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New Zarelli bills cap set of 10 budget
reforms Olympia
still can adopt
Senate Republican budget leader’s ideas would put state on
better footing
April 10, 2009
OLYMPIA…
Sen. Joseph Zarelli
has stepped forward with four bills aimed at addressing serious
shortcomings in the Senate and House budget proposals, including
legislation that would make proposed Democrat slashing of higher
education enrollments unnecessary.
The measures are
described in a
new budget brief
from Zarelli which includes six other proposals to put Olympia
back on the path toward a predictable and sustainable level of
spending while keeping state government’s focus on education and
services for the most vulnerable Washingtonians.
“Senate Republicans had called for a
three-stage approach to the budget process: first, act early to
reduce spending; second, adopt reforms to government, and then –
only then – look at reductions. Unfortunately the majority party
completely missed the boat on making cost-saving policy changes
early in the session, and its budgets go straight to spending
cuts, without the reforms.
“There are still enough days left in the
session to adopt these ideas, which would reduce the pain the
Democrat budgets would inflict and put our state in a much
better financial position two years from now,” said Zarelli,
R-Ridgefield. “Hearing these measures would be well worth an
hour of the Senate Ways and Means Committee’s time.”
Topping Zarelli’s list
of suggestions is
Senate Bill 6156,
which would allow the Legislature to at least maintain the
current level of budgeted enrollment slots at Washington’s
public colleges and universities. His ideas also would shift
millions of dollars toward assistance to developmentally
disabled youth (Senate
Bill 6153) and refocus two
high-profile public assistance programs (Senate
Bill 6154, Basic Health Plan,
and
Senate Bill 6155,
General Assistance-Unemployable) through policy changes that
could make them smaller targets for cost-cutters.
“Most of the ideas
covered in my budget brief
were shared publicly earlier in the session, in one form or
another. They go hand-in-hand with the calls for reform from the
governor, and I believe the priorities they represent are closer
to what a majority of Washingtonians would expect from Olympia
in times like these,” Zarelli explained.
“We hear the majority party talk about changing the tax
structure when the focus should first be on changing the
structure of government spending,” Zarelli said. “The ideas in
this package would begin to reshape state government in a way
that focuses on meeting the basic needs of our citizens at a
price they can afford.”
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For more information contact
Eric Campbell
at (360) 786-7503 or
campbell.eric@leg.wa.gov
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