Gov. Gregoire and Legislature build a better future for Washington families

For Immediate Release: March 13, 2008

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today thanked members of the Legislature for their hard work and dedication as they adjourned the legislative session on time, having passed important legislation to protect the safety of Washington families while leaving significant savings for future needs.

�This legislative session we built a better future for Washington families by leaving a near- record surplus, and by addressing critical issues such as economic and housing security, patient safety, community safety and disaster relief,� Gregoire said. �We made substantial progress on the most important issues for families in our state. And much of our success was achieved with bipartisan consensus.�

�Working together for one Washington, we laid a solid foundation for the future,� said House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle. �Our investments in education, housing and transportation will benefit people all across the state.�

�The Senate, the House and the governor have an impressive record of working together over the past four sessions, getting a lot of good public policy done for the people of Washington, and getting done on time,� said Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane. �This year, we made real progress in education, job creation, housing and health care. We made long-term investments in storm relief, human services, public safety and the environment. And we left a bottom line of over $800 million dollars in the state budget.�

Substantial savings

The Legislature left a substantial amount of savings for the future � $835 million, including $446 million in the new constitutionally protected rainy day fund.

�I made it clear when the House and Senate budgets were unveiled that I would like to see more money in savings,� Gregoire said. �I appreciate the fact that the Legislature saved even more than either house had initially proposed.

�When I took office in January 2005, I inherited a $2.2 billion shortfall that was expected to grow to $5 billion by 2009. The Legislature is now leaving a substantial surplus in our state, in contrast to the 25 states currently facing deficits. We are the envy of many states across the nation.�

Economic Security

Significant steps were taken to improve economic security for Washington families, starting with housing. Legislation requested by the governor and passed by the House and Senate will significantly improve transportation safety and reduce congestion by authorizing the building of six new ferries, jump-starting construction of a new SR 520 bridge, and continuing progress on the Murray Morgan Bridge, Highway 2 between Goldbar and Monroe, the Columbia River crossing and the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Other actions taken this year to help the state�s economic future include:

• Helping people in need of affordable housing, funding successful programs to help homeless families transition to stable permanent housing, and providing assistance to those who own a home but are in danger of foreclosure;


• Increasing salaries for Washington teachers;


• Addressing global climate change by working toward a cleaner environmental future and sustainable economic development by laying the groundwork for creating green collar jobs; and


• Providing more access to water for eastern Washington agriculture, people and fish through agreements on Lake Roosevelt and the Columbia River.

Healthy Families

Legislation passed this year will improve safety for patients, children, vulnerable adults and seniors, and caregivers, such as:

• Improving patient safety through stronger licensing and disciplinary standards for all health care providers and the availability of real-time information for doctors and pharmacists to help reduce medication errors;


• Helping children by accelerating the hiring of new staff so that face-to-face visits with children in the state�s care are made every 30 days;


• Providing better assessments for high-risk and complex Child Protective Services cases so caseworkers can better identify serious issues requiring attention;


• Making investments to better protect vulnerable adults and seniors, including rigorous fatality reviews for deaths from abuse or neglect; and


• Funding for respite or training for 500 more unpaid caregivers so seniors and developmentally disabled adults can remain with their families.

Community Safety

Washington communities will be safer thanks to several measures requested by the governor that were passed by the Legislature, including:

• Continuation of Operation Crackdown, the governor�s statewide effort to hold offenders accountable to the full extent of the law;


• In-person verification of sex offenders� locations;


• A unified sex offender registry program; and


• Additional support for neighborhood partnerships with the state Department of Corrections.

Disaster Recovery

One of the primary purposes of a supplemental budget is to address unexpected emergencies, such as the storms that hit in early December. Legislation will help families and communities recover from this tragedy by providing funds to cover the state and local portions of federal disaster recovery programs and money for low-income housing.

Action was also taken to prevent similar disasters by supporting flood protection efforts for the Chehalis River basin.

The governor now has 20 days to take action on bills passed in the final five days of the session.