OLYMPIA, Wash. – Democrats in charge of the state legislature are thinking about next steps after the governor said he would reject one of their key proposals to close the state’s multi-billion-dollar budget deficit.
Governor Ferguson told reporters Tuesday that budget proposals from House and Senate Democrats had “far too much in taxes” and a proposed wealth tax couldn’t be used to close the budget shortfall because it’s legally untested.
House Finance Committee Chair April Berg, D-Mill Creek, said the tax proposed by the House would stand up in court, but believes a compromise would be possible as the governor said he would be open to a discussion on a smaller attempt to test its legality.
“He has said what he wants. We’re co-equal branches of government, as most people know. And so, of course, it’s a conversation point,” she said. “Most conversations don’t happen at microphones. They’re gonna happen in rooms like this where we sit and we talk as equals about what’s best for Washingtonians and what’s the best way forward.”
With a wealth tax potentially bringing in less than expected revenue, Berg said it is hard to know what alternative revenue proposals could be floated. That is because as of Thursday afternoon, the governor had yet to send over a “note of concerns” outlining his thoughts on all the other Democratic revenue proposals.
Berg said that information typically comes soon after legislative budget proposals are rolled out. Ferguson’s office said the note would be released either Thursday or Friday.
“I don’t want to get over my skis on this one,” she said. “But I think just waiting, looking at the letter. Again, we’ve had the press conference, now we’ll have the letter coming and then we’ll go from there as policymakers.”
Berg said the budget process is long and just getting underway, with more discussions and negotiations between the House, Senate and the governor’s office needed to get a budget passed by April 27.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, told reporters Wednesday there are other revenue options lawmakers could explore.
“There will be tax increases. It’s figuring out the right kind of balance and making sure that we’re able to minimize any harm that comes to regular, everyday Washingtonians,” she said.
Senate Republican budget leader Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, argued his caucus’ budget proposal without any new taxes is better aligned with what the governor wants.
The senator criticized all the Democratic revenue proposals – especially lifting the 1% cap on property tax revenue growth, saying it is “the most regressive tax that is out there.”
“This is going to be a values judgement that the majority party is going to have to make,” Gildon said. “Do they value increasing taxes for literally no good reason, or do they value affordability for the people of Washington state?”
On Thursday, the Senate appointed a conference committee to work with the House to resolve their differences and produce one budget.
Gildon was appointed to that committee, but criticized the process as largely changing the budget behind closed doors. He also said Republican members are not typically invited to conference committee meetings.
“It will be two Democrats from the House and two Democrats from the Senate who will be making all of these substantive changes to the budget,” Gildon said. “And then all 143 of the remaining legislators in Olympia will not have a chance to weigh in on it. We will just have the chance to vote yes or no at the end of session.”
Berg said the conference process has produced good budgets and Republicans are absolutely involved in the budgeting process.
Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair June Robinson, D-Everett, said the conference process has been used for many budgets and other bills, and allows for “plenty of time” for anyone to review the resulting conference report.
“I have worked closely with my Republican counterparts throughout the budget process and am open to discussions with them at any point going forward. All of that is taken into consideration in negotiations,” she said in an email.
Albert James is a television reporter covering state government as part of the Murrow News Fellowship program – a collaborative effort between news outlets statewide and Washington State University.
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