Washington State Senate Democrats: Chris Marr

Sen. Marr E-Newsletter 5/13/2010

Senate Democrats — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:35:00 GMT

Friends and Neighbors,

Due to election year restrictions, this will be my last e-newsletter until December. I've found this an effective way to maintain an open dialogue with constituents and I sincerely hope you've found it newsy and insightful. I look forward to restarting this service in December.

This week I’ve got updates on the developing Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake, the state’s economy, and I’ll answer a question many of you have been asking about re-prioritizing state services.

New veterans cemetery to open Memorial Day

After more than three years in the works, the State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake is set to open on Memorial Day, May 31.

I sponsored legislation in 2007 to create Washington’s first state-sponsored veterans cemetery so that it could be sited in Eastern Washington, which is home to some 140,000 veterans. The state’s only other military cemetery is the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, several hundred miles away.

This is an important service that’s being provided to those veterans and their families who have done so much for all of us.

If you get the chance, I’d encourage you to check out the cemetery’s website to get construction updates. Those interested in applying for interment or pre-registering for interment can do so there as well.

Good news and bad news on the economy

This week we got continued reassurances that our economy does appear to have turned the corner and economic growth is being seen. The latest update from the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council indicates employment grew by 6,600 jobs in the first quarter, growth in housing permits is exceeding expectations, the manufacturing sector is picking up and consumer spending is warming.

What’s more, tax collections for the past month have yielded the first year over year gains since September, 2008. Collections for the April 11 through May 10 period were 2.3 percent higher than they were in 2009.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that collections are lagging expectations by $69 million since the last quarterly revenue forecast in February. It’s already clear that the Legislature will face another difficult budget challenge in 2011. How difficult will depend on what happens with the economy between now and then.

Re-prioritizing state services

I’ve gotten a fair number of questions from constituents who have read my assertions in my recent newsletter and recent e-newsletters that the Legislature needed to go farther this year in re-prioritizing state services before resorting to new taxes. Some of you have asked me to be more specific about what I mean and I’d like to take this opportunity to do so.

Essentially, I’m talking about re-thinking the role of government. Years ago, then-Gov. Gary Locke implemented a Priorities of Government process that allowed us to re-evaluate state spending by sub-program and from the bottom up to determine those of greatest value in terms of service to citizens. We have moved away from this philosophy—resulting in program funding driven more by stakeholder and political pressure than citizen input.

Over the past few years, my concerns about making huge future spending commitments through well-meaning programs has caused me to vote against my own caucus to oppose both the state Family Medical Leave Act and last year’s education reform bill. Both were well intended but added large costs to future budgets. The education reform bill by some estimates added $4 billion in additional spending commitments at a time in which we were reducing teacher pay and increasing class sizes—both contrary to the will of the voters. Our focus should be on improving delivery of existing programs before we implement new ones.

In this legislative session, the Senate version of the furlough bill included more mandatory days off for state employees than the final version sent over by the House. While our version was unpopular with state employees, it seems to me to show a good faith effort to constituents to address their concerns about state spending while still retaining jobs and services. I also advocated for greater cuts in management and fought the exemption of as many agencies as were let off the hook in final agency cuts. This included the Attorney General’s office, which inexplicably handed out $600,000 in employee bonuses in 2009.

I also supported the Senate version of the Government Assistance—Unemployable bill that would have permitted a housing stipend but without a monthly allowance. Again, the version that came over from the House restored the monthly spending allowance. The net effect was that, instead of reducing expenditures by $38 million, we increased them by $10 million.

As I mentioned, I voted against initial implementation of the Family Medical Leave Act, which has yet to be implemented because of the lack of revenue. I supported efforts to eliminate the program and saved as much as $40 million in operation and benefit costs of the program during the 2009-2010 budget cycle.

I continue to believe the state employs too many middle managers. This year the Legislature explored the possibility of getting the state out of the printing businesses and declined.

At one point the Legislature considered closing the costly McNeil Island Corrections Center in order to shift inmates to more efficient prisons. That, too, was rejected.

