WEBVTT

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Oh, you're so scary with your big brain around

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these stupid rules, Brian. Way to go. I mean.

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Welcome to County Connection. the official podcast

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of the Washington State Association of Counties,

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where we dive into the legislative issues shaping

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the future of our communities. From budgets to

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public safety, infrastructure to elections, we'll

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break down what's happening in Olympia and how

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it impacts counties from across the Evergreen

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State. Stay informed, stay engaged, and join

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us as we amplify the voice of Washington's 39

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counties. Welcome back, everybody, to the County

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Connection podcast. Probably the last podcast,

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believe it or not, of the 2026 legislative session.

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The budgets are in, folks. The final versions

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of the budgets are in, which means, drumroll

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please, I've got Brian Enslow back here with

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me in the studio to kind of do a wrap -up. Not

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kind of. We're actually going to do a wrap -up

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of what is in the state supplemental budgets

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as we move forward for the last half of this

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biennial. biannual legislative session and biannual

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year. It is the end of, I don't know why I keep

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saying the second half of the biannual legislative

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session. It is the end. Today is the end, Brian.

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It is sine die. Yes, sir. I thought for a second

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maybe you had like an inside joke or drinking

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game. No, I wish I did. Like every time he says

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biennial. Yeah, well, I've got a seltzer here.

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Every time we say biennial, drink. There you

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go. I've got a mint tea. We're just two crazy

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guys here talking budgets on Sine Dies. This

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is not the frat house that we came from. No,

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no. Not at all. My back hurts. We're not here

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to talk about your medical ailments, Brian. No,

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I'm just saying. You're making me feel like I'm

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having dinner with my parents. Come on now. So

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at the time we're recording this, it is 3 o 'clock

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on Sine Day. Sine Day? Sine Die. Or even perhaps

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more sophisticated, C -N -I -D -A? We could say

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that. For the Latin at heart, which means...

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Without day. It does. Exactly. I looked that

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up the other day. Yeah. It's exactly what it

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means. Way to go. I've been saying that in the

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podcast a couple of times and people just give

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me a puzzled look like, what are you talking

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about? Yeah. And it's because, so when you adjourn

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from the, when you end a floor session. You're

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nailing this, man. When you end a floor session,

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you have to actually identify what day you're

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going to next meet. And then of course, but on

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Sinead Eye. You don't, you don't, you are without

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day because you're not coming back. You're not

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coming back. I mean, you are eventually, but

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it'll be a new legislative session. Correct.

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So at the end, this legislation, legislative

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session, essentially they will adjourn. By the

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way, drink your tea. We said it a couple of times.

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They will adjourn without day, without any further

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determined day that they're going to meet. So

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it's the end. Yeah. Yeah. It's perfect. And we

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great job on that explanation. Yeah. We think

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they're getting done. I think they're getting

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done. I mean, whether it's 1159 or yeah, it doesn't

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matter how late it has to go. They're going to

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get done. Yeah. Yeah. There's no, I have to say

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for one person, I'm glad I'm so glad they're

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getting done. I'm, I'm wore out. How do you feel?

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Um, I'm ready for a little, a little, a little

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time away from, you know, away from, I live in

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Olympia. It's like, well, actually I live in

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the County. I live in Thurston County. I live

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in Thurston County. I'm an Olympia adjacent.

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So I'm not going to get away away. But once you

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get a mile away from that sundial that's on the

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center of campus there, it's a different mindset.

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And I'm looking forward to spending a little

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bit of time away. Well, as you know, I live on

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the other side. And I don't care what the weather

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is doing. It's trying to keep me from going over

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that. For sure. I don't know if you've been paying

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attention. I'm surprised we're not doing this

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on Zoom. I'm surprised you're not already over

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there. Well, I keep getting all the wash dot

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updates on my phone. That's all the buzzing.

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It's like every 30 seconds there's another. I

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bet Mitch is loving that. Oh, yeah. There's another

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wreck and another, you know, westbound's closed.

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Now eastbound's closed. Now westbound's open.

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Now eastbound's open. Now eastbound's closed

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again. It's been doing that for two days. But

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thankfully, actually, we need this. snow up there

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but i'm telling you i'm i'm putting that f -150

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in four -wheel drive and there's nothing that's

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stopping me from getting back over uh to a little

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r &r on the east side of the state after this

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session that's for sure and by f -150 he means

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like a Early 90s B2600 Mazda in powder blue.

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Ford pickup truck. It's white. It's not powder

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blue. Just in case you're wondering, members,

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he does not have an American pickup truck. I

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do, too. What are you talking about? All right.

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Well, let's lay it out here. You know, we talked

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about at great lengths really just a couple of

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weeks ago the supplemental budget. proposals

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that came out from the House and the Senate,

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right? And before that, we talked about the governor's

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proposal and kind of what to expect and what

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we thought would be happening in... you know,

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in the future. And here we are. We are at the

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future. We have the conference committee report.

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Those were issued yesterday. You can go see those

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on TVW. The documents for the budgets are all

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online. You can read any of this that you want

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to. Or you can just be like the cool kids and

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listen to this podcast and you'll know everything

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you need to know by the time we're out of here.

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Yeah. So let's break it down. Don't go online.

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Don't go on fiscal law. Don't do that. Don't

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look on the three -way comparison reports. Yeah,

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it's totally boring. This is a labor -friendly

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state. That's my scope of work. Do not impede

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on my scope of work. Do not do that on your own.

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Oh, man, you're starting to sound like, well,

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I'm not even going to say. All right, let's break

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it down. You want to start with the operating

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budget or you want to talk about the capital

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budget? Whoa. I mean, the capital budget's only

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there to serve the operating budget. And you

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can't really talk about one without the other

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eventually. So let's talk about the operating

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budget. All right, let's start there. Okay. So

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we had a proposal from the governor, right? We

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had an operating budget that was right around,

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I think, $77, $78 million. We had the House come

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in at $79 .9. We had the Senate come in at $80

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.2. And the final version, or $80 .1 maybe, and

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the final version actually was high. than both

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the senate and the house versions just slightly

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higher came in at 80 .2 billion dollars yes why

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why was it higher do you think just things changed

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with the revenue forecasts or uh they got uh

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you know they found a little bit of money here

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and there well certainly the proposals were higher

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than the governor's proposal because because

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they had both an additional corresponding revenue.

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So they had, you know, 900 million extra, but

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they also had increased caseloads. So they did

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have, um, they, you know, they had, um, a little

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bit more money to spend, but they also had a

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little bit more obligation to cover in the maintenance

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level. So, um, but, uh, how did, you know, how

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did you come to a number between the house and

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Senate that was even more than the highest bookend

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right than either proposal well you know a lot

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of that is the um there were um a few transfers

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here and there that weren't assumed in like both

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budgets yeah so i know so when they combine the

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budgets they kind of took all the transfers right

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um they made um they have a lower ending fund

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balance so they kind of took less you know there's

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fewer dollars in the in the cash account yeah

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it's only like 200 million that's interesting

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that you say that because i didn't actually get

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a chance to look at that as far as my prep for

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this but i i did look at what their ending fund

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balance was in this budget and it does seem like

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it's lower than either one of the previous proposals

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yeah that's my you know it's it's only it's like

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230 million and so they're taking a little bit

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more out than maybe of reserves or or their you

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know Traditionally, before you had the budget

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stabilization account, I think there was a general

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consensus that anything less than $500 million

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was not irresponsible, but getting a little dicey.

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I think the fact that they still, depending on

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where you are in the four -year outlook, have

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a fairly healthy amount in the budget stabilization,

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I think that made them a little bit more comfortable

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to just take their... unrestricted cash reserves.

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What you and I would think is current expense

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or household would just think you're checking

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account. Yeah. Okay. Interesting. It looked like

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the other thing that kind of struck me as I was

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going through it, just kind of broad stroke,

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it looked like they followed more of the Senate's

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proposals, you know, kind of on a line item per

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line item than the House's proposals. You know,

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that was, so I think it's, you know, We are the

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number one Washington State County government

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podcast, and I think probably local government

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podcast. You're making me blush again, Brian.

