Honeyford Introduces Bill to Ban Bond Proceeds to Pay Employees

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Eastern Washington state Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, has introduced a bill to ban the use of proceeds from the sale of state bonds to pay for salaries, benefits or other compensation of state employees. 

“As the capital budget lead for the last several years, I was aware that the practice was occasionally taking place. But it is alarming the extent to which we are paying for salaries with state debt,” Honeyford said in a press release. “Using state debt to pay for employee salaries is like taking out a mortgage to pay for your gas and oil change. It makes no long-term fiscal sense and the practice needs to end.”

According to the Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program Committee, since 2008, an average of 326 full-time state employees per year have been funded from bond proceeds appropriated in the capital budget; the compensation for the 10 years totals $264 million.  

This past session, the Legislature was unable to pass a capital budget, drawing attention to the issue of using bond proceeds to pay for employees, the press release stated. 



“We value our state employees and we have to make sure — that as a rule — we are paying for their salaries out of the main state operating budget,” said Honeyford. “That is where we pay for our two-year operating costs associated with providing government services, not by putting it on a credit card that will cost taxpayers more in the long run.”

The State Parks Department was the first to issue layoff notices, with 15 notices going out in September. The University of Washington claimed it had 125 employees whose salaries are funded through the capital budget. In testimony before the House Capital Budget Committee on Nov. 17, Melissa Palmer, of the Office of Program Research, stated that up to 488 positions could potentially be reduced as a result of the impasse.