Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 23, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke’s Statement on Legislative Budget Proposals

Gov. Gary Locke today issued the following statement on the state House and Senate budget proposals:

“I am pleased the legislative budget writers in both chambers have laid out their spending priorities, but I am surprised at the significant differences in these two proposals.

“I applaud the House Democrats for the direction they take on higher education enrollments but don’t understand how Senate Republicans can disregard the clear need to make room for more students in our state colleges and universities.

“And I am especially disappointed and surprised at the Senate Republican proposal to remove thousands of the state’s poorest people from minimum state aid.

“While the Senate Republican budget proposes more business tax cuts, they virtually ignore the compelling need to open the doors at our colleges and universities to thousands more higher education applicants for whom there is no space. We must continue to improve our tax climate, but we also must provide places at our colleges and universities for all qualified high school graduates to make business tax incentives meaningful.

“There is bipartisan agreement that Washington’s economic engine is education. Targeted tax incentives play a vital role, but without an educated workforce, businesses will have a hard time filling job vacancies with Washington residents.

“Our state Competitiveness Council, comprising some of the state’s most prominent business leaders, supports my plan to spend $30 million to expand college enrollments by as many as 5,200 fulltime students - more than half of them in high-demand fields such as nursing, computer science and engineering.

“The Senate Republicans proposal to spend just $2.5 million to provide 227 additional higher education seats for high demand professions is shortsighted. Now is the time to act boldly, and I support the House Democrats approach to spend nearly the same amount as I proposed to significantly boost college enrollments.

“Meanwhile, the Senate Republicans propose to save $15.8 million by putting harsh time limits on recipients of General Assistance Unemployable (GAU) benefits and medical care. These disabled men and women are among the poorest of the poor who survive on state cash payments of $340 a month. The Senate Republicans recommend reducing the time in which recipients can receive the benefit to six months within a given year, and - for a small group of undocumented workers - no more than one year within a lifetime.

“I oppose the Republican proposal to gut the GAU program. This hastily conceived policy change has no place in supplemental budget deliberations with only 17 days left before adjournment - especially when there is no need to make these cuts at this time.

“I also am concerned that the Senate Republicans are ignoring the needs of struggling families.

“House Democrats would meet the need to help struggling students in public schools meet the state’s high academic standards, while the Senate Republicans would leave these kids behind.

“I also applaud House Democrats for recognizing the need to soften the blow of new health insurance premiums that will be charged to parents of children receiving state-subsidized health care for children. I urge the Senate Republicans to do the same.”

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