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I mean, come on. There's no proof of that. So

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I think it's always important to... But I think

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it's true. Yeah. I think it's always important

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to caveat that we have a bias and a lens. That's

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true. Right, because we're not in the nitty gritty

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of the K -12. Right. But with respect to... What

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I would say the overall architecture and also

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just the specific components of the budget that

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we care about. That was my sense, too, is that

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the Senate prevailed. Yeah, very much so. I kind

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of went through the broad strokes on the agency

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detail in the. The document that gives you the

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three different versions, right? The House version,

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the Senate version, and the conference committee

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version. And, you know, not in every case, but

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broad strokes, it looked like the Senate version

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really did prevail. Yeah, and some of that I

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wouldn't say isn't fair about to suggest like

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a... like who in the arm wrestling contest who

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won. But if you're going to spend more resources,

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and some of the differences that we were thinking

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about or focusing on were like the Senate had

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$300 million more to spend. So when you're saying,

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oh, they moved to the Senate, and we just said

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the final budget spent $400 million more than

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the House. So in a lot of cases what we saw were

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cuts that were taken in the House because they

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were assuming fewer dollars. Yeah. And so they

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moved to the Senate position, which was to not

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cut. So, for instance, just local the in commerce,

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there was eight million dollar or so cut for

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climate grants not taken in the Senate. Yeah,

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right. So to say that they moved to the Senate

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position or the Senate prevailed. And not taken

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in the conference committee bill either. Yeah.

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So I guess my point is, it's like some of that

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perception is. There were cuts in the House and

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not there were more cuts in the House's original

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proposal because they use fewer resources. The

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Senate had more resources, use fewer cuts. So

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then when I was just kind of looking through

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the horse train, like, oh, they took the Senate

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position, they took the Senate. But really, they

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just spent more money. Yeah. And they didn't

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have to take cuts that were assumed in the House

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position. Well, and there were some big items.

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It's interesting that you mentioned that because

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broad strokes, you know, you kind of look at

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it on its face and you go, OK, you know, they

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really did kind of defer to the Senate. But then

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there's some other really big pieces that we're

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going to get into. Right. That public works assistance

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account, for instance, that they did take the

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Senate version of that. Right. But. Well, no.

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What? We can just do it right now. Well, wait

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a minute. Wait a minute. I thought they did,

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but maybe they didn't. Let's talk about that.

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But then you've got the budget stabilization

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amount, the budget stabilization account amount,

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the transfer in, which they took the house version,

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right? And they did the payback according to

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the house version. So there were some other big...

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Which would make sense if you take... It'd be

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a little bit disingenuous if they took... But

00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:23.399
yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But on the public works

00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:26.669
transfer... I guess maybe it was a bit of a hybrid

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version. So, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then there's

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what you called the triple bank shot, right?

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Which is a different bank shot now. It is a different

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bank shot. And it's more. It is more. It's more.

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And it's more complicated. Ladies and gentlemen,

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new and improved. Now with more bank, now with

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more masse. Yeah, and I'm eager to talk about

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that. But that was a House proposal, right, for

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the most part. It didn't come out in exactly

00:12:51.490 --> 00:12:54.970
the same fashion. Incorrect. What? It was a Senate

00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:58.059
and House proposal last time. It was just described

00:12:58.059 --> 00:12:59.980
in the House summary, so you could actually see

00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:02.899
it easier, but it was not described in the Senate.

00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:05.320
Really? I didn't think it was a dual proposal

00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:08.120
in the last version. I thought the Senate version...

00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:09.980
I could be wrong, but I think it was in both.

00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:12.419
Okay, I remember it being very well described

00:13:12.419 --> 00:13:14.240
on the House side. It was well described in the

00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.659
House. Okay. In the House summary. Well, this

00:13:16.659 --> 00:13:18.279
is why you're here, Brian, because... I believe

00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:19.320
it was included in the Senate budget. Because

00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:21.580
you understand the ins and outs and what's going

00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:22.200
on behind the scenes better than I do. Let's

00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:23.419
just quickly talk about the Public Works Assistance

00:13:23.419 --> 00:13:25.220
Account. Okay, let's do it. So you weren't wrong.

00:13:25.710 --> 00:13:29.149
They did take the Senate approach. Okay. And

00:13:29.149 --> 00:13:31.370
they took the House approach. Okay, a little

00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:33.769
bit of both. So it was a hybrid version. So I

00:13:33.769 --> 00:13:36.909
know we have repeat listeners, but there might

00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:39.210
be some new listeners. So the last time we talked

00:13:39.210 --> 00:13:40.730
about this, I said there was kind of a pickle.

00:13:41.470 --> 00:13:45.570
Because, you know, the Senate budget transfers

00:13:45.570 --> 00:13:50.990
$375 million in cash, essentially, in revenues

00:13:50.990 --> 00:13:52.529
coming into the public works assistance account

00:13:52.529 --> 00:13:55.820
for projects. And sends it to the operating budget

00:13:55.820 --> 00:14:00.620
and replaces it with bonds. Yes. Okay. Which,

00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:03.679
which. Okay. Wait a minute. Say that again. Say

00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.419
it again. So the, the public works assistance

00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:09.419
account is funded from repayments. Yep. And then

00:14:09.419 --> 00:14:11.279
also like breed revenues and some other things.

00:14:11.340 --> 00:14:13.139
Right. Okay. So there's, it's cash account. Right.

00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:15.620
Okay. And then, and what the Senate proposal

00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:18.000
was, was to take that cash and go spend it in

00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:21.340
the operating budget. Okay. Now their proposal

00:14:21.340 --> 00:14:25.850
was initially to. The Senate proposal was to

00:14:25.850 --> 00:14:29.070
refill all of that cash with bonds. That's right.

00:14:29.230 --> 00:14:31.509
The House proposal, so this was the pickles,

00:14:31.610 --> 00:14:35.070
which from a project standpoint, you're kind

00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:37.389
of like, oh, that's good, but we worry about

00:14:37.389 --> 00:14:41.269
the long -term math on that. The House was, we're

00:14:41.269 --> 00:14:43.269
just going to take $75 million away from you,

00:14:43.309 --> 00:14:45.990
and we're not going to backfill it. Right. Okay,

00:14:46.009 --> 00:14:47.929
so we're like, oh, which one do we like? I mean,

00:14:47.950 --> 00:14:50.370
this one has more money for projects, but this

00:14:50.370 --> 00:14:53.190
one doesn't have this. you know accounting move

00:14:53.190 --> 00:14:55.090
that we feel is weird maybe it's challenging

00:14:55.090 --> 00:14:57.389
long term yeah for sure i mean you'd have to

00:14:57.389 --> 00:15:00.070
it's a head scratcher right they did both yeah

00:15:00.070 --> 00:15:03.710
so they did both so so they they absolutely did

00:15:03.710 --> 00:15:08.169
both so they take 540 million dollars of climate

00:15:08.169 --> 00:15:13.070
commitment cash yep okay of that people are like

00:15:13.070 --> 00:15:14.889
we're gonna i'm not gonna make you do math but

00:15:14.889 --> 00:15:16.750
you can whiteboard this at home if you get your

00:15:16.750 --> 00:15:20.669
whiteboard it's 540 million dollars in climate

00:15:20.669 --> 00:15:27.230
commitment The cash of which $240 million goes

00:15:27.230 --> 00:15:31.210
to higher ed debt, which then frees up money

00:15:31.210 --> 00:15:33.110
that they get to spend in higher ed. So $240

00:15:33.110 --> 00:15:36.309
goes to higher ed debt. Yep. Okay. So that means

00:15:36.309 --> 00:15:39.370
you only have $300 million of climate commitment

00:15:39.370 --> 00:15:41.690
cash left. Right. And where do you spend it?

00:15:41.730 --> 00:15:43.289
Public Works Assistance Account. Public Works

00:15:43.289 --> 00:15:46.309
Assistance Account, which leaves a whole of $75

00:15:46.309 --> 00:15:50.799
million. That then... Yeah. Transfers. And you

00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:54.000
transfer that 75 plus the 300 that you just supplanted.

00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:57.700
And then you take that 375 million. To the operating.

00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:00.779
To the operating. Plus you take that 240 million.

00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:02.860
To the operating. To the operating as well. Yeah.

00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:07.179
So you actually take 615 to the operating budget.

00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:12.409
Right. Of which you only replaced 540. Leaving

00:16:12.409 --> 00:16:14.549
the public works system. So they did both. Right.

00:16:14.669 --> 00:16:17.090
They took the Senate mechanism, slightly different

00:16:17.090 --> 00:16:19.570
because it's filled with cash instead of bonds,

00:16:19.730 --> 00:16:22.450
which means the kind of the accounting problem

00:16:22.450 --> 00:16:25.309
and the notion that you would use general obligation

00:16:25.309 --> 00:16:28.889
bonds and debt to backfill. Right. They kind

00:16:28.889 --> 00:16:31.610
of ameliorated that problem because now they're

00:16:31.610 --> 00:16:34.570
using a different color of cash. Well, it's all

00:16:34.570 --> 00:16:37.009
enabled by CCA funding. Yes. Right. Which is

00:16:37.009 --> 00:16:40.929
a declining source of. Yeah. So there's still.

