Free Republic

OLYMPIA—Today the Evergreen Freedom Foundation released a report on the use of the “emergency clause” during the 2007 Washington Legislative Session. A bill with an emergency clause goes into effect immediately after it is signed by the governor and prevents citizens from running a referendum on the bill. According to the Washington Constitution, this device should only be used when the law is “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions.” The report analyzes how legislators used the emergency clause this session and how Governor...

OLYMPIA—Today, Governor Gregoire signed House Bill 2079. The bill amends a statute that requires unions to get permission from nonmembers before spending their fees on political activity. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of this statute in two cases brought by teachers and the state Attorney General against the Washington Education Association. During committee hearings legislators disregarded the Attorney General’s office warnings that the bill is vulnerable to a Constitutional challenge. In a letter sent to lawmakers, the Office of the Attorney General warned that HB 2079 could expose the state to further litigation by adopting a...

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation has three immediate job openings. EFF is a private, non-profit, public policy research organization in Washington state. Its mission is to advance individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited and accountable government. Its primary research areas are budget and taxes, education, health care, welfare, and citizenship and governance. Within those areas it publishes studies, conduct seminars, and works to provide information for legislators, journalists and the general public. EFF's core belief is that a freedom loving people must understand the principles from which freedom is derived. EFF's objective, therefore, is to disseminate those key ideals and motivate...

If you want an example of what not to do when creating a budget, look no further than the $30 billion-plus budget adopted by the legislature this session. The budget violates the most basic premise of creating any financial plan: don’t spend more than you expect to make. The legislature’s spending knowingly exceeds forecasted revenue by nearly $1.3 billion. This excessive spending results in substantial projected deficits for future biennia. Majority Democrats are embarking on a grand experiment of “faith-based budgeting.” They have decided the expert economists must be wrong and that the economy will continue to outpace historic and...

The following report by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation details the current prison capacity quandary and the massive capacity shortages Washington is facing in the next ten years. Steady population growth and tougher sentencing laws have added pressure to the already-saturated prison system, which has led to criminals being released early. Without immediate action on the part of legislators, the state can expect a shortfall of 4,077 prison beds by 2017. The shortages are endangering the safety of inmates, staff, and neighboring communities. The state’s prisons have an operational capacity of 14,440 beds, but the actual number of prisoners in these...

Washington State officials are sharply divided over two proposals that would use tax dollars to subsidize a NASCAR race track and a basketball arena for the Seattle Supersonics of the National Basketball Association. The bills combined would dole out more than $500 million in taxpayer subsidies for the private sports facilities. Florida-based International Speedway Corp. (ISC) and Sonics owner Clay Bennett are pushing hard to secure funding for their respective projects. ISC officials are promoting an 83,500-seat race track as a revenue-generating economic development project. They say the track would attract crowds of out-of-state race fans and generate enough additional...

Imagine you were told that federal revenues increased by $255 billion in 2006. Now suppose that before you could reach for the party hats and streamers, you learned that during the same time period the federal government spent $450 billion more than it received in revenues. Even before this grim reality sets in, let’s say you also learned that the federal government’s total fiscal exposures, including promised entitlements, have grown to more than $50 trillion. With these facts in hand, would you say America is facing a revenue problem or a lack of fiscal discipline? This is a question that...

The Legislature is poised to pass a bill that circumvents a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling, thwarts the will of the voters, and could subvert the First Amendment rights of teachers. Why? As Washington State Senator Margarita Prentice said, “In union there’s strength, and there’s a reason why unions exist, and why they have [this] kind of power—and I think we need to do everything we can to preserve that.” House Bill 2079 concerns the use of union dues for political activity. Workers in “agency shops” can be required to pay tribute for the union’s collective bargaining services. State law...

As a rule, planned budget expenditures should be based on prudent and conservative revenue assumptions. By taking this cautious approach, any revenue surprises will more than likely be positive than negative, avoiding the prospect of drastic cuts or tax increases to balance the budget. Unfortunately, the budgets adopted by the House and Senate knowingly exceed forecasted revenue, creating a forecasted deficit even without a downturn in the economy.By taking this irresponsible fiscal approach, majorities in the legislature are embarking on “faith-based” budgeting. The current budget proposals represent their faith that: 1) the state’s revenue forecasts are wrong and that the...

What does National Sunshine Week and the state’s budget have in common? Unfortunately, not much at the moment. Consider the fact lawmakers have held public hearings on critical state priorities like allowing dogs into bars and declaring the Walla Walla sweet onion as the official state vegetable, while failing to on bills that would shed public light on the state budget and allow taxpayers to easily search the details of state spending. HB 2342 introduced by Rep. Mark Miloscia (D-30) would make “state budget information available to the public” by authorizing a “Google-styled” budget database, modeled after a recent federal...

