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House Democrats end session with balanced budget

In spite of global recession, Democrats moved forward on key priorities

April 26, 2009

OLYMPIA – House Democrats ended the 2009 legislative session with a balanced budget that protected the priorities of Washington’s people – basic education, health care for children, and a safety net for our most vulnerable citizens.

The session began just as the global recession that had been plaguing much of the rest of the nation hit Washington full-force. What had been an $850 million budget surplus when House Democrats left Olympia last March had turned into a $5 billion budget deficit by January.

“Our primary focus was responsibly addressing the revenue shortfall and protecting critical state services,” said House Speaker Frank Chopp (D-Seattle). “Ultimately, we agreed on a responsible, fair budget that protected the priorities of Washington’s people.”

Responding to the immediate impacts of the recession, the first bill signed by the governor this year increased unemployment benefits and training opportunities for people who have lost their jobs in this global economic downturn. Our businesses also received a tax cut to help them through these difficult economic times.

In addition to addressing the budget shortfall, House Democrats passed many significant measures that benefit Washington families and businesses, including:

• Expanding “Apple Health” to ensure all Washington children have health-care coverage by 2010.
• Redefining “basic education” and approving a ten-year plan to fully fund it.
• Setting in motion the largest transportation construction season in history.
• Streamlining the state’s numerous financial-aid programs so those who want to go to college can more easily find the “Opportunity Pathway” to do so, and vastly expanding state need grants.
• Reducing the cost of textbooks for 164,000 students in our state’s 34 community and technical colleges, saving those students $16.4 million ($100/each) in out-of-pocket costs.
• Tightening regulations on the payday lending industry to protect consumers.
• Enacting the Evergreen Jobs Act to create as many as 15,000 green jobs by 2020 and get our state on the right path toward becoming a world leader in green industries.
• Expanding rights and responsibilities for domestic partners.
• Making meaningful progress toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and keeping Washington’s prominent place in the national conversation about climate change.
• Securing permanent funding for the Neah Bay tug to protect our coastlines from oil spills.

“Cushioning the effects of the recession for the people of Washington was our first priority this session, to be sure,” continued Chopp. “We recognize the unease many are feeling about the future, and we plan to continue doing all we can to help families and communities get on the road to recovery.”