00:16:41.190 --> 00:16:43.070
And also a little bit of a head scratcher with

00:16:43.070 --> 00:16:45.009
some of the ways that they're using the money

00:16:45.009 --> 00:16:47.289
and whether it's consistent with the intent behind

00:16:47.289 --> 00:16:51.490
that entire policy. I would be worried about

00:16:51.490 --> 00:16:53.970
if I was looking to get a public works assistance

00:16:53.970 --> 00:16:57.309
account project funded in the future, would it

00:16:57.309 --> 00:16:59.669
have to meet. Some of those CCA requirements.

00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:03.850
Yeah. Potentially. Potentially. I agree. And

00:17:03.850 --> 00:17:08.480
what's interesting is. This $615 million is almost

00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:12.380
a little bit of a compromise between the House

00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:15.000
version and the Senate version of how they originally

00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:18.240
used CCA money in their first budget proposals,

00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:20.400
right? The House only used about $240 million.

00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:25.039
The Senate used a billion, and this $615 million

00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:28.460
is kind of right in the middle. Yes. For those

00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:30.720
of you at home, one of the most powerful charts

00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:33.160
that I use when it comes to budget notion. Okay,

00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:37.220
so draw a circle. Draw a circle. Now take a line

00:17:37.220 --> 00:17:40.839
and like bisect that circle. Right in half? Half.

00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:44.160
Okay. That is how a lot of these negotiations

00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:48.420
happen. Shocking. It's powerful. So we did half.

00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:53.700
Yeah, we staked out our position over here. They

00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:55.480
staked out theirs over there. Guess where we

00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:58.019
met? Right in the middle. Yeah, that's oftentimes

00:17:58.019 --> 00:18:01.359
what happens. Yeah. Well, so that's interesting.

00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:04.579
So you had that. It's just so hard to explain.

00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:09.200
But the money went from, you know, total CCA

00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:12.079
funding that was used in the final proposal was

00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.839
almost $840 million. Yeah. $300 million scraped

00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:18.819
off the top used for new projects in the capital

00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:20.660
budget. See, here we are already talking about

00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:23.779
the capital budget. But then that $539 million,

00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:27.880
that $540 million supplants. Existing projects

00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:34.059
and existing bonded debt. That bonded debt now

00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:38.640
goes to replace bonded debt somewhere else, a

00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.440
portion of it. And then $300 million goes. someplace

00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:44.960
else in the public works assistance account,

00:18:45.140 --> 00:18:48.440
and you end up with essentially dumping $615

00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:52.279
million into the operating budget. Yes. Through

00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:56.180
this, what I would consider or characterize as

00:18:56.180 --> 00:18:59.039
a bit of an accounting maneuver or gimmick, and

00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:02.759
you would say is a symphony of creativity. Yes.

00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:07.380
A masterpiece. In order to make these budgets.

00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:11.539
maximize their potential for providing services

00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:14.180
to the people of Washington state. Did I characterize

00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:16.440
that correctly? I mean, Adrian Newey designs,

00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:19.259
you know, an innovative wing for an F1 car and

00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:21.980
he's, you know, he celebrated and has paid hundreds

00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:24.640
of millions of dollars, but you know, a humble.

00:19:25.309 --> 00:19:28.750
You know, OPR staffer comes up with a very creative

00:19:28.750 --> 00:19:31.869
solution to solve a financial problem that their

00:19:31.869 --> 00:19:34.049
chair has presented themselves and you besmirch

00:19:34.049 --> 00:19:38.089
them instead of celebrate them. Not besmirching.

00:19:38.609 --> 00:19:42.029
It's just, it's tomato, tomato, man. Castigate

00:19:42.029 --> 00:19:45.730
them. Castigate. That's a great word. I love

00:19:45.730 --> 00:19:48.750
that word. Boy, I tell you, I don't know. I don't

00:19:48.750 --> 00:19:51.329
know if I can keep up with the linguistics here.

00:19:51.450 --> 00:19:53.890
Let's keep going on the operating budget. What?

00:19:57.680 --> 00:19:59.460
I'm not even going to say it. I'm not even going

00:19:59.460 --> 00:20:01.079
to say it. All right, let's keep going on the

00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:04.220
operating budget, though. So we've talked about

00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:06.720
the public works assistance account transfer.

00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:09.240
Yeah, and we briefly mentioned the budget stabilization

00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:10.720
account, but we should just circle back to that.

00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:13.900
Yeah, let's do that. So as you mentioned, in

00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:17.440
the House proposal, there was $880 million of

00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.119
cash that was taken out of the budget stabilization

00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:25.440
account and then paid back in out years. from

00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:31.059
the, um, left one, um, policy bill. Right. Um,

00:20:31.220 --> 00:20:34.240
the Senate version had a less aggressive transfers

00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:37.819
around 750 million. The final budget moved to

00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:40.400
the house position, 880 that's taken out of the

00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:44.220
budget stabilization to help, help build up that

00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:46.819
revenue total in order to get to 80 .2 million

00:20:46.819 --> 00:20:52.420
or billion million. Yeah. And, um, and then as

00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:58.009
we mentioned, There is not found money, but money

00:20:58.009 --> 00:21:02.089
that has been moved out of the pension system

00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:06.240
from a policy bill. that I believe we've talked

00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:09.799
about here. But just quickly, it kind of takes

00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:13.319
the existing surplus in the Left One policy,

00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:17.299
kind of rewrites it and carves some of that out

00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:19.079
and redirects that towards... And that bill did

00:21:19.079 --> 00:21:22.099
pass. Yes. I believe it was on a concurrence

00:21:22.099 --> 00:21:24.000
list this morning, as a matter of fact, either

00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.220
this morning or last night. So that bill will

00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:29.079
be passed as long as the governor signs it. Yes.

00:21:29.829 --> 00:21:31.910
But the implementation of that bill is still

00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:34.829
a couple years out. Yeah. Which is why the payback

00:21:34.829 --> 00:21:38.890
isn't until 2029, I think. This last year. There's

00:21:38.890 --> 00:21:41.109
a lot of things happening in the last year of

00:21:41.109 --> 00:21:43.069
the four -year outlook. Yeah. And let's touch

00:21:43.069 --> 00:21:45.309
on the four -year outlook again really quickly.

00:21:45.470 --> 00:21:47.109
Sure. Because a lot of the numbers that we're

00:21:47.109 --> 00:21:49.470
talking about so far today have really been based

00:21:49.470 --> 00:21:51.369
on the two -year budget. Washington State has

00:21:51.369 --> 00:21:53.049
a two -year biennial budget. We've mentioned

00:21:53.049 --> 00:21:55.789
that a few times. But they also have a four -year

00:21:55.789 --> 00:21:57.390
outlook. And it's not the only time we're going

00:21:57.390 --> 00:21:58.890
to talk about the four -year outlook today because

00:21:58.890 --> 00:22:01.009
there's some other pieces here that are really

00:22:01.009 --> 00:22:04.049
interesting that I think talking about the four

00:22:04.049 --> 00:22:06.470
-year outlook and putting that in context is

00:22:06.470 --> 00:22:08.519
going to be important. The four -year outlook,

00:22:08.660 --> 00:22:10.460
Washington State is the only state that actually

00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:13.640
budgets this way from my understanding, where

00:22:13.640 --> 00:22:17.299
we are required legally to not just pass a two

00:22:17.299 --> 00:22:20.680
-year budget, but actually consider how that

00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:23.500
affects the subsequent two years in the four

00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:26.740
-year outlook as part of the process and publish

00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:30.940
those results, right? And when you think about

00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:34.869
things like... budget stabilization account and

00:22:34.869 --> 00:22:40.250
reserves, right? Or the implications of new policies

00:22:40.250 --> 00:22:42.829
that create ongoing obligations. That's where

00:22:42.829 --> 00:22:46.069
that four -year outlook really gets helpful because

00:22:46.069 --> 00:22:48.769
you can see, okay, what are the implications

00:22:48.769 --> 00:22:52.380
of what I'm doing today? based on what I'm assuming

00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:55.180
in revenues moving forward and additional cost

00:22:55.180 --> 00:22:57.319
increases forward, what is that going to have

00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:59.460
in kind of general terms, right? Kind of macro

00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:02.819
terms, because it's not obligating you to do

00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:05.500
anything in the future. It can either give you

00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:08.140
information or you can actually show intent,

00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:10.740
but there's no legal obligation to follow through

00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:12.619
with that at that point. And things can change

