 billion. Some state lawmakers hailed the budget for increasing spending for mental-health services.
But Southwest Washington lawmakers blasted the effort.
“I’m quite aware that in budget negotiations, you often do not get everything you want,” Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, said in a statement. “In my view, mental health care funding for Clark County and the surrounding area is not a ‘want.’ … It is a high priority for the health and safety of our communities.”
The Southwest Washington region is moving faster than the rest of the state to fully integrate mental health, chemical dependency and physical health services for local Medicaid clients. By adopting the new integrated model early, the region risked losing reserves it had built up while operating as a regional support network model.
Many Southwest Washington legislators had hoped to keep those reserves for local health care efforts. Instead, the money, about $25 million, will be funneled into the state’s general fund and revert back to the federal government.
“We won’t have to make cuts,” said Vanessa Gaston, administrator for Southwest Washington Behavioral Health regional support network. “But it would be nice to have additional resources to support us. This is a huge change for all these providers and care organizations.”
The transition will inevitably cause unforeseen costs, she said. Southwest Washington is the only region losing its reserves. And because the move was voluntary, many believe the state should be rewarding the region, not harming it, she said.
“We have to ask ourselves, what message is the state giving us?” Gaston said.
Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, who also voted against the budget, said the delegation had “been led all along to believe we were going to get certain money.”
The end-of-session budget scramble is not always transparent. Budget negotiations happen behind closed doors and include only a handful of lawmakers. There are many moving parts, Harris said, and what will be included in the final budget isn’t always clear until right before lawmakers are asked to vote.
“There were 32 different budgets proposed since we went into special session. That’s about two a day,” Harris said.
Other lawmakers in the House voted against the budget for a variety of reasons. Rep. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, was disappointed that a budget proviso that passed during the regular session, which would have carved out money to allow for armed protection at National Guard recruiting centers, failed. Reps. Liz Pike, R-Camas, and Brandon Vick, R-Felida, both pointed to the sweeping of the public works assistance account, which helps local municipalities, as a reason for their disapproval.
In the upper chamber, Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, also cast a vote against the budget due to concerns about the mental-health funding.
“We can, and must, help people from reaching the point where they want to end it all — and it begins by addressing the pain and suffering of individuals with mental health issues,” she said.
Cleveland pointed to the state’s capital budget, which passed Tuesday night, as a positive thing for the region. That budget carves out $1 million to help Vancouver’s historic Academy building get a new roof and $750,000 for the Bridgeview Education and Employment Resource Center.
Rivers alone in favor
Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, was the only member of the delegation from Clark County to cast a vote in favor of the budget.
Budget writers committed to keeping an eye on Southwest Washington, she said, to ensure “things don’t go astray.”
She said that the budget isn’t “perfect, but it’s not horrible either.”
Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, was excused from the vote.
