Latest news with #SenateWaysandMeans
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State plans to close all hotel, motel shelters this summer
BOSTON (SHNS) – The state will close its remaining motel and hotel shelters this summer, Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday, as the governor and lawmakers have imposed restrictions on the emergency housing system over the past year and family enrollment has declined. Thirty-two hotel shelters remain, down from a peak of 100 in the summer of 2023. Healey set a goal this year to eliminate the use of hotels and motels in the Emergency Assistance shelter system by the end of 2025. A press release from the Healey administration says the total number of families in shelter recently dropped below 5,000 for the first time since July 2023, and is expected to drop below 4,000 families this summer. 'Since the start of 2025, double the number of families have exited shelter (approximately 2,500) than have entered shelter (approximately 1,100). Approximately 85-90 percent of families seeking shelter are now longtime Massachusetts families,' it says. Caseloads exploded at the end of 2022, as a surge of immigration strained the system. Healey declared a state of emergency in 2023. The state has spent about $1 billion annually on the system for the past two years, and Democrats have turned to more restrictive measures to control enrollment and curb costs. Healey unilaterally capped the number of families the system could hold at 7,500 in the fall of 2023 and state officials have tightened eligibility, limited how long families can stay, and implemented stricter security. 'When we took office, homeless families were being placed in hotel shelters across the state,' Healey said in a statement. 'A hotel is no place to raise a family, and they are the least cost effective. That's why we implemented reforms to lower caseloads and the cost of the shelter system. We also promised to close all hotel shelters by the end of the year. I'm pleased that we are ahead of schedule, with more families getting jobs and moving to stable housing.' Asked about the administration's announcement, Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues pointed to the Legislature's passage of reforms that he said led to 'real material changes in the number of occupants in the EA system.' 'We are appropriating the same as the House, $275 million, in that system this year,' Rodrigues said. 'We are hopefully not going to have to supplement that in the future. So kudos to the administration. We were expecting all of the hotels to be, stop using hotels for shelter sometime by the end of the calendar year, not by the end of summer. That's good.' WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate working 'around the clock' on spending plans
BOSTON (SHNS) – Senate Democrats plan to roll out a surtax-backed spending bill Thursday and vote on it next week, inching the state closer to big education and transportation investments. Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues told the News Service Wednesday that he will unveil the supplemental budget during a Thursday morning press conference in his office, followed by debate next Thursday. Senators will be able to file amendments until 2:30 p.m. Monday, the Westport Democrat said. The House passed its $1.3 billion supplemental budget, fueled by excess income surtax revenues, on April 9. Representatives allocated $353 million for education and $828 million for transportation. Revenues from the 4% surtax on household income above $1 million per year must be spent on education and transportation, according to the constitutional amendment voters approved in 2022. The branches will eventually settle spending differences, likely with a six-person conference committee. 'There are different priorities, and we will explain all that tomorrow,' Rodrigues said after a private caucus with Senate Democrats. Senate Democrats are also preparing to announce their fiscal 2026 budget proposal. The House is on its third day of budget deliberations. Rodrigues, pressed whether the Senate budget could come out next week, said, 'We are gearing up to release our budget very soon, yes.' 'We don't have a date certain yet,' he continued. 'We're ready. Senate Ways and Means has been working around the clock, literally since February, in writing both the Fair Share budget and the FY '26 budget.' The Senate plans to tackle the budget 'in May, just before Memorial Day,' Senate President Karen Spilka told the Springfield Regional Chamber at a State House event Wednesday morning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WA Democrats reveal final operating budget deal, but the hard part is passing it
It's here. After weeks of working behind the scenes, Washington state Democratic lawmakers released their much-anticipated operating-budget deal Saturday morning. Both chambers will need to give it the green light with a vote, and Gov. Bob Ferguson will still need to sign it. Senate Ways and Means Chair June Robinson, an Everett Democrat, said lawmakers worked hard to land on the final proposal. 