So was a plan to consolidate three natural resources agencies into one to save on overhead.

What’s more, the state auditor in January produced a state government performance review that was chock full of ideas for savings that totaled some $3.8 billion. The vast majority were never considered.

So there you have it. I believe my constituents expect me as a legislator to deal with the current economic downturn in the same way they do in their homes and businesses, which is why I voted to keep Initiative 960’s taxpayer protections and voted against the final budget. I continue to believe the most effective way to safeguard core state services is to avoid the kind of new taxes and regulation that slow our economic recovery and the tax revenue it generates.

Stay in touch

Though you won’t be receiving this e-newsletter from me again for another seven months, I’ll still be on the job. And my district office in downtown Spokane will remain open.

So if you’ve got a question you need answering or a concern you need to express, please don’t hesitate to call. This is why I’m here.

Thanks for reading.

Sen. Marr E-Newsletter 5/7/2010

Senate Democrats — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:39:00 GMT

Friends and neighbors,

This week I've got some good news for you about the development of the North Spokane Corridor, a reminder about a new law limiting the use of cell phones while driving and a bit of an explanation about how our economy affects the state budget. So read on.

NSC project bids come in under budget

This week we learned that the latest North Spokane Corridor project to get underway became the first in the nation funded by federal stimulus dollars to solicit bids and the four received all came in below the $27.4 million estimate. You can read more about it here.

You may remember that last summer we opened up a 3.7 mile segment of highway between Francis Avenue and Farwell Road. Right now there is one lane dedicated for each direction, though it ultimately will serve as the northbound lanes of a divided highway. This latest project will build the southbound lanes.

Construction is set to begin this summer and finish late next year.

Of course, this is just one phase of the NSC megaproject. Two additional miles of highway between Farwell and Wandermere are under construction and funding has been approved to for right of way acquisition and preliminary engineering for the critical three-mile stretch from Francis to the Spokane River. Our next challenge will be securing construction funding for the latter.

You can learn more about the North Spokane Corridor here.

Distracted driving laws spreading

Three states last month banned the act of texting while driving, pushing the number of states with such prohibitions to 24.

Michigan, Kentucky and Nebraska are the latest, according to this story by Stateline.org. Of course, that leaves Washington well ahead of the game.

The Legislature approved an initial ban on driving while using a hand-held cell phone back in 2007, making it a secondary offense. That means violators could only be cited if they were pulled over for another violation, such as speeding.

This year lawmakers voted to make it a primary offense and the new restrictions will take effect June 10.

The Department of Licensing is promoting an awareness campaign in advance and is telling the story of one young Washington woman who lost her life in an accident that occurred shortly after she sent a pair of text messages just a few months ago.

How the economy affects the state budget

I truly believe that our state’s long-term ability to provide core government services is tied directly to job growth and overall economic recovery. That’s because it’s economic activity that drives tax collections. When people are out of work and businesses are shuttered, they don’t have money to spend on things that generate taxes.

We recently received an excellent illustration of this.

Some of you have wondered how it is that the Legislature could close a $9 billion budget gap last year only to face another $2.8 billion shortfall this year. Here’s how.

The Department of Revenue is reporting that taxable retail sales in Washington plummeted by 11.2 percent in 2009 to just over $100 billion. That decline in economic activity directly affects the state general fund budget, which gets almost half its money from the sales tax.

Sales in 2009 were off by 15 percent from the state’s high of $118.2 billion in 2007. It’s worth noting that the year-over-year declines in taxable retail sales for the first, second and third quarters of 2009 are the three largest quarterly declines on record.

You can find breakdowns of activity by city, county and industry here. Sales fell by 12.9 percent in Spokane and by 7.1 percent in Spokane County.

Keep in touch

My office remains open downtown to take your calls and e-mails if you’ve got a question or concern. I’m here to listen so please don’t hesitate to call or write.

Thanks for reading and I’ll be in touch next week with another update.

