Sine Die

March 13, 2008

*As Written*

Thank you all for coming.

Tell me, is everybody as sad as I am that the Legislature is over? It�s so much more fun when they quit at 3 a.m, don�t you think?

I want to thank the Legislature for their hard work and dedication.

I am pleased that they adjourned on time. The last time the Legislature got out four sessions in a row was in 1943. They have passed important legislation to protect the safety of Washington families while leaving significant savings for future needs.

I am truly impressed by how much was accomplished in just two months. The Legislature made substantial progress on the most important issues for families in our state. And much of our success was achieved with bipartisan consensus.

A supplemental budget with a near record surplus was passed. Issues like disaster relief, patient safety and improved monitoring of sex offenders passed with strong support from both parties.

Budget

The Legislature left a healthy amount of savings for the future, nearly $835 million, including $446 million in the new constitutionally-protected rainy day fund. That�s $110 million more in savings than we saved at the end of the 2007 session.

While the state�s economy continues to outperform much of the rest of the country, it is not immune to slowing national economic trends.

I made it clear when the House and Senate budgets were unveiled that I would like to see more money in savings.

I appreciate the fact that the Legislature saved even more than either house had initially proposed.

Let�s put this in perspective: 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 contrast to the 25 states currently facing deficits. Believe me, we are the envy of many states around the nation. California is facing a $16 billion deficit�that�s about 15 percent of its budget!

Our new investments build on the successes of our 2007-09 biennial budget and legislation.

Legislative Session

Last year, we started the transformation of our education system, created a strong economic foundation, and helped ensure that Washingtonians stay healthy, especially our children, with greater access to high-quality, affordable health care.

This year, we built on that success and are leading the way towards a better future for Washington families. I am pleased that most of my highest priorities were addressed, including economic security, community safety, healthy families, and disaster response.

Our focus has been doing what�s right for both the present through targeted investments and for the future through substantial savings. Our investments will pay off in the long term through economic development, education, health care and a cleaner environment.

Sound management of taxpayer�s resources, like we addressed in this and recent legislative sessions, impressed the Pew Center Grading of the States and earned Washington a top tier ranking of how states manage their resources.

Economic Security

This session, significant steps were taken to improve economic security for Washington families, starting with transportation:

We made good progress in increasing safety in our transportation system and reducing traffic congestion. There is authorization to design and build six new ferries � historic for Washington state � to replace the unsafe Steel Electrics.

We jump-started construction of a new SR 520 bridge by authorizing tolling to fund its replacement. We learned during the session that the bridge can be completed four years earlier, saving up to $700 million.

We continued progress on the Murray Morgan Bridge, Highway 2 between Goldbar and Monroe, the Columbia River crossing, and the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Legislation passed at the request of the Speaker, Majority Leader and myself will help people who are in need of affordable housing, fund successful programs to help homeless families transition to stable permanent housing, and provide assistance to those who own a home but are in danger of foreclosure.

Other actions taken this year to help our economic future include:

Salary increases for Washington teachers.

Actions to address global climate change, the largest threat to our environment and economy. New legislation will help guide Washington to a cleaner environmental future and sustainable economic development by laying the groundwork for creating green collar jobs.

More access to water for agriculture, people and fish in eastern Washington 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.

We will improve patient safety by strengthening the licensing and disciplinary standards for all health care providers. We will also provide real-time information to doctors and pharmacists to reduce medication errors.

The budget helps kids 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 and providing better assessments for high-risk and complex Child Protective Services cases so caseworkers can better identify serious issues requiring attention.

Our investments to better protect vulnerable adults and seniors include rigorous fatality reviews when a vulnerable adult dies 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.

Safe Communities

Washington communities will be safer thanks to several measures I requested that were passed by the Legislature.

We are cracking down on sex offenders. All of us were deeply saddened by the murder of 12 year old Zena Linnik from Tacoma last summer. I promised her parents we would act to prevent future tragedies. And we have.

We now will require:

• In-person verification of sex offenders� locations. We will know with much greater certainty where sex offenders are once they�re released from prison.


• A unified sex offender registry program, so that citizens have an easier time tracking the whereabouts of offenders.


• Additional support for neighborhood corrections partnerships to make sure offenders live up to the conditions of their release.


• And continuation of Operation Crackdown, my statewide effort to hold offenders accountable to the full extent of the law.

As Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge said, we will never rid ourselves of the scourge of sex offenders, but we can do plenty more to reduce the number of victims -- and we are.

Flood Control

One of the primary purposes of a supplemental budget is to address unexpected emergencies, such as the storms that hit in early December.

These storms produced heavy rains, flooding, landslides, high winds and major road closures and caused extensive damage to homes, businesses, public utilities, public facilities and infrastructure throughout Washington.

Legislation with strong bi-partisan support � especially from those members from the affected legislative districts � will help families and communities recover from this tragedy by providing funds to cover the state and local portions of the federal discovery programs and money for low-income housing.

The legislation will help us take steps to prevent similar disasters in the future by providing flood protection for the Chehalis River basin.

Conclusion

I�m already signing early bills. I look forward to reviewing the rest of the legislation and the budget in greater detail over the coming weeks.

There are some who believe a short session is easier because it is fewer days. But to the contrary, it just means we have to work twice as fast! Thanks to the Legislature for their tireless efforts the last 60 days to improve the lives of the people of the state of Washington.