'It's probably not the budget that we thought we were going to be writing a year ago,' she said — but it's one that would address the state's fiscal challenges while funding 'core services that the people of Washington … depend on.' House and Senate Democrats released their respective plans late last month to balance the state's budget, which faces a shortfall between $7.5 billion and $16 billion, depending on who's asked. Ferguson said April 1 that he wouldn't sign either one. Both relied too much on taxes, he said at the time. Democrats switched gears and released an updated $12 billion-over-four-years tax package earlier this month. The governor still wasn't pleased, calling the plan 'too risky' amid looming federal-level funding threats. Senate Republicans, by the way, proposed their own budget, one that wouldn't raise taxes. But Ferguson also said that an all-cuts budget isn't the solution either. Democrats on Saturday unveiled a $77.9 billion, two-year spending deal. They also suggested $5.9 billion in cuts and roughly $8.7 billion added in revenue over the four-year budget outlook. Here are some initial takeaways from the latest budget plan. Democrats floated a bevy of tax ideas this session. The majority party's messaging homed in on increasing taxes for wealthy residents and large businesses, but Republicans and critics said that many of the proposals would also hit everyday Washingtonians' wallets. Some revenue-package ideas include hikes on business and occupation (B&O), capital gains and estate taxes. Other revenue legislation: the so-called Tesla tax and House Bill 2015, a Ferguson priority that would provide $100 million in police-hiring grants. House Appropriations Chair Timm Ormsby said that while lawmakers are interacting with Ferguson's team, the proposal 'wasn't about a relationship.' Rather, he said, it was about getting the budget-job done. Neither Ormsby nor Robinson would speculate on whether the governor would sign the budget. '(The executive branch is) their own branch of government,' Robinson said. 'And I cannot predict, nor do I know, what they will choose to do.' Robinson described hits to the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), a state-funded prekindergarten program for qualifying low-income families. Early ECEAP for kids ages 0 to 3 is completely unfunded in the budget, although the structure remains so that it can be funded in the future. ECEAP entitlement has also been delayed, but there is a 5% rate increase, Robinson said. When rolling out his own budget ideas, Ferguson suggested that state employees take one-day-per-month furlough days for two years. The Senate opted for 13 days over one year, while the House didn't include furloughs at all. The state-employees' union has lambasted lawmakers and the governor for considering furloughs, qualifying them as a 'betrayal.' So, where did lawmakers ultimately land? No furloughs, and collective bargaining agreements would be honored. 'The state needs to be a model employer,' Ormsby said. 'We need to project outward to the rest of the state what it looks like to appreciate the work that people do, compensate them fairly and keep them employed.' Ferguson has advised lawmakers to leave the Budget Stabilization Account, nicknamed the Rainy Day Fund, untouched. He urged them to prepare for more potential cuts from the federal government, given Trump 2.0's ongoing slash-and-burn spree. Although the Senate had initially mulled tapping the fund, Saturday's final proposal would leave it alone. Ferguson said in a statement Saturday evening he's pleased to see that lawmakers' budget maintains the Rainy Day Fund to help prep for the Trump administration's chaos. He's also glad that it boosts the state's investment in K-12 education and includes a $100 million grant program for law-enforcement hiring, per his request. 'That said, I will be carefully reviewing the budget after it is adopted by the Legislature,' Ferguson continued. 'I appreciate the hard work of legislators to finish the session on time.' Both House and Senate lawmakers' budget proposals recommended closing the state-run Rainier School residential habilitation center for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, located in Buckley in Pierce County. The lower chamber had also sought to close Yakima Valley School in Selah. Republican lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee walked out in protest after the Senate's version passed out of committee April 23. Democrats' current budget deal would close Rainier School, but not Yakima Valley School. State Rep. Travis Couture, the House Republican budget lead, was not present at Saturday morning's conference committee meeting. Both he and Sen. Chris Gildon, his upper-chamber counterpart, have expressed frustration about Republicans' lack of inclusion during the negotiation process. Gildon said Saturday's budget was a 'complete rehaul … done in private.' 'I honestly believe that it brings shame on the Legislature for doing it this way, and it brings shame on the people of Washington state,' the Puyallup Republican said, adding that Saturday morning was the first time he'd seen the more than 1,300-page budget document. But Ormsby said that the process has occurred throughout his time in the Legislature, regardless of which party was in charge. In an interview, Couture detailed concerns about 'the unsustainable, largest tax increase in state history, on top of a massive increase in spending.' The Allyn Republican also worries about revenue proposals, such as the B&O tax increase, hurting the state's businesses and economic health. 'These are good taxes if you want business to move to Idaho or to another state, Arizona — you name it — where it's more competitive and a more friendly business and economic environment,' he said. 'And that means less jobs.' The 2025 legislative session ends Sunday, April 27.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State budget expected Saturday as WA legislative session enters final days
