Legislative Commentary: Dec. 13, 2018

Dear Friends,

Here on National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, when we remember those who lost their lives in Hawaii on this day 77 years ago, there is another reason to think of George H.W. Bush, our nation’s 41st chief executive. The attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II and what specifically was known as the War in the Pacific – where the first President Bush began his decades of distinguished public service, as a U.S. Navy torpedo bomber pilot.

I very well remember his time as the leader of our nation – in fact, he was seeking a second term when I was first running for the Legislature, and I’m sure I learned a thing or two from how he campaigned. What I admired about President Bush, beyond what he accomplished in his term in office, was his lifelong public service, from wartime to being Vice President, his devotion to his wife and family, and the class he showed after leaving the White House. The outpouring of tributes to him since his passing a week ago was well deserved.

Much closer to home, I was sorry to learn that former Rep. Lynn Schindler, from the neighboring 4th Legislative District (specifically, Otis Orchards), had passed away Tuesday night. We served together for the first half of her 10 years in the House, before I was elected to the Senate; you could not ask for a colleague who was more pleasant, and capable of working within the legislative process, and also completely reliable when it came to reflecting her conservative and Christian values. I’ll remember her warmly. (Click here for more on Rep. Schindler’s life and legacy, from the Spokesman-Review.)

On Wednesday it was my pleasure to take part in the “Pizza & Politics Series” hosted by The Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, at Bryan Hall on the WSU campus. Rep. Schmick couldn’t attend, but Rep. Dye joined me in taking questions from members of the university’s student Senate and others about the upcoming legislative session, then I had two other meetings while on campus.

Yesterday brought another opportunity to do a legislative preview, at the Othello Rotary, and I spent a good part of today in Spokane – first at a high-level meeting about the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project, then a nice sit-down conversation with leaders from the region’s business development organization, Greater Spokane Incorporated.

SR 26 detour to end on Dec. 14

As of noon on Dec. 14, according to DOT, guardrails and other finish work will be completed, allowing the detour to be lifted for drivers who take SR 26 to and from the Palouse. Dec. 14 is also the end of fall semester at WSU – so while the highway didn’t reopen in time for Apple Cup traffic, as originally expected, it’ll be ready for members of Cougar Nation who are driving westward after finals week.

Some good news from a state regulatory agency

Unless they’re large enough to be self-insured, employers in Washington have no choice to buy industrial insurance – also known as workers’ compensation – from state government. This week, the Department of Labor and Industries (which runs the workers’ comp system) offered a rare bit of good news: workers’ comp premiums will see an average 5% rate reduction for 2019. That should mean an average per-employee savings of $58 a year for employers, starting January 1, while employees will save about $6 per year.

This doesn’t change the fact that state government has a monopoly on this required form of insurance (something senators on our side of the aisle would like to end) but at least it will lower the cost of doing business, and that can only help.

A day in the life of Governor Inslee

According to a batch of Governor Inslee’s monthly schedules (just received by our Senate Republican staff) he hopped a jet on Nov. 26 to…California. His flight touched down in San Francisco at 9:40 a.m., and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Governor Inslee’s calendar shows a pair of hour-long meetings, a block of 5 minutes to prepare for an interview, and another 15 minutes for the interview itself, with the Seattle Times. The subject? Climate change.

That evening found Inslee in the town of Chico, near the site of California’s worst wildfire ever (the Camp Fire), stopping at a government-run disaster recovery center and another shelter at a church. His schedule had a full hour set aside for a drive through the townsite of Paradise, which was destroyed by the wildfire. The governor made a video that he posted on social media, standing in front of a burned-out care facility and criticizing those who don’t share his views about climate change.

Inslee spent that night at a motel in the town of Woodland. He caught a flight out of Sacramento the next morning for Seattle, and a schedule of visits that looked more appropriate for Washington’s governor.

What do Washington taxpayers get in return for his jaunt south? Well, I expect the governor will mention this visit when he delivers his “state of the state” address next month, which is sure to include another push for legislation related to carbon. Otherwise, it’s notable that for most of that afternoon, while Inslee was in California and the lieutenant governor was also away from the Capitol, the acting governor was a Republican: Secretary of State Kim Wyman.

Another reason to cut the sales tax

More than once lately I’ve mentioned the idea from the Washington Policy Center that state government’s financial condition is good enough to allow a cut in the state sales-tax rate for the first time in decades. Here’s another reason to consider a reduction: it would help lower what is now the highest tax in the nation (19.24% rate!) on cellular phone service. Compare that to Oregon, which doesn’t have a sales tax and has a 1.98% tax rate on cell-phone service – roughly 1/10th of Washington’s.

All told, Washingtonians pay about $800 million annually in state and local cell-phone taxes. We’d pay less if the Legislature were to shave something off the state sales-tax rate.