00:23:12.619 --> 00:23:15.559
between now and then. But it does kind of give

00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:20.150
you that. you know i don't know periscope look

00:23:20.150 --> 00:23:23.190
into okay what are the yeah what are the likely

00:23:23.190 --> 00:23:27.990
outcomes here right and um you know we're gonna

00:23:27.990 --> 00:23:31.009
have a real pinch point in year three a real

00:23:31.009 --> 00:23:33.910
real pinch point but then that kind of overturns

00:23:33.910 --> 00:23:35.690
itself a little bit or corrects itself a little

00:23:35.690 --> 00:23:37.509
bit because you turn on a two billion dollar

00:23:37.509 --> 00:23:39.490
spigot right and where does that two billion

00:23:39.490 --> 00:23:43.529
dollar spigot come from from the newly well it's

00:23:43.529 --> 00:23:45.910
not enacted but it has passed the legislature

00:23:45.910 --> 00:23:49.509
yep the Tax on millionaires. Yeah, and there's

00:23:49.509 --> 00:23:52.809
a whole podcast on that that we just produced

00:23:52.809 --> 00:23:54.750
and released. And so if you haven't listened

00:23:54.750 --> 00:23:59.789
to that one, it's Brad Banks and myself kind

00:23:59.789 --> 00:24:02.630
of talking about all of the ins and outs of how

00:24:02.630 --> 00:24:05.890
that bill affects local governments and some

00:24:05.890 --> 00:24:10.349
of the political implications and political maneuvering

00:24:10.349 --> 00:24:12.650
that that bill went through in order to get passed

00:24:12.650 --> 00:24:15.130
here in the legislature. That bill actually was

00:24:15.130 --> 00:24:17.549
passed out of the Senate. last night as a matter

00:24:17.549 --> 00:24:20.750
of fact uh and the governor has basically said

00:24:20.750 --> 00:24:23.690
he's going to sign it so there's still said he

00:24:23.690 --> 00:24:25.410
was going to sign it a week ago friday right

00:24:25.410 --> 00:24:28.210
he had a press release at 11 15 on friday it

00:24:28.210 --> 00:24:31.369
was essentially to the striker there were minor

00:24:31.369 --> 00:24:35.849
changes right um adopted on during the house

00:24:35.849 --> 00:24:38.150
nothing significant to the point where i think

00:24:38.150 --> 00:24:41.009
that it would change the outcome so but of course

00:24:41.009 --> 00:24:43.609
that thing's got lawsuits and citizens initiatives

00:24:43.609 --> 00:24:45.710
and other things that it's going to face as far

00:24:45.710 --> 00:24:47.670
as hurdles moving forward before and that is

00:24:47.670 --> 00:24:52.170
a 20 -day bill circling all the way back i'm

00:24:52.170 --> 00:24:54.230
sure that that one is a 20 -day bill yeah but

00:24:54.230 --> 00:24:56.390
that's an important piece of the four -year outlook

00:24:56.390 --> 00:25:01.079
here yeah uh because that it is It is what makes

00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:03.700
the four -year outlook solvent. Because the third

00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.880
year of the four -year outlook puts us back in

00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:09.920
another billion -dollar hole pretty close. It's

00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:15.779
wild. Yeah. Because... I found that really interesting

00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:17.880
also. I found it really interesting too. And

00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:22.559
where my brain went was cash flow. Yeah. And

00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:28.700
I don't know how many of our listeners have...

00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:31.609
Well, actually, a lot of our listeners are business

00:25:31.609 --> 00:25:34.710
owners, right? And many businesses have seasonality

00:25:34.710 --> 00:25:37.710
to their cash flow, right? Absolutely. Whether

00:25:37.710 --> 00:25:39.690
you're great in the Christmas season or you're

00:25:39.690 --> 00:25:42.369
a farmer and you harvest, you know, in the fall

00:25:42.369 --> 00:25:44.529
or the spring or whatever it may be, almost every

00:25:44.529 --> 00:25:46.950
business has some level of seasonality. Yeah.

00:25:47.289 --> 00:25:55.890
And so tax collections are... are very seasonal

00:25:55.890 --> 00:25:58.829
in Washington state because, because you have,

00:25:58.990 --> 00:26:05.009
um, you have, uh, not, so you have April, you

00:26:05.009 --> 00:26:07.630
have your property tax, right? And some, and

00:26:07.630 --> 00:26:12.849
many, but certainly not all households pay their

00:26:12.849 --> 00:26:19.009
entire property tax, um, bill in April. So when

00:26:19.009 --> 00:26:22.829
you combine, April property tax collections with,

00:26:22.950 --> 00:26:27.869
as Paul mentioned, the sales tax collection spike

00:26:27.869 --> 00:26:32.450
from Christmas, the state is pretty flush in

00:26:32.450 --> 00:26:35.529
April. Right. And then it just kind of goes down

00:26:35.529 --> 00:26:37.210
and down and down and down until you get back

00:26:37.210 --> 00:26:39.769
to October where you have your second. your second

00:26:39.769 --> 00:26:42.049
property tax collection come in. And they're

00:26:42.049 --> 00:26:44.029
collecting, you know, sales tax quarterly and

00:26:44.029 --> 00:26:46.349
whatnot. But of course, you know, they are subject

00:26:46.349 --> 00:26:48.750
to the seasonality that everybody else is. Yeah.

00:26:48.809 --> 00:26:51.609
So again, when you, you know, just, just in a,

00:26:51.609 --> 00:26:55.630
in a typical state cycle there, there's the most

00:26:55.630 --> 00:26:57.450
money in the bank in April. Right. And then it

00:26:57.450 --> 00:26:59.349
just starts going, drying down until about October

00:26:59.349 --> 00:27:01.049
and then it pops back up again. And then, okay.

00:27:01.150 --> 00:27:06.509
Yeah. And so when you, when you think about that

00:27:06.509 --> 00:27:10.390
and you think about that, third year of the biennium

00:27:10.390 --> 00:27:15.150
starting in july one right and going till june

00:27:15.150 --> 00:27:19.470
i mean it's gonna hit that trough yeah for sure

00:27:19.470 --> 00:27:22.369
and and and as paul alluded to on the four -year

00:27:22.369 --> 00:27:24.769
it was 800 and i don't have it in front of me

00:27:24.769 --> 00:27:27.650
i apologize but it was like 839 million dollars

00:27:27.650 --> 00:27:29.670
a lot of money it was a lot it was close to a

00:27:29.670 --> 00:27:31.990
billion and and what's interesting about that

00:27:31.990 --> 00:27:34.930
did you watch the conference committee discussion

00:27:34.930 --> 00:27:40.460
or the hearing itself on tvw Yes. So do you remember?

00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:43.160
While I was shaving. Okay. And putting on dress

00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:44.839
clothes. So there's another piece. And learning

00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:47.700
a new knot. I'll have to show you. It helps if

00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:48.859
you're a taller gentleman. A new knot for your

00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:51.900
tie? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, nice. It gives you

00:27:51.900 --> 00:27:54.099
a symmetrical knot that was still length. So

00:27:54.099 --> 00:27:57.019
it's kind of like a Windsor. Like a square or

00:27:57.019 --> 00:28:01.839
what? Let's not digress on that. But for those

00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:03.420
of you who are out there. No, I wasn't watching.

00:28:03.619 --> 00:28:05.859
Please tell me. There are many ways to tie a

00:28:05.859 --> 00:28:07.880
necktie. It's not just the one your grandfather

00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:09.740
taught you or your dad taught you. No, but if

00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:11.859
you've gained 10 pounds over a short session

00:28:11.859 --> 00:28:13.839
and need a little bit more length on your tie,

00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:15.960
like I do, and you can't do Windsor anymore,

00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:19.859
I've got a great knot for you. All right. We'll

00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:21.799
keep that in mind. But the piece that I want

00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:24.279
to bring up as part of this discussion on the

00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:26.240
four -year outlook, and by the way, since we're

00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:29.619
talking about 63, Before I move on, for those

00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:32.259
of you who are wondering, was the $200 million

00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:35.119
that was promised to local governments in the,

00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:38.500
you know, backroom discussions around that intent

00:28:38.500 --> 00:28:42.769
section that ended up being in 6346. While all

00:28:42.769 --> 00:28:44.450
the local government resources were stripped

00:28:44.450 --> 00:28:48.130
out, the answer is yes, the $200 million is in

00:28:48.130 --> 00:28:51.150
the four -year outlook as a potential expense

00:28:51.150 --> 00:28:54.589
starting in 2029, the second year of the next

00:28:54.589 --> 00:28:59.849
biennium. Now, again, you know. sticking exactly

00:28:59.849 --> 00:29:01.769
with the comments that we made before and the

00:29:01.769 --> 00:29:03.470
comments that we made in the earlier podcast.

