Dear Neighbors,

This week, the Senate has been doing double duty. We had committee hearings on bills sent over to us from the House, and we spent considerable time debating the Senate’s three main budgets: operating, capital and transportation.

We are getting closer to the end of session (April 22nd), but there is still a lot to do here in Olympia. The next phase will be to enter into negotiations on budget issues with the House and to finish floor action on House bills. I’m really proud of the budget’s focus on education and fiscal responsibility.

Since we have been focused on the budgets over the last few days, let me share with you some of the details. In our operating budget, or the budget you hear most about, education takes a major step forward. There’s almost $1.2 billion in NEW education spending. This includes:

• $83 million to help phase in all-day kindergarten and early childhood education
• $379 million in increase teacher compensation
• $80 million for special education funding
• $67 million for improving student achievement in math and science

In our capital budget, education again is a major focus, with a 55% increase in school construction funding (and that’s huge when you consider last session was the largest school capital budget ever!). This includes:

• $882 million provided for K-12 construction assistance grants
• $75 million for Skills centers
• $3 million for small school repair grants
• $6.2 million for school mapping to increase student safety

There are several new capital appropriations for higher education on the Eastside which will help to improve access. Our local higher education institutions have been instrumental in responding to the needs of our local businesses, creating win-win opportunities for both students and employers. The highlights include:

• $31.3 million for the Bellevue Community College Science and Technology building
• $144,000 for the Bellevue Community College Health Sciences building
• $1.7 million for the Lake Washington Technical College Allied Health building

A vital component to the Senate operating budget is the Rainy Day Fund, which reserves $158.7 million in a kind of restricted savings account. Over time this will help mitigate the severe budget cuts we have to make when the economic cycle turns downward. This is an attempt to get us off the roller coaster ride we take as our current revenue sources fluctuate based upon the strength of the economy. During economic downturns, we get hit with a double whammy in that government revenues go down, while the need for government services like unemployment and health care trend up. The House does not support the Rainy Day Fund, so this will be hotly debated in our negotiations.

I’ve given you a lot of numbers and I hope they are informative. I will sum up the actions on the major pieces of legislation that survive this round of cutoffs in the next newsletter.

Best of success,

Rodney Tom

Senator, 48th District

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