House Republicans put forward the first budget proposal of the session on Feb. 17. Our goal was to put forward solutions and begin the dialogue to close the $1 billion budget shortfall.

Our budget proposal would have reduced government spending by $817 million while leaving $625 million in reserves. It would not have relied on a sales tax increase. Though our budget did not receive a public hearing, it put forward priorities, several of which were included in the final budget as adopted by the Legislature April 11.

Education

Educating children is the paramount duty of the state according to the state constitution. It is also the best way to reduce poverty, crime and dependence on government services.

Our education budget proposal, released Feb. 2, would have:

• Fully-funded levy equalization;
• Funded a full 180-day school year;
• Maintained current funding for all-day kindergarten; and
• Included important reforms and increased accountability.

You can read more about our Fund Education First philosophy and the detailed proposals here.

Public Safety

We will not compromise the safety of citizens in order to balance the budget – we believe families should always come before felons.

Our budget proposal would have:

• NOT included any early release or reduced community supervision for criminals;
• Protected our protectors by funding new radios and safety initiatives for prison employees; and
• Included new funding for gang violence prevention programs.

You can read more about our solutions for public safety here.

Caring for the most vulnerable

We believe caring for the most vulnerable is our responsibility as a state, but it’s also the right thing to do. We want to ensure those who need the most help can get it.

We prioritized funding for:

• People with developmental disabilities
• The elderly (in long-term care)
• Mental health patients
• Children

Our budget proposal would have:

• Fully funded reimbursement rates for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Harborview Medical Center.
• Maintained funding for supported employment, supported living, eligibility for personal care services, and agency provider reimbursement rates for people with developmental disabilities.
• Funded 35 out-of-home community placements for people with developmental disabilities.
• Maintained funding for eligibility of personal care services, Adult Day Health, Area Agencies on Aging, and nursing home reimbursement rates.
• Maintained funding for Regional Support Network (RSN) Medicaid reimbursement rates.
• Consolidate the number of RSNs for administrative efficiencies.
• Maintained 97 percent of funding for RSN Non-Medicaid state-only funding.
• Maintained current caseload ratios for Child Protective Service workers and family reconciliation services.
• Maintained 90 percent of current funding for Behavioral Rehabilitative Services and Child Placement case management fees.
• Maintained state funding for school-based Medicaid services and Adult Dental services.
• Provided subsidized health care for undocumented children in a family of four with income of $30,657 or less (133 percent of federal poverty level).
• Maintained funding for 48 months of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.
• Funded subsidized child care for family of four making less than $30,657 per year (133 percent of federal poverty level).
• Reduced TANF monthly cash grant by 5 percent.

Our budget proposal would NOT have:

• Increased or “swept” the Nursing Home Safety Net Assessment; 
• Increased adult family home license fees; or
• Closed the Rainier School.

Overall

Our $1.6 billion budget solution included: 

• $67 million in fund transfers
• $160 million in unspent agency funds (known as “reversions”)
• $64 million in local government distributions
• $335 million in savings from reduced caseloads
• $817 million in spending reductions
• $36 million from repealing three tax exemptions
• $26 million in the sale of surplus property
• $625 million left in reserves

-- Other budget areas --

Higher Education

Our budget proposal would have:

• NOT increased tuition;
• Maintained current eligibility for State Need Grant program for family of four making $57,000 or less (70 percent of median family income);
• Made changes to the State Need Grant program:
  • limit maximum time for grants (two years or four years)
  • require filing of application by the FAFSA deadline of March 15;
• Maintained current funding for state work study program; and
• Reduced administrative costs by 0.5 percent at four-year institutions and eliminate funding for remedial education for those under 20 at community colleges.

Natural Resources

Our budget proposal would:

• Maintain funding for Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers and fish hatchery operations;
• Reduce funding to the Department of Ecology by 14 percent; and
• Eliminate all general fund spending ($2.9 million) for the Puget Sound Partnership.

State Employee Compensation

Our budget proposal would have:

• Maintained current monthly health benefit funding for K-12 employees;
• Reduced monthly health benefit funding rate for state employees from $850 to $800;
• Instituted 24 days of furlough for all state employees except critical services (e.g. corrections, hospital, etc.) starting July 1, 2012; and
• NOT reduced LEOFF 2 pension funding rates.

General Government

Our budget proposal would have:

• Made $29 million in administrative efficiencies in information technology, goods and services, personal service contracts, travel, equipment and cell phones; and
• Reduced most general government agencies budgets by 5-10 percent.

Local Government

Our budget proposal would have:

• Limited streamlined sales tax mitigation payments to amounts received by voluntary compliance until Congress acts on the issue of online sales taxes;
• Reduced liquor profit sharing with local governments. It would still provide additional revenue to local governments assumed by the passage of Initiative 1183; and
• Not reduced liquor sales tax sharing, raise the cost share of law enforcement academy expenses, or reduce state funding for local public health.

More details: Read our budget overview in PowerPoint form here. View the entire budget summary here. Read a detailed comparison of the House Republican and House Democrat budget proposal as passed Feb. 28 here.

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