The Brief With Sunday's end to the legislative session nearing, budget leaders said they have agreed on a proposal after negotiations to settle differences between the House and Senate. Democrats said they stuck to their values while having to make "significant cuts," but Republicans say they were cut out of the process. OLYMPIA, Wash. - Lawmakers have reached a deal for a two-year operating budget, though crucial elements of the proposal are still being worked out in these final days of the legislative session. "We're pretty much coming to the end of the budget process," said Sen. Derek Stanford, D-Bothell. What they're saying The Senate Ways and Means vice chair said the final budget will be released on Saturday, with votes to follow throughout the weekend. This comes after the House and Senate passed their own versions earlier this month, and went into the conference committee process to settle their differences. While he would not go into specific details about the negotiated budget, Stanford said there have been substantive changes from the Senate's initial $78.5 billion proposal – including "significant cuts" because the state will be bringing in less revenue than budget writers originally proposed. "But we want to stick to our values and put people first, and try to focus especially on funding public schools and housing," he said. "But it has been a difficult process with the budget situation." The budget will depend on various revenue proposals like increases on business, capital gains and sales taxes. The bills introduced last week are still going through the legislative process in these final days of the session, including votes in Senate Ways and Means on Friday. Though Stanford feels good about their prospects. "We don't want to have to reopen things and make major changes, but it looks like there's a path forward from where we are now," he said. The other side On the other side, legislative Republicans continue to criticize the budget and tax proposals fundamentally and procedurally. "Legislators are being asked to raise taxes without understanding the necessity for doing so," said House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary at a press conference Wednesday. "Nobody has seen the final conference budget yet. Legislators have no idea how necessary these taxes are, how many cuts they're going to stave off and how many cuts are going to be made," he added. Senate Republican budget leader Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, said he has been shut out of conference negotiations, frustrated with substantive changes being made behind closed doors and tax bills being rushed through the legislative process. "It's a disservice to the people of Washington state to introduce a bill on a Wednesday–a series of bills on a Wednesday, pass them out of the Senate on a Saturday," he said about the tax proposals. "With that limited amount of public input, time for public input, I think it's a travesty, it's an injustice to the people of Washington state." In terms of meeting Sunday's deadline for the legislative session to end, Stanford said it is his "expectation that we will finish on time." The Source Information in this story is from Albert James, a television reporter covering state government as part of the Murrow News Fellowship program – a collaborative effort between news outlets statewide and Washington State University. Othello, WA woman's arrest sparks national debate on immigration enforcement Passenger removed from Seattle plane after making 'inappropriate comment' Jeffrey Zizz charged in kidnapping, murder of WA grandmother How to watch, stream 2025 NFL Draft WA caregiver charged with sexually assaulting disabled teen 'Assault of any kind is disturbing': Seattle bar brawl suspect arraigned To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Latest deadline in Washington Legislature fells more bills
The Washington state Capitol building in 2024. (Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard) More legislation fell by the wayside Friday in the Washington Legislature, including bills on signature gathering for ballot initiatives, free school meals and ballot box tampering. Friday was the deadline for bills to pass through fiscal committees, like Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations. With a multibillion-dollar deficit hanging over the session, bills creating new or expensive programs have proven to be a tough sell. The latest casualties come a week after the legislative session's first deadline knocked out a slew of bills. Legislation next needs to be passed out of the chamber where it originated by March 12. But bills deemed 'necessary to implement the budget,' like those that include new taxes, are immune from these deadlines. And it's possible lawmakers could find creative ways to revive their proposals in the budget process. The session is slated to end April 27. Here's a sampling of the bills that failed to leap the latest hurdle. A Democratic-backed bill dubbed the 'initiative killer' by its Republican opponents is now dead. Senate Bill 5382 would've required signature gatherers for initiatives to sign a declaration that information written by signers is accurate and they were not paid for their signature. It also directed the secretary of state to verify the address listed by a person on an initiative or referendum petition. The state's initiative process allows citizens to propose changes in law on the ballot or to the Legislature. Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs opposed the bill. And last week, Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen said the bill was not 'a major caucus priority.' It lapsed in Senate Ways and Means without a vote. This isn't the year for a bill that would've offered free breakfast and lunch to all public school students. Currently, around 70% of public school students have access to free meals. It would cost about $120 million a fiscal year to cover 100% of students. Gov. Bob Ferguson identified the expansion as a priority and many lawmakers signed on in support of the legislation. But the price tag for House Bill 1404 remained a concern given the deficit and other expensive K-12 education bills. For years, Democrats in Olympia have tried to establish an independent prosecutor to handle cases where police have used deadly force. Reworking the plan to move the prosecutor inside the existing Office of Independent Investigations in the governor's office, instead of situating it in the attorney general's office, wasn't enough to get it over the finish line. Senate Bill 5584 simply cost too much in a year with a major budget deficit. 