Sen. Marr E-Newsletter 4/30/2010

Senate Democrats — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:21:00 GMT

Friends and neighbors,

After taking just a few days to catch my breath from a grueling legislative session, I've launched into an aggressive interim schedule here in Spokane. I've spent the last couple weeks meeting with a series of groups and constituents to talk about the session and there's more on my schedule.

Here are a few quick updates on some noteworthy developments.

Favorable bid environment still saving money

Careful readers know that I’ve talked at length in recent months about how a favorable bid environment is saving taxpayers a pile of money on transportation projects, allowing more projects to be built for the same money. On average, construction bids are coming in about 17 percent below original engineering estimates.

That’s because contractors are hungry as ever in this lousy economy. A good local example is work being done on the North Spokane Corridor. Savings from initial phases of at the north end of the corridor are being used to purchase right of way for the three-mile segment from Freya Street south to the Spokane River.

I mention all this because the state recently witnessed perhaps the most glaring example of savings being realized due to a favorable bid environment. It turns out that the low bid for a major component of the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement in Seattle has come in an astonishing $40 million below original engineering estimates.

Originally, the Sodo portion of the viaduct replacement project was expected to cost $153 million. But the low bid came in at $114.6 million. In fact, all six bids came in below the original estimate for a project that will support 600 construction jobs.

We couldn’t have picked a better time for the state’s largest ever transportation construction campaign. It’s good for the economy and it’s great for taxpayers.

Price of tuition credits rises at midnight

If you’re one of the thousands of Washington families who already are investing in their kids’ college education through the state’s pre-paid college tuition program, you should know that today is your last chance to buy lump sum units at the $101 price. That’s because after midnight tonight, the price goes up to $117, a 15.8 percent increase.

That increase reflects the tuition increases at our state’s colleges and universities that were authorized by the Legislature for the coming academic year. Unfortunately, during economic downturns, state funding for higher education wanes because there are so few strings attached to it, making it easier to cut.

All this illustrates why locking in the cost of a college education today makes so much sense. If $101 per unit sounds like a lot today, consider what it will be in five, 10 or 15 years.

So if you’re interested in making a last-minute purchase, go here to learn how you can buy credits electronically before tonight’s deadline.

Stay in touch

I deeply appreciate the phone calls and e-mails constituents send to my office. Hearing your questions and concerns helps me keep in touch. So if you’ve got a question or want to weigh in on an issue, don’t hesitate to call. This is what I’m here for.

Thanks for reading and I’ll check in soon with another update.

Sen. Marr E-Newsletter 4/9/2010

Senate Democrats — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:17:00 GMT

Friends and Neighbors,

The Legislature's unfortunate special session is winding down and is due to expire on Tuesday. Members are in town and will work through the weekend to finish our work and head for home.

That’s the plan anyway. Let’s hope it sticks.

Answering your health care questions

A new report from the state’s Employment Security Department indicates that the percentage of Washington businesses providing health benefits to workers declined in 2009 for the fifth straight year.

In 2004, 67.8 percent of businesses offered benefits to full-time workers and 15.1 percent provided benefits to part-time workers. By last year that had dropped to 54.9 percent for full-time workers and 9.3 percent for part-time workers.

While there’s much disagreement over the merits of the health care reform bill enacted in Washington, D.C., I think we can all agree the current system isn’t working.

And like it or not, health care reform is coming. Many folks have lots of questions about it, questions like “do I have to change my health plan if I don’t want to?” and “am I required to purchase health benefits for my employees?”

The state Insurance Commissioner is an outstanding resource for these kinds of questions. You can find answers to frequently asked questions here and the agency’s main health care reform page here.

Washington ahead of the curve on work sharing

Stateline.org, which reports on legislative news occurring in all 50 statehouses, has posted a great story about work sharing programs that questions why more states don't have them.

Washington is one of just 17 that allow employers to reduce hours for employees who are then provided temporary unemployment benefits for the hours they lost. The program is designed to promote an alternative to layoffs and the Legislature bolstered funding for it last year.

In January the state Employment Security Department reported 2,800 Washington businesses and 51,000 workers were approved to participate in 2009, way up from 2008.

