Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 12, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Outlines Priorities for 2004 Legislative Session

OLYMPIA – Jan. 12, 2004 – Gov. Gary Locke today outlined his priorities for the 2004 legislative session, and his final year in office, as the 58th Washington State Legislature convened in Olympia. Locke will present or support legislation this session that focuses mainly on his top three priorities: education, job creation and health care.

“We have made great strides in our state during the past seven years,” Locke said during his weekly news conference. “We have advanced education reform. We have made our state more competitive. We competed nationally and won final assembly of the Boeing 7E7 in Everett.

“We passed a $4.2 billion transportation-improvement package to help ease congestion and improve traffic safety across the state. We have successfully implemented welfare reform. We passed landmark legislation that will help reduce the high cost of prescription drugs for thousands of Washington citizens.

“We have accomplished great things, but we are not done yet. We can and must do more.”

In K-12 education, Locke is calling on the Legislature to:
· Refine and clarify the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), particularly regarding the Certificate of Mastery that students will be required to complete for graduation starting in 2008, allowing for retakes and alternative assessments;
· Strengthen the state’s Learning Assistance Program (LAP) and stabilize allocations to school districts that need the most help;
· Approve legislation supporting the development of charter or “opportunity” schools, to especially help struggling students meet state standards; and
· Allow school districts to collect the full amount of voter-approved levies.

In higher education, Locke is calling on the Legislature to:
· Approve legislation for increased enrollments for higher education, particularly in the high-cost, high-demand fields of computer science, nursing and engineering;
· Enable the Governor’s Office to negotiate pilot performance contracts with a limited number of state universities; and
· Approve legislation to bring the university admissions process in line with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action, which says schools can consider race when reviewing individual student applications but not quotas or “set asides.”

In job creation/economic development, Locke is calling on the Legislature to:
· Build on the success of the state’s 7E7 bid by passing legislation necessary to develop the project;
· Renew soon-to-expire tax incentives for high-tech research and development as well as to businesses that locate in rural parts of the state; and
· Make further progress on recommendations from the Washington Competitiveness Council, initially convened by Locke in 2001.

In health care, Locke is calling on the Legislature to approve his 2004 supplemental budget, which would:
· Reduce the impact of pending health care premiums to be charged parents of children receiving optional, state-sponsored Medicaid coverage;
· Increase the state’s reimbursement rate for family physicians providing childbirth services to Medicaid patients;
· Share more federal funding with public hospital districts; and
· Support rural health infrastructure with additional providers, school nurses, and technology support.

Locke will deliver his State of the State address tomorrow, Jan. 13, before a joint session of the Legislature that convenes at 3:30 p.m. at the Olympia High School Performing Arts Center in Olympia. The governor’s speech will be carried live on TVW, the state public affairs channel, at 4 p.m.

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