Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 23, 1997
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Office of Financial Management Communications Office at (360) 902-0525

Governor vetoes sections of budget; urges lawmakers to support education, health care, job training

OLYMPIA - Gov. Locke today vetoed major sections of the two-year state budget sent to him by the Legislature on Monday, saying they provide inadequate support for public education, health care, job training, water resources, and other key priorities.


Locke said his "constructive vetoes" were designed to focus lawmakers' attention on critical issues awaiting resolution in the remaining days of the 1997 Legislative Session.


"We have an opportunity to pass an outstanding education budget that will prepare our students and our schools for the 21st century," Locke said. "We shouldn't settle for anything less."


Locke said he was disappointed in the Legislature's education budget, which falls $106.2 million short of the amount he recommended for public schools, colleges and universities in the 1997-99 Biennium. Locke urged lawmakers to reconsider what he called "inadequate support" for education reform, levy equalization, student financial aid, teacher salaries, magnet schools, and state support for schools with a high percentage of disadvantaged students.


He also called on lawmakers to maintain the state's commitment to increase the availability of affordable health care through the Basic Health Plan, and to continue the state's current level of support for job training and retraining efforts for dislocated workers through the Employment Training and Trust Fund.


The budget approved by the Legislature last Sunday provides $69.7 million less for the Basic Health Plan than the Governor had proposed, freezing enrollment at current levels and increasing rates for low-income workers in need of affordable health care. It would also discontinue the Employment Training Trust Fund as a dedicated funding source for worker retraining and cut state support by $20 million from current levels.


"In my Inaugural Address, I pledged to judge every public policy by whether it helps or hurts Washington's working families," Locke said. "These actions by the Legislature simply do not pass that test."


Locke said he is also very concerned about the Legislature's proposed level of funding for water-resource management and other environmental issues. In announcing his veto actions today, the Governor distributed a strongly worded letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture warning that the Legislature's plan to cut funding for the bi-state Columbia River Gorge Commission by 70 percent could prompt the federal government to assume control of all permitting activities in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area.


"Unless our state takes care of its natural resources, the federal government may very well step in and do it for us," Locke said. "That would have serious implications for economic development in many areas of our state. In the matter of the Gorge Commission - and in the whole area of water-resource management and environmental protection - a modest investment now can save us a lot of grief down the road."


Although lawmakers agreed to a $8.5 million increase in funding for foster care, the Governor vetoed the proposed budget for children's services because the Legislature did not add a sufficient number of social workers to meet minimum requirements for protecting children from abuse and neglect.


Locke also expressed concern about the level of funding for several other priorities including the AIDS Prescription Drug Program and Growth Management Hearings Boards, but said he did not veto those sections because he believes progress can be made on those issues in his continuing discussions with legislative leaders.


Locke said the $19.2 billion operating budget he proposed in March addresses the state's needs in education and other key areas, while holding total expenditures within the limit established by Initiative 601 and providing $243.3 million in tax relief for homeowners and businesses. It would also hold the percentage increase in state spending to the lowest level in 25 years, and leave $300 million in reserve.


The legislative budget, as proposed in Substitute Senate Bill 6062, would authorize $192.8 million less in General Fund-State appropriations than initially proposed by the Governor, and well below the level allowed under Initiative 601.


"I really want to applaud the Legislature for sending me a budget in a timely fashion so we can work together to improve it," Locke said. "I understand the need for compromise but I don't think the state's interests are served by short-changing education and programs that help working families when we have the resources to support those services and still leave a prudent reserve."

» Return to this month's News Releases

» View News Release Archive