The Stateline.org story theorizes that more states don't start their own programs fearing that they would drain unemployment insurance trust funds. But it cites a study by the Congressional Research Service indicating such impacts would be minimal due largely to the fact that trust funds would be tapped by a similar degree to provide full benefits to workers who otherwise would have been laid off.

You can find out more about the Shared-Work Program here.

Keep in touch

I always appreciate the feedback I get from real people back home. It helps me stay in touch with the needs of the district. And often times I can help constituents get the answers they need. So don’t hesitate to call or write.

Thanks for reading and I’ll check back next week with another update.

Governor signs bill to boost craft distilleries

Senate Democrats — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:53:00 GMT

OLYMPIA -- A bill to bolster the state's burgeoning craft distillery industry by tripling the amount of spirits a craft distillery can produce each year was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Senate Bill 6485 was brought by Sen. Chris Marr, a Spokane Democrat who authored 2007's original craft distillery law. That defined a craft distillery as one that uses Washington-grown products to make up more than half of the ingredients used in the production of spirits. That gave rise to Spokane's Dry Fly Distilling, the state's first grain distillery since prohibition.

Selling in 17 states and Canada, the company has since grown beyond expectations to produce half its annual limit of 20,000 gallons allowed under state law.

“We needed to do something,” Marr said. “Here we’ve got a local success story exceeding all expectations and other distilleries popping up in other communities. We need to get out of the way and let them grow.”

Marr’s bill would push the annual production cap to 60,000 gallons and would allow all domestic distillers to pour spirits at special occasions in Washington.

So far, two other craft distilleries are selling spirits — Ellensburg Distillery and Soft Tail Spirits in Woodinville —and Dukes Hill Distillery in Sedro Woolley has begun production. Ten other craft distilleries have been fully licensed and 16 more license applications are pending.

“We didn’t think we’d see so much activity so quickly,” Marr said. “But now that we are, we need to be able to accommodate rapid growth in this new industry.”

Sen. Marr E-Newsletter 3/26/2010

Senate Democrats — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:27:11 GMT

Friends and neighbors,

Unfortunately, the Legislature has been unable to resolve its differences over the budget and our special session is going to drag into a third week.

This certainly frustrates me as much as you. I’m eager to get back home and tend to business there. In fact, I made a special trip this week to attend some meetings before returning to Olympia for some floor votes.

This week I’ll give you an update on where things stand, let you know how the state is getting ready for health care reform and remind you of some key deadlines looming for anyone interested in signing up for the state’s pre-paid college tuition program.

Budget talks continue

Part of my frustration about this special session centers around the fact that it’s unlikely it’ll produce a balanced budget solution that I can support. As I’ve written before, I have grave concerns about raising taxes before we’ve done more to prioritize state spending.

At this point, the House and Senate are stuck on which taxes to raise — a conversation I want no part of. The Senate prefers a package that includes a temporary two-tenths of 1 percent sales tax increase. The House prefers a package that has a broader impact on businesses. Both contain some of the same elements, including extending the sales tax to bottled water and a new business and occupation surcharge for service businesses.

On Thursday the Senate requested that budget writers from the House and Senate meet in a conference committee in an attempt to strike a compromise.

So stay tuned.

Preparing for health care reform

Whether you like the federal health care reform legislation signed into law this week or hate it, one thing seems certain — it’s coming.

In Olympia, we’re still analyzing what exactly it’s going to mean for state government. And we know there’s a lot of work ahead for our state agencies as things move into the implementation phase.

That’s why the Senate approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 8409 on Thursday to create a 10-member legislative committee to plan for and oversee implementation. The federal legislation is multi-faceted and complex and will have different implications for different agencies.

And on a matter this important, I don’t think we want to leave implementation to our agencies alone without some legislative oversight.

GET enrollment deadline looms

If you’ve ever thought about signing up for Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition program to start saving for your kids’ college education, now is a good time. That’s because the deadline for new enrollees is Wednesday.

Once enrolled, participants have until April 30 to purchase tuition units at the current price of $101 per unit. It takes 100 units to cover the cost of a whole year at Washington State University and the University of Washington and fewer at the state’s regional universities and community colleges.