'There are a lot of good bills we'd like to advance this year, this one included, but we're dealing with a very difficult budget reality,' said the measure's prime sponsor, Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond. The bill fizzled out in Senate Ways and Means. Immigrants in the U.S. without legal authorization aren't eligible for unemployment benefits. Senate Bill 5626 and House Bill 1773 intended to change that, creating a separate unemployment safety net using state dollars. Asked about the bill this week, House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon noted the tough path for bills that create new programs or benefits. Federal funding for the Victims of Crime Act State Plan has been in decline. The program provides legal advocacy, therapy, emergency shelter and forensic exams to domestic violence survivors and other crime victims. Proposals in the House and Senate would have required Washington to ensure the fund has $50 million every year through 2029, $60 million every year through 2033 and $70 million every year starting in 2033. Advocates said that without stable funding services for crime victims could be in jeopardy — after-hours hotlines could be shut down, emergency shelter capacity would shrink and fewer legal advocates would be available resulting in fewer people being helped. Under Washington law, anyone except a legal parent or guardian can get paid to provide care, like bathing, dressing or managing medical needs, to a child under 18 who has an intellectual or developmental disability. Parents are eligible for this pay only after their child becomes an adult. Families often struggle to find caregivers due to the lack of people doing this work. House Bill 1200 and Senate Bill 5211 would have required the state's Developmental Disabilities Administration to ask the federal government for permission to use Washington's Medicaid funding to pay parents of minors with developmental disabilities. The Senate version of the legislation was teed up for a possible committee vote on Friday evening, but Senate Ways and Means declined to move it. Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, as recently as Tuesday was celebrating progress on his bill to reduce student absences in Washington's public schools. Senate Bill 5007 aimed to, among other things, train staff to identify warning signs of chronically absent kids and get them support to engage in school. The bipartisan measure had a hearing in Senate Ways and Means, and was scheduled for a committee vote Thursday but never saw action. House Bill 1420 would have required the state's Department of Ecology to oversee end-of-life management of apparel and textiles, similar to programs that handle the disposal of electronics, pharmaceuticals, paint, and batteries. This bill would have required apparel and textile producers to pay fees to a 'producer responsibility organization' responsible for collecting, sorting, and recycling waste. There's a public defender and prosecutor shortage in Washington, especially in rural areas. Senate Bill 5027 would have established a law school loan repayment program to help attract and retain lawyers for these jobs. Low pay is one of the reasons attorneys have cited for leaving the positions. A bipartisan proposal would've let local governments permit 'kit homes' in any single-family zone. These premade homes can be built relatively quickly and inexpensively. Supporters say they're another way to expand housing options as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle scramble to get more homes built for the state's growing population. After passing through a housing committee unanimously, Senate Bill 5249 didn't get a hearing in Ways and Means. A modest, bipartisan measure aimed to keep ballot boxes secure after votes were destroyed in an arson last year. Senate Bill 5011 would have required each visible side of ballot boxes to display two messages. One would note the box is the property of the county that bought the box. The other would state tampering with the box may violate state and federal law. The signage would've cost an average of $1,000 for each of the state's over 500 ballot boxes, with counties footing the bill and the state potentially reimbursing them. House Bill 1147 would've established 'a right to civic engagement' for people in prisons, state hospitals and other institutionalized settings. This right would have covered things like forming political organizations, organizing and communicating with community groups and elected officials, and accessing spaces for meetings. The bill also would have created a civic engagement coordinator in the state's Office of Equity. People in state prisons have become more active in advocating in the Legislature in recent years, especially as remote testimony became an option. But incarcerated activists have also complained of difficulties in engaging in the political process. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs testified against the bill. He said there's a position in his office focused on issues the bill was trying to address, and suggested lawmakers keep the job funded via a budget proviso. The Department of Corrections and Department of Social and Health Services stayed neutral on the bill.