00:29:03.609 --> 00:29:05.589
That, of course, is not something the state is

00:29:05.589 --> 00:29:07.970
obligated to do. It's just something they're

00:29:07.970 --> 00:29:10.509
putting out as a marker, as something they intend

00:29:10.509 --> 00:29:14.730
to do, so that it shapes kind of the four -year

00:29:14.730 --> 00:29:17.650
outlook more accurately according to today's

00:29:17.650 --> 00:29:19.730
intentions. But all those things can change.

00:29:19.990 --> 00:29:22.829
Yeah, it's really interesting. We have a legal

00:29:22.829 --> 00:29:25.390
requirement to produce a four -year budget. Right.

00:29:25.430 --> 00:29:28.180
But the actual budget bill... It's only two years.

00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:31.799
Or in this case, even fewer because it's only

00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:35.680
to the end of the biennium. Right. And to Paul's

00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:40.660
point, if you go into the materials that were

00:29:40.660 --> 00:29:43.599
published with the budget within the summary

00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:47.599
document, if you kind of scroll through and look

00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:52.930
at the expenditure and outlook. detail in the

00:29:52.930 --> 00:29:55.109
local government in the in the general government

00:29:55.109 --> 00:29:58.710
section you will see a local government fiscal

00:29:58.710 --> 00:30:02.609
health account right and it will say zero zero

00:30:02.609 --> 00:30:05.470
zero and then 200 million in that fourth year

00:30:05.470 --> 00:30:10.369
right furthermore if you go to the one page four

00:30:10.369 --> 00:30:14.829
year budget outlook document i although you won't

00:30:14.829 --> 00:30:18.289
see it specifically identified you will see in

00:30:18.289 --> 00:30:22.109
the all other policy yeah you will see an an

00:30:22.109 --> 00:30:27.710
increase a spike of 431 million and i think it's

00:30:27.710 --> 00:30:30.809
embedded in there right and i think that is 200

00:30:30.809 --> 00:30:35.940
for this and then 231 for the um working families

00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:39.339
tax credit which by the way uh i also wanted

00:30:39.339 --> 00:30:41.660
to talk about was changed significantly in this

00:30:41.660 --> 00:30:44.759
bill too in how they're paying for that uh and

00:30:44.759 --> 00:30:47.279
you just hit on it i i feel like i want to go

00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:49.079
back to where i was going but since you brought

00:30:49.079 --> 00:30:51.059
it up you're the host no the working family tax

00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:52.779
credit originally was going to be paid for with

00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:57.039
cca dollars in the Governor's proposal. Right,

00:30:57.079 --> 00:30:59.680
in the governor's proposal. And I think in the

00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:02.240
House proposal as well, wasn't it? The House

00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:10.660
proposal included a portion of funding. It was

00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:14.500
around 300 and some million out of CCA for the

00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:19.460
underlying existing program. The money that is

00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:24.059
here is actually for expansion. Right. So it's...

00:31:25.179 --> 00:31:31.519
So the existing program has – you have to have

00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:36.319
a kid. Right. And then it's kind of capped at

00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:39.700
a certain age. This goes – this makes it eligible

00:31:39.700 --> 00:31:42.440
for income on both ends. It goes down to 18.

00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:44.359
Right, lowers the age. Irrespective of whether

00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:46.980
you have a kid or not. Family, single, whatever

00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:51.079
it may be. And goes up to 65. Yeah. And so –

00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:58.180
that policy change is budgeted in the millionaire's

00:31:58.180 --> 00:32:01.059
tax bill. Right, that's where they're getting

00:32:01.059 --> 00:32:05.039
the revenue from in the conference version. So

00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:08.759
there's no CCA swap, meaning Climate Commitment

00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:11.519
Act fund swap, into the working family tax credit.

00:32:11.579 --> 00:32:16.740
They're basing it all. on this requirement for

00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:19.079
implementation of the millionaire's tax the new

00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:22.599
income tax bill yes yeah okay so let's think

00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:26.599
ballot strategy no kidding right so let's um

00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:30.900
go back so we kind of digressed on both of those

00:32:30.900 --> 00:32:34.799
items but i want to circle back to the conference

00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:37.960
committee meeting itself the hearing oh yeah

00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:40.460
yeah right and the other piece that i wanted

00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:42.680
to talk about here because i mean only I mean,

00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:46.099
I don't even watch that. I mean, I mean, I mean,

00:32:46.180 --> 00:32:47.680
I but there was an important piece in here that

00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:49.079
I think is really interesting when we're talking

00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:51.460
about patches on my I have like leather patches

00:32:51.460 --> 00:32:53.839
on my jacket. You're not. What's your important

00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:56.500
piece? Important. What was said? There's an important

00:32:56.500 --> 00:32:58.460
piece that was said here that you don't necessarily

00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:00.900
see in the budget unless you're listening to

00:33:00.900 --> 00:33:04.380
those hearings. And it's important because when

00:33:04.380 --> 00:33:06.039
you're talking about the four year outlook and

00:33:06.039 --> 00:33:08.859
you're looking at what they're booking as far

00:33:08.859 --> 00:33:12.380
as not just revenue, but also expenses. looking

00:33:12.380 --> 00:33:16.059
out for years, and how this Climate Commitment,

00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:17.660
or I'm sorry, not Climate Commitment Act, but

00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:21.119
this new millionaire's tax may or may not change

00:33:21.119 --> 00:33:23.660
the numbers, right? Because remember, in the

00:33:23.660 --> 00:33:25.579
third year, we just talked about there's a billion

00:33:25.579 --> 00:33:28.339
-dollar hole that's being created by this budget

00:33:28.339 --> 00:33:31.359
that they suddenly dig out of in the fourth year,

00:33:31.500 --> 00:33:34.099
and that's all because of the new revenue. But

00:33:34.099 --> 00:33:37.720
at the same time, they're only booking... On

00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:40.500
the expense side, an annual growth rate of 2

00:33:40.500 --> 00:33:44.640
.2 % in this budget and in the four -year outlook.

00:33:44.980 --> 00:33:49.339
And historically, over the last decade, the annual

00:33:49.339 --> 00:33:55.200
increase in expenses... 7 %? 15%. Annual? Annual.

00:33:55.660 --> 00:33:59.480
Around 15 % per year, according to... Oh, for...

00:33:59.869 --> 00:34:01.589
Some of the statements that were made by the

00:34:01.589 --> 00:34:04.650
minority party members who were on that committee.

00:34:04.890 --> 00:34:07.150
This was one of the things that they basically

00:34:07.150 --> 00:34:10.409
said this thing is built on a foundation of falsehood

00:34:10.409 --> 00:34:13.329
because that four -year outlook is nowhere near

00:34:13.329 --> 00:34:18.409
accurate because of that difference in really

00:34:18.409 --> 00:34:21.650
13 % in expenses, which on the state level when

00:34:21.650 --> 00:34:25.289
you're talking about an $80 .2 billion budget

00:34:25.289 --> 00:34:27.949
or whatever it ended up being, right? $80 .2.

00:34:28.780 --> 00:34:31.920
13 % is a lot of money. So we need to parse this

00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:39.519
because what I would... So the four -year outlook

00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:48.440
is based on an assumption of existing programs

00:34:48.440 --> 00:34:52.300
and then an inflation factor associated with

00:34:52.300 --> 00:34:55.460
that. Sure. So that's maintenance level. So how

00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:58.280
much more... And so what you're saying is they're

00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:02.900
using a 2 % number. 2 .2. And what I was saying

00:35:02.900 --> 00:35:12.039
is the CPI for Seattle, we use IPD, which we

00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:15.380
don't have to go into here. Sure. Can I please,

00:35:15.500 --> 00:35:18.099
though? Okay, a little. Sure. You've got to make

00:35:18.099 --> 00:35:20.300
it tight, though. So the difference between CPI

00:35:20.300 --> 00:35:22.099
and IPD. Look at you. You look like you're gleeful.

00:35:22.280 --> 00:35:26.849
I am. It's all inflation to me, but you're like,

00:35:26.909 --> 00:35:30.349
the difference between CPI and IPD. Do it, Brian.

00:35:30.510 --> 00:35:33.130
Come on. So these are inflationary indexes. Right.