The unit price could be changed twice by the time enrollment re-opens in September. And remember that significant tuition increases are in the offing this fall at our state colleges and universities, making this a great time to lock in savings.

Keep in touch

I always appreciate your e-mail and phone calls and I encourage you to keep them coming. If you’ve got a question or concern, let me know how I can help. This is what I’m here for.

Thanks for reading this week and I’ll touch base next week with another update.

Sen. Marr E-Newsletter 3/19/2010

Senate Democrats — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:29:32 GMT

6th Legislative District March 19, 2010

Friends and Neighbors,

I’m as disappointed as anybody that I’m still writing from Olympia, where the Legislature’s special session appears as though it’s going to go into a second week. As you can imagine, I’m eager to get home.

This week I’ve got news about a bill I pushed through the Legislature this year and a new website that ought to be of use to anyone thinking about going back to school to be trained for a new career.

Bills get signed into law

While we’re all waiting for a breakthrough in budget negotiations, the governor has been busy signing bills into law. This week she signed a couple of mine.

I’ve written a couple times this session about Senate Bill 6627. That’s the bill I introduced to give people who live in Spokane and work in Idaho a new way to get the prescription drugs they need.

Well, I can happily report the governor signed it into law Wednesday.

Current law recognizes the increasingly mobile nature of our society by allowing Washington pharmacies to fill prescriptions written by physicians, osteopaths, dentists, podiatrists and veterinarians from neighboring states and British Columbia.

But pharmacists are not allowed to fill prescriptions written by advanced registered nurse practitioners in those states. My bill will change that when it takes effect in another three months, increasing access to prescription drugs for those who need them.

And just this afternoon the governor signed into law my bill to give cities with populations up to 300,000 the ability to annex into fire protection districts with a public vote. I introduced Senate Bill 6418 at the request of the city of Spokane so that larger communities such as Spokane could have more flexibility to determine the level of fire service they deem appropriate.

Find the college degree program that’s right for you

The state got more discouraging news this week when it was revealed that some of the job gains we made in January were lost in February. Unemployment is now at 9.5 percent.

This has sent lots of laid off workers to our state’s community colleges looking to get re-trained for new careers. And it’s no mystery why. Retraining programs have job placement rates of over 80 percent. And most people end up making more money in their new careers than they were making in their old ones.

But how do you find the right degree program that’s right for you? Well, the state’s Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board has introduced a cool new website that will help you sort through more than 5,000 public and private training programs.

You can find it at CareerBridge.wa.gov. There you’ll find detailed information about available programs by geographic region, average wages and job prospects by career choice, information about various training providers in Washington and even demographic information about students.

It’s a site that employers can use, too, to learn about which programs are developing the kinds of skills that they’re seeking in new hires. Check it out.

Keep in touch

It’s my great hope that when I sit down to write my next update, it’ll be from my downtown office in Spokane. I’m still hopeful legislative leaders will be able to wrap up budget negotiations quickly. But the gravity of the problems our state is facing makes reaching these final decisions all the more difficult.

In the meantime, feel free to call or write with your questions and comments. I’d love to hear from you.

Video: Legislative Update - March 15

Senate Democrats — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:20 GMT

Senate sends plan to bolster state’s craft distilleries to governor’s desk

Senate Democrats — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:46:00 GMT

OLYMPIA --The Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a bill Saturday to bolster the state's burgeoning craft distillery industry by tripling the amount of spirits a craft distillery can produce each year.

Senate Bill 6485 was approved 43-3 and now heads to the governor's desk to be signed into law.

“This is a big boost for a brand new industry that is showing surprising promise,” said Sen. Chris Marr, a Spokane Democrat who sponsored the bill. “But it needs room to grow. This bill gives it that room.”

Three years ago Marr sponsored legislation that defined a craft distillery as one that uses Washington-grown products to make up more than half of the ingredients used in the production of spirits. That spurred the rise of Spokane’s Dry Fly Distilling, the state’s first grain distillery since prohibition.

