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Don Gronning
Port retirements, burial grounds, religious liberty, veterans also on list
NEWPORT — Rep. Hunter Abell, R-Inchelium, says the short 60-day state Legislative session which starts Jan. 13 will be largely focused on dealing with the state budget deficit.
Abell, who represents the 7th Legislative District, anticipates the Democratic Party, which is in the majority, seeking revenue increases. Abell met with Miner staff Thursday, Dec. 18 for an interview.
“Our state budget has doubled in the last 10–12 years,” Abell says, going from $35 billion per biennium to more than $70 billion. “My observation is the appetite in Olympia for more taxpayer dollars is really insatiable.”
He says some elected Democrats identify openly as socialist.
“They say that is not your property, that should belong to the public, they say that is not your money, that it belongs to the state,” he says. He says he will fight against what he describes as an ever-expanding state government.
“That includes some very significant increases in public sector salaries that were approved in the last session,” he says.
The last session approved some $9 billion of increased taxes including an increase in the Business and Occupations tax and the sales tax. The B&O tax is cruel, he says, because it is based on a business’s gross taxes. “You could be losing money and still be subject to the increased tax,” he says.
Abell gives the example of an excise tax on temporary services signed into law last year, ostensibly to fund education. But schools were not exempted from the tax as healthcare was, Abell says, so temporary services were taxed in schools.
“This was an example of really rushed legislation,” he says, introduced in the last two weeks of a 120-day session. It was passed and made it to the Governor for a signature, where Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson signed it.
Although Ferguson said last year that he would strive to deal with the budget deficit through cuts rather than increased taxes, Abell said that wasn’t what happened. Abell is not in favor of increasing taxes. He pointed out that Ferguson had said in his inaugural address that the state couldn’t tax its way out of the deficit, then signed every tax increase that that the legislature passed.
During the last legislative session, lawmakers trimmed a $14 million deficit to balance the budget, mostly with tax increases and new taxes. He thinks there may be more sought this year as the state faces another multibillion-dollar twoyear budget deficit.
Ferguson made a similar statement this year about a no new taxes budget.
“The governor has said he’s producing an all-cuts budget, we’ll see what that looks like,” Abell says. So far, the Legislature hasn’t shown much interest in making cuts.
Abell says he’s working on an exemption that would allow the Port of Pend Oreille workers to remain in the federal railway workers retirement system without having to contribute to the state retirement system. A recent interpretation by the state Department of Retirement Systems found that port workers must pay to the state retirement system.
“That would break the bank for the Port, and employees are getting double hit on their retirement,” Abell says. “This seems to be a new interpretation of state law that the Legislature needs to clarify.”
Abell also intends to bring back his veteran’s bill, the Jim Judd Memorial Act, that got through the House last year but stalled in the Senate.
“I think it will improve the process by which the governor gets advice on issues that impact veterans throughout the state,” he said. It will have to be reintroduced with some minor changes in the House, where it got unanimous support last year, and get through the Senate.
Abell is also interested in legislation allowing for family cemeteries on private ground. Family cemeteries are allowed now, but there are some significant financial hurdles, he said. A bill for a family burial ground has been “bounced around” for several sessions. This is for people who live in rural areas, farmers and ranchers who have spent whole lives on the farm or ranch and would like to be buried on their land.
Other bills he plans to introduce involve establishing a religious liberty commission as well as establishing English as Washington’s official language.
Abell says that for the Republicans to accomplish much of anything in the short session, they have to work with the Democrats.
Abell and Rep. Andrew Engell, R- Colville, are the two state representatives who represent the 7th Legislative district, which includes Pend Oreille County, in the state House of Representatives. There are 59 Democrats and 39 Republicans in the state House. The state Senate is also controlled by Democrats, with 30 Democrats and 19 Republicans. Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, is the district’s state senator.
“Really, to accomplish anything, it’s going to have to be good legislation, it’s going to have to be bipartisan,” he says. The Republicans will have to seek out Democrats to partner with. “It takes two to tango and they might say my dance card is full, but we’re trying hard to find those partners who will help advance these commonsense pieces of legislation for our district.”