00:35:33.190 --> 00:35:34.750
And what they do is they take a market basket

00:35:34.750 --> 00:35:38.349
of goods, okay, and they compare how much that

00:35:38.349 --> 00:35:40.469
market basket of goods varies from one year to

00:35:40.469 --> 00:35:43.530
another. Okay. Makes sense. And CPI assumes the

00:35:43.530 --> 00:35:46.789
same market basket of goods. Implicit price deflator.

00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:50.079
assumes that you make choices based on the price

00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:52.679
of goods. So for instance, your market basket

00:35:52.679 --> 00:35:57.280
changes. So Paul, who kind of a snob, buys like

00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:03.690
organic milk. When prices go up, Paul will choose

00:36:03.690 --> 00:36:07.829
not to buy organic milk. He will buy Lucerne

00:36:07.829 --> 00:36:12.170
brand milk instead of Best Day dairy or whatever.

00:36:13.989 --> 00:36:18.070
And so for that reason, implicit price deflator.

00:36:18.599 --> 00:36:21.980
always lag cpi because it's assuming substitution

00:36:21.980 --> 00:36:24.940
yeah because it makes sense right i mean if something

00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:26.559
that you're buying the numbers in front of me

00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:29.280
but the cpi has been what five six percent implicit

00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:32.320
so so what i'm saying is inflationary versus

00:36:32.320 --> 00:36:34.659
i think the number what you're talking about

00:36:34.659 --> 00:36:39.519
is the actual growth in spending which is which

00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:45.239
has captured you know expanse in programs like

00:36:45.760 --> 00:36:48.179
Sure. Like we're buying a whole lot. So not only

00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:51.800
is it costing more. Per, but there's also more

00:36:51.800 --> 00:36:54.599
of them. Yes. Okay. And that's, I just want to

00:36:54.599 --> 00:36:56.780
make sure. Yeah, because your expansion in cost

00:36:56.780 --> 00:36:59.780
isn't necessarily just your inflation base. It's

00:36:59.780 --> 00:37:05.159
also your case load growth. Yeah. Like for HCA

00:37:05.159 --> 00:37:06.699
and others. So I don't actually know what the

00:37:06.699 --> 00:37:09.320
number assumption is for the four year, but you're

00:37:09.320 --> 00:37:10.960
telling me it's a 2 % growth factor. That's what

00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:13.820
they said. Which? I couldn't find that in the

00:37:13.820 --> 00:37:17.380
documents. Which might be supported by an economic

00:37:17.380 --> 00:37:23.179
forecast. It does not seem conservative. Yeah,

00:37:23.260 --> 00:37:25.699
it does seem conservative from an expense standpoint.

00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:30.139
But also interesting in kind of working against

00:37:30.139 --> 00:37:33.099
that argument is the fact that they also didn't

00:37:33.099 --> 00:37:39.780
include any growth. in revenue based on revenue

00:37:39.780 --> 00:37:43.780
forecasts. They had new revenue, right, from

00:37:43.780 --> 00:37:47.420
legislation. Sure, but they have to use the revenue

00:37:47.420 --> 00:37:49.119
forecast in front of them. They can't. Right.

00:37:49.340 --> 00:37:53.500
They can't. There is an independent elected forecaster

00:37:53.500 --> 00:37:55.579
who gets to decide what the world of money is.

00:37:55.579 --> 00:37:58.139
And things can change quite dramatically sometimes

00:37:58.139 --> 00:38:00.199
from year to year. Well, that's what's so interesting.

00:38:00.590 --> 00:38:02.110
Well, I mean, there's a lot of interesting things.

00:38:02.190 --> 00:38:04.409
I mean, nothing's as interesting as what I just

00:38:04.409 --> 00:38:06.670
said around implicit price deflator. But I mean,

00:38:06.710 --> 00:38:10.070
clearly. Yeah. I mean, I was riveted, like literally

00:38:10.070 --> 00:38:13.710
chained to my chair. I couldn't move. I was so

00:38:13.710 --> 00:38:17.030
riveted. But there's. You know, that means I

00:38:17.030 --> 00:38:19.380
wasn't riveted at all. Right. $2 billion is a

00:38:19.380 --> 00:38:24.400
big number. You don't even care. I'm in a convertible.

00:38:24.980 --> 00:38:27.500
I'm going down the freeway at 70 miles an hour.

00:38:27.659 --> 00:38:29.699
I've got my favorite tunes on. You are the train

00:38:29.699 --> 00:38:30.840
that cannot be stopped. I'm not going to let

00:38:30.840 --> 00:38:36.539
you derail me. All right, do it. You must be

00:38:36.539 --> 00:38:42.170
fun at parties. Look, when we... When we make

00:38:42.170 --> 00:38:44.849
a change to the sales tax, like the base rate,

00:38:45.070 --> 00:38:47.949
we have a pretty good understanding of what one

00:38:47.949 --> 00:38:51.070
-tenth of one percent gets because we have good

00:38:51.070 --> 00:38:55.530
data. But when we invent a completely new tax,

00:38:55.989 --> 00:39:01.170
it's hard. It's hard to try to understand because

00:39:01.170 --> 00:39:03.429
you don't have good data because you weren't

00:39:03.429 --> 00:39:05.809
taxing it before. So we need every single cent

00:39:05.809 --> 00:39:08.920
of that $2 billion that's being projected. And

00:39:08.920 --> 00:39:10.960
there's a lot of uncertainty built into that

00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:14.019
number. Now, to be clear, I want to be clear

00:39:14.019 --> 00:39:18.030
about this. When you say we need, you mean the

00:39:18.030 --> 00:39:21.449
state budget is really dependent. It's not you

00:39:21.449 --> 00:39:23.909
or I, Paul. Yeah, I just want to be clear about

00:39:23.909 --> 00:39:31.550
that. Because WASAC did not support or oppose

00:39:31.550 --> 00:39:34.409
that bill on any level. We were simply interested

00:39:34.409 --> 00:39:37.409
in the local government kind of components associated

00:39:37.409 --> 00:39:41.349
with it. If this budget were the Seahawks. And

00:39:41.349 --> 00:39:44.769
I felt like I was part of this team, this budget.

00:39:44.829 --> 00:39:48.949
You would say. But the Seahawks or this budget

00:39:48.949 --> 00:39:53.869
needs darn near all of this money to actually

00:39:53.869 --> 00:39:56.789
come in. Right. Which is always. To just stay

00:39:56.789 --> 00:39:59.710
balanced where it needs to be. Yeah. And so there's

00:39:59.710 --> 00:40:02.489
a lot of uncertainty. That was the message that

00:40:02.489 --> 00:40:06.030
I got was there's still a lot of uncertainty

00:40:06.030 --> 00:40:09.710
out there around what this revenue will actually.

00:40:10.280 --> 00:40:14.559
drive as far as actual money for the budget.

00:40:14.599 --> 00:40:17.360
There's a lot of uncertainty out there on that

00:40:17.360 --> 00:40:19.760
four -year outlook and what it looks like. And

00:40:19.760 --> 00:40:23.300
if for some reason, a citizen's initiative, a

00:40:23.300 --> 00:40:26.739
lawsuit, whatever ties that thing up or even

00:40:26.739 --> 00:40:31.440
overturns it, this budget in the out years looks

00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:37.139
a whole lot different. Remarkably so, one might

00:40:37.139 --> 00:40:40.329
say. there'll be a lot of challenges and decisions

00:40:40.329 --> 00:40:43.090
that will have to be revisited. Wailing and gnashing

00:40:43.090 --> 00:40:46.710
of teeth is what I would say. This isn't a hot

00:40:46.710 --> 00:40:50.130
take show. This is just us trying to provide

00:40:50.130 --> 00:40:55.250
fair and balanced analysis. Interesting. It's

00:40:55.250 --> 00:40:58.210
so interesting. And you mentioned, just kind

00:40:58.210 --> 00:41:00.570
of continuing along that vein, when you were

00:41:00.570 --> 00:41:02.449
talking about, and I was going to mention this,

00:41:02.570 --> 00:41:06.059
about the cuts that were in the budget. Versus

00:41:06.059 --> 00:41:08.000
in the proposals. If you go back and look at

00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:10.619
this version, there's a lot less cuts in this

00:41:10.619 --> 00:41:13.820
final version than there were in either the Senate

00:41:13.820 --> 00:41:17.760
or the House versions originally. Yes. I would

00:41:17.760 --> 00:41:23.119
say fewer. What did I say? I'm sorry. I'm just

00:41:23.119 --> 00:41:26.659
being a jerk. Did I say? You said less. What's

00:41:26.659 --> 00:41:34.099
the difference? Okay. All right. This is what

00:41:34.099 --> 00:41:37.880
happens, folks, on the last day of the session.