Selling in 17 states and Canada, Dry Fly already is producing half the 20,000 gallons allowed under the law each year. Marr’s bill would push the cap to 60,000 gallons. It would further allow all domestic distillers to pour spirits at special occasions in Washington.

Other craft distilleries are springing up in Washington, too. Two — Ellensburg Distillery and Soft Tail Spirits in Woodinville — have started selling spirits in Washington and Dukes Hill Distillery in Sedro Woolley has begun production. Eight other craft distilleries have been fully licensed and at least 16 more license applications are pending.

“We didn’t think we’d see so much activity so quickly,” Marr said. “But as the folks at Dry Fly are demonstrating, we need to be ready to accommodate rapid growth in this industry.”

Sen. Marr E-Newsletter 3/6/2010

Senate Democrats — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:53:00 GMT

Friends and Neighbors,

We're about to begin Day 55 of this year's 60-day session and yesterday we reached a notable milestone. By 5 p.m. all bills unrelated to the budget had to have been approved in some form by both the full House and full Senate.

Today I’m going to give you a rundown of where some of my bills stand that is literally up to the minute, share a bit of good news on the job front. But first I’m going to explain my position against a proposed high earners income tax.

High earners income tax a bad idea

By now you may have read about a proposal introduced this week to ask voters this fall to create a high earners income tax that would allow the state to reduce the state sales tax all of us pay. Let me say up front that I think this is a bad idea with few prospects.

I could talk about what impact a tax like this would have on our economic growth and an array of other reasons why this doesn’t add up.

But at the core of the issue is this: Washington citizens don’t support on an income tax. If we’re going to undergo a major overhaul of our tax system, the public has to be on board. It isn’t and neither am I.

State sees first job growth in 14 months

It’s been a long time coming but on Monday we received word that Washington employers in January added about 12,400 jobs to their payrolls.

In a state of 6 million people and with an unemployment rate of 9.3 percent, that’s not many. But it is a move in the right direction. It’s the first time we’ve seen job growth since November 2008.

The small surge was relatively broad based with most sectors seeing gains. Retail trade, construction and educational and health services led the way.

Of course, we need much, much more job growth if we’re going to lift ourselves out of the economic mire. But this is a start.

Bills on their way to the governor

Throughout this session I’ve tried to keep you up to date on some of the more noteworthy bills I’ve brought to the Legislature. As I mentioned earlier, we reached a key cutoff deadline at 5 p.m. today. So as of this moment, here’s where some of my bills stand.

* Senate Bill 6627 is my bill to allow Washington pharmacies to fill prescriptions written by advanced nurse practitioners in Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia. This bill recognizes the increasingly mobile nature of our society and is one small step to provide greater access to prescription drugs. Both the House and Senate passed this bill unanimously and it’s on its way to the governor’s desk for signature.

* Senate Bill 6485 would triple the volume of spirits our state’s craft distilleries are allowed to produce each year. It was inspired by the uncanny success of Spokane’s 3-year-old Dry Fly Distilling, which already is halfway to the existing production cap as its reach is rapidly growing. This bill has been approved in both chambers and needs one final tweak in the Senate before heading to the governor’s desk.

* Senate Bill 6418 is my bill which I brought at the request of the city of Spokane that would give cities with population up to 300,000 the ability to annex into fire protection districts with a public vote. This would give larger communities such as Spokane more flexibility to determine the level of fire service they deem appropriate. This bill also has been approved by both the House and Senate and is on its way to the governor’s desk.

* Senate Bill 6363 would double penalties assessed to motorists who speed through school zones. Both chambers have approved the bill unanimously, sending it to the governor.

* House Bill 2464 is the House version of my bill to double fines for motorists who speed past law enforcement or emergency vehicles stopped on the roadside while responding to a call. This bill also has been approved in both chambers but needs one final vote in the House to reconcile small differences.

Keep in touch

We’re down to our last week of this year’s 60-day session and will likely work through the weekend, straight through Thursday night in an effort to get our work done on time. If you have questions or comments, you can still call my office or, even better, send me an e-mail.

Thanks for reading.