Tie puts Legislature in bind, again

There's a small magnolia tree, now looking bare and bleak, on the grounds of the state Capitol. It's named the Sine Die Tree, after the Latin phrase ("without a day") for the close of each year's legislative session.

When the Sine Die Tree blooms each spring, it was said for decades, the session's over.

If that were true this year, it might be summer before the tree flowers.

This year's session is scheduled to last 105 days. But lawmakers are predicting it could take much longer.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see us there in June," said Rep. Larry Crouse, R-Spokane Valley.

For one thing, the state House of Representatives is in its third consecutive year of a tie: 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans. That means every committee has two leaders, one from each party. Procedurally, it will be hard to pass legislation and easy to halt it.

"The place is not built to be run on a tie," said Rep. Alex Wood, D-Spokane.

The deadlock also raises the specter of party defectors. That's what happened two years ago, when two House Republicans abandoned their party to vote for the Democrat budget.

"We've had them make some of our members nice sweet offers if they'd cross over," Crouse said.

On the other side of the rotunda, the Senate's controlled by the Democrats, but barely. There are 25 Democrats and 24 Republicans.

In the first two years of the tie in the House, the two sides cooperated fairly well, passing some major legislation. They made health insurance changes and passed a patients' bill of rights. They helped extend telecommunications into rural areas and voted for DNA testing for prisoners facing life in prison or the death penalty.

But the road was smoothed considerably by good times. The Puget Sound economy was booming, taxes were rolling in, and the state won millions of dollars in a legal settlement with the tobacco industry.

This year is different. In the coming months, the Legislature must again draft the state's two-year budget. But the economy is slowing down. Power prices have risen drastically. And the state's voters have given lawmakers what seem to be conflicting marching orders.

In 1993, voters passed Initiative 601, which forced the state to put a limit on spending. Last fall, however, voters passed Initiatives 728 and 732, which directed the state to spend $800 million more on teachers and schools.

"Even as a conservative, you say, `Holy mackerel, they're really putting us under the gun here,'" said Sen. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley.

So far, the response of the Democrats - including Gov. Gary Locke - is to lift the existing cap to add the new education spending, cut back where possible, and tap part of the state's $1 billion in cash reserves to help pay the rest.

Republican leaders have so far balked at either changing the spending cap or dipping heavily into savings. Doing neither would probably mean big cutbacks in state programs.

"The huge issue is going to be the budget," said Sen. Larry Sheahan, R-Rosalia. "That's going to be the 800-pound gorilla."

There is also a host of other issues that lawmakers will be wrestling with this session. The state's aging transportation infrastructure - roads, ferries, expressways, rail - needs billions of dollars in maintenance. State costs, notably for incarcerating prisoners and paying for state employees' health care, are soaring. Power costs have spiked, and water is already running low behind the state's hydroelectric dams.

"We've gotta do more than just pray for rain," said co-House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle.

Spokane-area lawmakers have a lineup of pet projects they'll be pushing. High on the list: getting the state Department of Ecology to process water-rights permits much faster. There is now a backlog of several years, which infuriates many Eastern Washington legislators. They say the delays choke badly needed economic development in rural areas.

"We're going to really be attacking that aggressively," said Rep. Don Cox, R-Colfax. "We thought we had a deal last year, and it fell apart."

In Spokane, lawmakers say they'll also fight for funding for several local projects. They include Mirabeau Point, a Valley community center that includes job-training facilities, and INTEC, the Inland Northwest Technology Education Center, built to train people for biotechnology jobs. Also high on the agenda: the area's colleges and universities, and more cash for the north Spokane freeway project, designed to alleviate congestion.

With so many low-income people in Spokane, downtown-area legislators say they'll also fight to keep state budget cuts from clamping down too hard on the poor.

Lawmakers from the Spokane Valley and rural areas say they want to toughen the laws against sex offenses, and rewrite the Department of Ecology's rules on shoreline management. Many farmers are angry about the rules, which restrict how closely to water they can farm.

"I get complaints from the folks who are on the ground out here trying to make a living," said Rep. Bob Sump, R-Republic. "The arrogance of these agencies is totally out of control."

Here are summaries of some of the major issues facing state lawmakers this year:

Transportation

A recent state report concluded that the state needs to plug $9.6 billion into transportation projects. In Western Washington, this would help stem ever-worsening congestion. On the East Side, it would maintain roads.

Raising this money, however, is a task no one's eager to take on. One likely prospect: a hike in the state gas tax. But first, state lawmakers and Locke say they want approval from voters, in the form of a referendum later this year.

"Will there be a gas tax? Yes there will," predicts Democratic Rep. Ruth Fisher, co-chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee. She also predicts a tussle over taking some road funding to help out the ferry system - a move very unpopular with Eastern Washington lawmakers.

"The state of Washington is much greater than Seattle," said Sen. Jim West, R-Spokane.

Social services

The budget proposed a few weeks ago by Locke would strip $163 million from the state Department of Social and Health Services. Locke's aides point out that the department is, after education, the second-largest item in the budget. But advocates and patient groups immediately cried foul, saying the changes would hurt Washington's most vulnerable citizens.

"Getting a budget that balances without doing too much damage to the poor and disadvantaged is going to be difficult," said Rep. Alex Wood, D-Spokane.

Power

Electrical and gas rates have skyrocketed this winter, due largely to regulatory changes in California. Washington universities and colleges are expecting to spend millions of dollars more this year to heat buildings and keep the lights on.

To maintain a steady power supply in-state, several lawmakers are talking about offering tax credits for power plant projects.

"It's much bigger than just turning off a few light switches," West said.

Primary

Washington has long cherished its so-called "open primary," in which citizens don't have to declare party affiliation to vote in a primary. A recent court ruling, however, puts that tradition in jeopardy. Despite pressure from the state's political parties, lawmakers say they don't want to mess with a system that Washingtonians clearly like.

"I think the majority of the people value their privacy when they go in to vote," said Rep. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville. "They don't want an R or a D stamped on their head."

This sidebar appeared with the story:

AT A GLANCE

Washington's new legislative session

Act one: Gavels fall at noon Monday.

Length: Regular session lasts 105 days; one or more 30-day special sessions likely.

Politics: Democrats control governor's mansion and Senate, but share power with Republicans in a 49-49 House.

Hot issues: State budget, transportation projects and funding, state primary, energy crisis, telecommunications, health care, education, shorelines regulations, higher education, water policy and permits, property taxes, salmon restoration, housing, social services and rural economic development.

Information: Toll-free hotline is 1-800-562-6000, operating 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Web site for Legislature is www.leg.wa.gov. Gov. Gary Locke's Web site is www.governor.wa.gov.

Associated Press

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