00:41:38.239 --> 00:41:44.400
All right. Well, I think that's a pretty good

00:41:44.400 --> 00:41:46.119
kind of explanation of what's in the operating

00:41:46.119 --> 00:41:48.260
budget. And since we've already talked about

00:41:48.260 --> 00:41:51.780
the capital a little bit, let's go there and

00:41:51.780 --> 00:41:55.079
just kind of give folks a bit of a flavor as

00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:57.500
far as where we are on the capital budget. We

00:41:57.500 --> 00:42:02.619
ended up at right around $890 million. on the

00:42:02.619 --> 00:42:06.300
capital budget in total new expenditures. 435

00:42:06.300 --> 00:42:11.539
of that based on new debt. 455 of that based

00:42:11.539 --> 00:42:14.380
on other funds, state, federal accounts, et cetera.

00:42:14.500 --> 00:42:17.659
A good portion of that coming from CCA, 300 million,

00:42:17.780 --> 00:42:20.619
right? The previous proposals from the House

00:42:20.619 --> 00:42:25.280
were at 910. Almost 911 million from the Senate,

00:42:25.340 --> 00:42:28.780
a little lower at 723. This one definitely leans

00:42:28.780 --> 00:42:32.400
towards the House amount more so than the operating,

00:42:32.460 --> 00:42:34.900
which leaned a little hard. a little harder towards

00:42:34.900 --> 00:42:38.400
the Senate version. The debt in both proposals

00:42:38.400 --> 00:42:42.139
was lower substantially. Well, I guess it depends

00:42:42.139 --> 00:42:43.639
on how you look at it, but I think substantially

00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:45.980
lower. Both the House and the Senate were right

00:42:45.980 --> 00:42:49.679
around that $400 million mark for debt in their

00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:53.099
original proposals, and this is over $400 million,

00:42:53.219 --> 00:43:00.800
$435. Your bond fund capacity at the end is about

00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:05.489
$1 .3 billion. kind of left over. And we kind

00:43:05.489 --> 00:43:08.309
of went through the CCA funding and all that.

00:43:08.489 --> 00:43:11.929
But overall, still a pretty skinny supplemental

00:43:11.929 --> 00:43:15.809
budget by most measurements, wouldn't you say?

00:43:16.349 --> 00:43:24.489
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, this budget mostly serves...

00:43:24.489 --> 00:43:26.670
The needs of the operating fund. Yeah. Yeah.

00:43:26.710 --> 00:43:31.840
Which is interesting. That's unusual. It is unusual.

00:43:31.960 --> 00:43:34.579
I can't remember the last time I really saw that.

00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:38.360
You know, we've had some interesting transfers

00:43:38.360 --> 00:43:41.400
the last couple of years. The transportation

00:43:41.400 --> 00:43:43.619
budget, which we haven't really talked about.

00:43:43.820 --> 00:43:46.119
We mentioned it a little bit. A little bit, but

00:43:46.119 --> 00:43:47.940
it got some interesting transfers in previous

00:43:47.940 --> 00:43:50.780
years that we hadn't really seen much of in recent

00:43:50.780 --> 00:43:55.539
years. And that was a... Oh, shoot, I'm forgetting

00:43:55.539 --> 00:43:58.969
the... I mean, like Black Swan event of COVID

00:43:58.969 --> 00:44:01.329
where you had all the ARPA dollars where you

00:44:01.329 --> 00:44:04.550
could actually do a $16 billion transportation

00:44:04.550 --> 00:44:09.269
package with no bonds. And so you took $2 billion

00:44:09.269 --> 00:44:12.730
out of the operating budget to help facilitate

00:44:12.730 --> 00:44:15.730
that. Right, right. And then also when the CCA

00:44:15.730 --> 00:44:17.909
was passed, there was, I think, $50 million scraped

00:44:17.909 --> 00:44:21.730
off of that, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, yeah,

00:44:21.730 --> 00:44:23.349
yeah. You know, some interesting transfers there

00:44:23.349 --> 00:44:26.119
that we hadn't really seen in the past. But this

00:44:26.119 --> 00:44:29.480
is something new where you really do have the

00:44:29.480 --> 00:44:34.659
bond capacity and this swapping of dollars on

00:44:34.659 --> 00:44:38.599
the capital budget side that's propping up the

00:44:38.599 --> 00:44:42.059
operating budget in some interesting ways. And

00:44:42.059 --> 00:44:45.380
we talked about this a little bit in previous,

00:44:45.480 --> 00:44:50.030
but we have new listener. Every day? One or two.

00:44:50.730 --> 00:44:53.170
I just aim for one a week. You know what I mean?

00:44:53.929 --> 00:44:59.250
Is anyone out there? The bond model is predicated

00:44:59.250 --> 00:45:01.929
on how much you spend. There's a statutory and

00:45:01.929 --> 00:45:04.789
constitutional debt limit. It's not one -tenth,

00:45:04.849 --> 00:45:07.789
but just roughly for argument's sake, for every

00:45:07.789 --> 00:45:10.630
$10 you spend on the operating, you get $1 in

00:45:10.630 --> 00:45:18.809
bond. And as we mentioned, We weren't in a recession

00:45:18.809 --> 00:45:23.869
for the most part for the last however many quarters.

00:45:24.210 --> 00:45:26.690
Right. And so our revenue protections were fine.

00:45:26.829 --> 00:45:28.769
So our bond model was fine. And then last year

00:45:28.769 --> 00:45:31.530
they added $8, $9 billion in revenue. So you

00:45:31.530 --> 00:45:34.389
juiced the bond model. Yeah, by about a billion

00:45:34.389 --> 00:45:36.929
bucks. We're juicing the bond model again at

00:45:36.929 --> 00:45:41.329
the end of this four -year period. And so conceptually,

00:45:41.389 --> 00:45:45.280
next year when we talked... when they start sitting

00:45:45.280 --> 00:45:46.960
down to do their operating budget again, they

00:45:46.960 --> 00:45:49.559
might be in a similar situation where they continue

00:45:49.559 --> 00:45:53.460
to have quite a bit of operating tension and

00:45:53.460 --> 00:45:58.420
still a significant amount of money on the credit

00:45:58.420 --> 00:46:00.800
card. So when we talked about that $800 -plus

00:46:00.800 --> 00:46:04.199
million hole in year one of Next Binance, and

00:46:04.199 --> 00:46:06.079
you're trying to, again, I don't want you to

00:46:06.079 --> 00:46:08.239
whiteboard or confuse, but in year three of the

00:46:08.239 --> 00:46:10.699
four -year outlook, in the first year of the

00:46:10.699 --> 00:46:12.920
next buy and end, before all of the billionaire

00:46:12.920 --> 00:46:17.260
cash comes in, the bond model might again have

00:46:17.260 --> 00:46:18.900
to support the budget. It'll be interesting.

00:46:19.139 --> 00:46:23.159
It will be interesting. But other than that,

00:46:23.219 --> 00:46:24.800
there's not much. I mean, we already covered

00:46:24.800 --> 00:46:27.280
the public works assistance count. That was really

00:46:27.280 --> 00:46:29.340
the big thing. I mean, there's just not a lot

00:46:29.340 --> 00:46:33.380
of new in the budget. It seems so silly to say

00:46:33.380 --> 00:46:37.039
this, but with only $900 million to spend, $889

00:46:37.039 --> 00:46:41.440
million, $890 million to spend, just not a lot

00:46:41.440 --> 00:46:45.079
in there. But normally, you're looking at a billion

00:46:45.079 --> 00:46:47.360
and a half or a $2 billion appropriation out

00:46:47.360 --> 00:46:48.699
of the capital budget and a supplemental. And

00:46:48.699 --> 00:46:52.880
we're talking about culverts. A lot more local

00:46:52.880 --> 00:46:55.880
projects that could get added, a lot of agency

00:46:55.880 --> 00:46:58.519
kind of spends and new programs that could get

00:46:58.519 --> 00:47:02.019
added, simple provisos that are trying to achieve

00:47:02.019 --> 00:47:03.880
things here and there, sometimes very small,

00:47:03.960 --> 00:47:06.099
sometimes larger. And a lot of that stuff just

00:47:06.099 --> 00:47:09.079
didn't manifest itself in any way this year.

00:47:09.159 --> 00:47:12.539
I don't know how many proposals they got, but

00:47:12.539 --> 00:47:14.159
I'm going to assume they got a lot more than

00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:17.440
they funded. Oh, we talked about this. Yeah,

00:47:17.460 --> 00:47:20.170
we did. A little bit on previous podcasts. We

00:47:20.170 --> 00:47:24.429
sure did. And we sparked quite a few debates

00:47:24.429 --> 00:47:28.210
about pudding versus cookies. Yes, yes, we did.