Tired of crisis budgeting? Here's a fiscal forecast that should bring a smile to your face. Last week the state Senate, by a vote of 45-3, adopted a constitutional amendment to create a rainy-day reserve account for the state budget. This long overdue reform requires a minimum of one percent of revenue every year be deposited into a rainy-day account and would require a 60 percent vote of the legislature to access the funds. The only exceptions to the super-majority vote requirement is if there is a significant economic downturn or a catastrophic life-threatening emergency like another major earthquake or...

OLYMPIA--Susan Wiggs, a Vancouver school teacher, has been attempting since August 2005 to divert her union dues to a charity that fights sex trafficking. Under state and federal law, teachers and other workers can opt out of union membership by claiming religious exemption, and can send their union dues to a charitable organization. Susan Wiggs' local union, however, has refused to send her dues to the charity of her choice. Wiggs' case against the Vancouver Education Association (VEA) was heard before the Public Employment Relations Commission on February 26, 2007, in Olympia. While the Vancouver Education Association agrees that she...

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify, and thank you to Representative Bailey for inviting me to comment on HJR 4218. My name is Jonathan Bechtle and I represent the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. Article I, Section 1 of the Washington constitution says that “all power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed….” The right of initiative and referendum are a part of this power that the people reserved to themselves, so any attempt by the legislature to deny this power should be severely limited....

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation has long been a thorn in Democrats’ sides, one that several of the party’s members at the state Capitol aim to pluck out this year. How else to explain two bills pending in the state Legislature that are bald-faced attempts to head off possible legal victories by the conservative think tank? The EFF, as it is wont to do, is duking it out with labor unions in court — and in at least one case, it looks like EFF will win. The most recent case stems from the foundation’s public records request for documents exchanged between...

Whether you want the state to spend more money or less, everyone should agree that the public needs to be able to easily access the details on what is bought, for what purpose, and what the performance results are for government expenditures. Currently if you want to learn the details on state spending you are forced to wade through hundreds of pages of appropriation bills, numerous state websites and publications, and be lucky enough to connect the dots to get the full picture behind these spending decisions. Thankfully, there is another way: a searchable budget database. Though not renowned for...

The best way to ensure integrity in political campaigns is to answer two questions: who gave money, and who got it? Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission has a new idea for helping citizens get these answers…. This is Jonathan Bechtle for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. A recent Seattle Times story highlighted current city rules allowing Seattle city council members to award government contracts of up to $241,000 without soliciting competitive bids. One councilmember recently granted a $37,000 contract to an organization run by longtime donors to his political campaigns. We’re not suggesting there is anything illegal about these deals. But the...

Was the 2004 election the downfall of United States Attorney John McKay? This is Jonathan Bechtle for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. John McKay, the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, was recently fired by the Justice Department without explanation, leading to much speculation over what he did wrong. Official sources cited “performance-related” reasons. We agree. McKay deserved to be fired over his performance in mishandling election crime investigations since 2004. Prior to the general election that year, McKay issued several press releases saying that election crime complaints would be “dealt with promptly and aggressively.” The Evergreen Freedom Foundation and others...

In the last five years, Washington has seen its unfunded liability for pensions increase dramatically. According to the June 2006 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the total unfunded actuarial liability has seen an eight-fold increase from $778 million to $6.4 billion. The Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) Plan 1 unfunded liability increased from $584 million to $3,997 million between 2000 and 2005. In the same period the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) unfunded liability increased from $194 million to $2,444 million. PERS & TRS Plan 1 Unfunded Actuarial Liability(Dollars in millions) 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 PERS Unfunded Actuarial Liability $584...

Click Here to Listen to AudioWhen is a contract worth more than half-a-billion dollars a public concern? When taxpayers have to fund it. This is Ryan Bedford for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. On February 8, 2007, seven unions filed for an injunction to stop the state from releasing documents generated during the negotiations between the state and the public employee unions last year. The most outstanding allegation in the unions’ compliant is, and I quote, “The information sought is of no legitimate concern to the public interest and is not in the public interest.” This is ludicrous. The contracts will...

Where’s the emergency? In Olympia, legislators can find one just about anywhere. Already this week we’ve told you about legislators attaching emergency clauses to a WEA bail-out bill and bills to fund a Sonics stadium and NASCAR racetrack. Whether it’s building new sports stadiums or helping unions, lawmakers are acting like there’s no tomorrow…