It would be a severe understatement to say that few of us could have predicted the events of the past few months. In February, state economists were predicting general economic growth for Washington and its residents, painting a rosy picture of the next few years for state budget writers.
Then came COVID-19, roaring into Washington.
“The decline in Washington employment in April was unprecedented in its depth and speed,” reads the state’s June 2020 preliminary economic forecast.
Instead of the gains economists were expecting, Washington lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, inflating the state unemployment rate from 5.1 percent in March to 15.4 percent in April — the highest since 1976, according to the preliminary forecast. It was even worse in Lewis County, at 16.3 percent.
In early March, as events were just beginning to be canceled and days before Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, the Washington State Legislature, scheduled to end its regular session on March 12, was able to scramble to reduce some spending and to release emergency money for a response to the virus.
The legislature authorized $200 million from its rainy day fund for COVID-19 relief, then members of the House and Senate went back to their districts, not scheduled to return until January.
However, Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, and other members of the Senate and House Republican caucuses have been trying since May to bring the legislature back for a special session, but so far have been unable to secure the cooperation of Democratic caucuses or Inslee, Braun told The Chronicle Thursday.
Braun proposes a special session to deal with three primary crises, first, to help deal with the public health crisis. He said he is particularly concerned about making sure we are adequately protecting vulnerable people in long-term care facilities, where many of the deaths and outbreaks statewide have occurred.
Second, Braun said the legislature could help respond to the economic crisis in the state, for example, by helping direct federal assistance.
Third, he said the legislature needs to be convened to handle a looming state budget crisis.
According to Braun, a preliminary report from state economists shows our current economic downtown could amount to $7 billion or more in reduced revenue to the state over the next three years. A full economic forecast is due to be released on June 17.
That drop — brought about by projected decreases in revenue from sales, business and other taxes collected by the state — could throw a wrench in the works of the state’s budget, especially as roughly $1 billion in new spending — including a 3 percent cost of living increase to all state employees — is about to take place starting July 1, he said. The state has about $3 billion in its rainy day fund, not enough to cover the entire shortfall, he said.
“We really are ultimately responsible for appropriating of state funds,” Braun said. “We’ve got to make sure we can continue through the next biennium.”
A special session of the legislature, according to state law, can be called either by the governor or by a two-thirds majority of the legislature, Braun said, though he noted the second option hasn’t been used before.
Braun said a request from Senate and House Republicans to Inslee for a special session hasn’t been answered yet. In the meantime, an effort to measure support for the legislature itself has gathered signatures from most Republicans and tacit support from a handful of Democrats, he added.
“There is some reluctance on the part of Democrats to buck the Governor on this,” he said.
Braun noted that legislators to the left and right of the aisle generally approved of Inslee’s swift actions to curtail the spread of COVID-19 as it became a pandemic and spread quickly through the Puget Sound region.
However, it’s been months since then, and Braun and other Republicans are ready to go back to work to represent their constituents in places like Lewis County — affected far differently than more metropolitan areas of the state.
“As it’s progressed, we’ve had some differences of opinions,” he said.
As we at The Chronicle see it, this is a bad time to play partisan politics. The governor took quick, executive action in an effort to save lives and flatten the COVID-19 curve, a goal which has been accomplished. But we have a representative democracy for a reason. We elect people to navigate government in our best interests — let’s put them back to work when we need their help the most.
“The reason sooner is better — state spending goes on, it’s not different than a home budget or a business’s budget,” Braun said. “If you know you have to cover this shortfall … the sooner you stop digging the hole the sooner you get out of the hole.”
It makes sense to make a first stab at addressing a budget shortfall before increased spending goes into effect July 1. It also makes sense to get legislators in a special session before the August 4 primary. Now is a time to be focused on governing, not campaigning.
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Editor’s note: Sen. John Braun is running unopposed to retain his seat representing Washington’s 20th District.
