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Legislator laments lack of progress [The Peninsula Gateway (Gig Harbor, Wash.)](Peninsula Gateway (Gig Harbor, WA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) June 19--State Rep. Jan Angel did not hide her disdain Thursday morning for the fact the state Legislature had just started its second special session the day before in an ongoing attempt to produce an operating budget. "This is my 13th session," said Angel, R-Port Orchard, who is serving her fifth year as a representative from the 26th legislative district. "I now have more special sessions than regular sessions." Angel said the state will have about $2 billion more to spend for the 2013-15 budget than the last time the Legislature wrote a budget, without any new tax hikes -- a 7 percent growth in revenue. She was critical of the House of Representatives, of which she is a member, and she trumpeted the fact her counterparts in the Senate came up with a budget during the regular 105-day legislative session that ran from Jan. 14 through April 28. That was followed by a 30-day special session that resulted in no House budget. "They got their work done, and they got it done on time," Angel said of the Senate during the weekly Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Public Affairs Forum at Cottesmore of Life Care. "We have a budget that is not done in one house." That's easier said than done, although there was some good news on the budget front. An agreement overnight Thursday -- and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee early Friday -- on an estate tax bill was the first significant agreement on budget issues. That measure, a legislative fix to a ruling that could have resulted in millions of refunds issued to estates, saved $160 million for the budget plan on which lawmakers are currently trying to reach agreement. They face a $1.2 billion budget shortfall for the two-year cycle that ends June 30, 2015. That doesn't include about $1 billion in additional funds that lawmakers are seeking in response to a court-ordered requirement that the state spend more on its basic education system. Budget talks during the first special session got hung up as the Democrat-led House and the Republican-steered Senate could not resolve differences over revenues and government reforms. Angel characterized the big difference between the two sides as the House wanting new taxes on businesses and individuals. When House Democrats passed their controversial tax-increase legislation on April 24, it contained a section that would permanently extend the business and occupation surtax on service businesses, Angel said. "This would have impacted many of you in this room," she told business leaders. When House Republicans requested a list of the service businesses that would be impacted by the tax, Angel said it was not readily available. House Republicans worked with the state Department of Revenue to compile a comprehensive list, she said. Once that list was publicized, House Democrats abandoned the proposal, Angel said, but they returned near the end of the special session with seven tax exemptions and preferred rates. "One person's tax loophole is another person's job," Angel said. Any new tax increases could be detrimental to the state's economy, she said. "The state of our economy right now is fragile," Angel said. "Now we are beginning to see signs of a recovery. New tax hikes could send the economy back into a recession or tailspin." Another tax proposal in the mix also did not sit well with Angel. The "telecom tax" is the result of a complicated court case in which Sprint prevailed and the state settled with the telecommunications company out of court for an undisclosed amount of money, thus opening up the state to similar lawsuits from other telecommunications companies, Angel said. Legislation aimed at that problem essentially would eliminate the sales tax exemption for residential telephone service and bring in additional revenue during the 2013-15 biennium, Angel said. Essentially, the measure would treat residential, cable and cell phone companies the same regarding taxes, whereas cell phone companies previously did not enjoy the same tax exemptions as residential phone service. While the measure would avert potential lawsuits from cell phone companies against the state, it would mean a monthly increase for residential land-line service that would hit rural customers especially hard, Angel said. Angel did not spare Inslee from criticism. She took issue with his partisan tone right before the start of the second special session last week. "You've got to have a leader to bring people together to have that conversation," she said of working out a budget compromise. As things stand, Angel said there are two paths to a budget: Adopting the Senate budget "without job-killing taxes," or pass the House budget, which will "stifle job creation and hurt families." Reporter Brett Davis can be reached at 253-358-4151 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter, @gateway_brett. ___ (c)2013 The Peninsula Gateway (Gig Harbor, Wash.) Visit The Peninsula Gateway (Gig Harbor, Wash.) at www.thenewstribune.com/gigharbor Distributed by MCT Information Services |