00:47:28.449 --> 00:47:31.130
But everyone agrees that... Cookies are a better

00:47:31.130 --> 00:47:33.989
idea for your pockets. That pudding is a funner

00:47:33.989 --> 00:47:38.409
word to say. It definitely is. So, Paul, one

00:47:38.409 --> 00:47:39.869
thing we should probably cover before we wrap

00:47:39.869 --> 00:47:44.929
up is, okay, so today's the last day. There's

00:47:44.929 --> 00:47:47.829
this whole bottleneck of legislation and bills

00:47:47.829 --> 00:47:53.269
and things like that. Two questions, Paul. How

00:47:53.269 --> 00:47:55.829
much time does the governor have to sign all

00:47:55.829 --> 00:47:59.110
this stuff? 20 days. Okay. And then when does

00:47:59.110 --> 00:48:02.969
it actually become law? 90 days. After the 20

00:48:02.969 --> 00:48:05.849
or when he signs it. Right. Unless it has some

00:48:05.849 --> 00:48:08.769
sort of emergency clause or a date certain. Okay.

00:48:08.769 --> 00:48:11.269
So for instance, like the millionaire's tax won't

00:48:11.269 --> 00:48:13.949
go into effect until January 1st, 2029. Yeah.

00:48:14.110 --> 00:48:16.829
And so there will be things that get, there will

00:48:16.829 --> 00:48:20.989
be legislation that gets. Partial vetoes. Yeah.

00:48:21.230 --> 00:48:25.989
The budget itself is in Washington state. We

00:48:25.989 --> 00:48:27.949
don't have what's called line item veto. Right.

00:48:28.030 --> 00:48:30.690
And so you can't just go in and substitute words

00:48:30.690 --> 00:48:35.070
like you can't just like like Paul shall, you

00:48:35.070 --> 00:48:37.630
know, do such and such. And we can't we don't

00:48:37.630 --> 00:48:40.030
can't just like strike shall. Right. If we're

00:48:40.030 --> 00:48:41.829
in the budget, if the governor thinks you should

00:48:41.829 --> 00:48:44.550
spend 12 million and you're only spending 10

00:48:44.550 --> 00:48:47.130
million, he can't scratch off 10 and put in 12.

00:48:47.150 --> 00:48:52.320
Yeah. So. So the budget document is unique, and

00:48:52.320 --> 00:48:55.059
there's a lot of case law around this. Yes. A

00:48:55.059 --> 00:48:56.780
lot of case law. It's surprising, actually, how

00:48:56.780 --> 00:49:01.820
much case law. But it constitutes – I'm sorry.

00:49:01.940 --> 00:49:04.179
It can be boiled down to a simple concept of

00:49:04.179 --> 00:49:09.400
single subject. So the governor has veto authority

00:49:09.400 --> 00:49:13.000
that some people misconstrue as line item because

00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:17.460
a lot of times budgets are just – items or provisos

00:49:17.460 --> 00:49:20.739
right but the governor can go in and he can veto

00:49:20.739 --> 00:49:24.699
a a sub a single subject as long as he like vetoes

00:49:24.699 --> 00:49:27.579
the entire subject so if you have a if you know

00:49:27.579 --> 00:49:30.179
so for in the capital budget he can he can he

00:49:30.179 --> 00:49:35.789
can veto entire Right. But he can't just veto

00:49:35.789 --> 00:49:38.590
a zero. No. The way it would be written in the

00:49:38.590 --> 00:49:41.429
budget would be, okay, it's section 133, which

00:49:41.429 --> 00:49:44.409
might be Department of Commerce, whatever, housing

00:49:44.409 --> 00:49:46.929
division. And then they have subsections, which

00:49:46.929 --> 00:49:50.510
of the amounts that are appropriated, so much

00:49:50.510 --> 00:49:52.309
is spent for this and maybe a description of

00:49:52.309 --> 00:49:55.210
that. Or the second one would be something else.

00:49:55.269 --> 00:49:57.750
He could go to subsection one, subsection two,

00:49:57.809 --> 00:50:01.380
and just... line item that whole subsection yeah

00:50:01.380 --> 00:50:04.280
that's where his authority is exactly and it's

00:50:04.280 --> 00:50:06.579
the same thing in a bill itself right where you

00:50:06.579 --> 00:50:10.079
have each one is is is organized in sections

00:50:10.079 --> 00:50:14.440
he has section veto authority uh not line item

00:50:14.440 --> 00:50:16.539
authority there either so he can't change a word

00:50:16.539 --> 00:50:19.059
but he can say you know i don't like these provisions

00:50:19.059 --> 00:50:21.619
12 you know these provisions so i'm eliminating

00:50:21.619 --> 00:50:24.340
the whole section yeah or the whole bill for

00:50:24.340 --> 00:50:26.340
that matter sure i mean technically he could

00:50:26.340 --> 00:50:29.519
veto the budget He could. That's happened before.

00:50:29.579 --> 00:50:32.039
Yeah. During the first Locke administration,

00:50:32.539 --> 00:50:37.099
it was a 49 -49 House. Is that true? Or was it

00:50:37.099 --> 00:50:38.840
Republican -controlled? It was a Republican -controlled

00:50:38.840 --> 00:50:42.280
Senate and I think a split House. And they passed

00:50:42.280 --> 00:50:45.960
the budget as a five -day bill. Oh, wow. To try

00:50:45.960 --> 00:50:48.500
to jam the governor. And he vetoed most of it.

00:50:48.639 --> 00:50:55.519
Yeah. So it has happened. In this case, we'd

00:50:55.519 --> 00:50:57.440
have to come back in for a special session. Yeah,

00:50:57.500 --> 00:51:00.239
that'd be fun. Let's do that. No. No, I agree.

00:51:00.320 --> 00:51:02.380
Let's not do that. Let's not do that. Let's not

00:51:02.380 --> 00:51:04.400
do that. And I feel like there was one other

00:51:04.400 --> 00:51:06.380
little nugget I wanted to make sure we know,

00:51:06.460 --> 00:51:11.059
but I think that's it. Oh, pocket veto. We don't

00:51:11.059 --> 00:51:12.840
have pocket vetoes. That's the other nugget.

00:51:12.900 --> 00:51:14.619
So what does that mean, Paul? Well, it means,

00:51:14.860 --> 00:51:18.139
well, in places where pocket vetoes exist, right?

00:51:18.219 --> 00:51:20.659
You imagine the governor or the president or

00:51:20.659 --> 00:51:23.159
whoever gets a bill on their desk and they read

00:51:23.159 --> 00:51:26.300
it and they go, you know, I've got a certain

00:51:26.300 --> 00:51:28.760
amount of days to act on this thing. I don't

00:51:28.760 --> 00:51:31.519
think I want to. Literally folds it up, puts

00:51:31.519 --> 00:51:33.920
it in their pocket, never gets seen again. In

00:51:33.920 --> 00:51:36.500
Washington State, if that were to happen, the

00:51:36.500 --> 00:51:40.670
bill becomes... At the end of the 20 days. At

00:51:40.670 --> 00:51:42.570
the end of the five or the 20 days, regardless

00:51:42.570 --> 00:51:45.550
of whether the governor has acted or not. So

00:51:45.550 --> 00:51:47.429
there's no such thing as a pocket veto in Washington

00:51:47.429 --> 00:51:50.530
state. If the governor chooses not to act, that

00:51:50.530 --> 00:51:53.090
is fine. But that doesn't stop the legislation

00:51:53.090 --> 00:51:55.409
from taking effect. Correct. And it has the same

00:51:55.409 --> 00:51:57.630
full force of law as any other bill that the

00:51:57.630 --> 00:52:00.469
governor did sign. I don't know if I've ever

00:52:00.469 --> 00:52:02.989
seen it, but you could imagine a scenario where

00:52:02.989 --> 00:52:09.579
a governor has some sort of. personal belief

00:52:09.579 --> 00:52:11.579
about something and doesn't actually want to

00:52:11.579 --> 00:52:15.440
sign it, but doesn't want to risk having the

00:52:15.440 --> 00:52:17.380
veto overturned or something like that. Yeah,

00:52:17.380 --> 00:52:19.800
I mean, I could think of a variety of different

00:52:19.800 --> 00:52:21.900
scenarios. I mean, the governor, for instance,

00:52:22.199 --> 00:52:25.210
I mean, maybe a governor. gets sick, you know,

00:52:25.210 --> 00:52:26.750
towards the end of it. It doesn't have time.

00:52:26.869 --> 00:52:28.949
Yeah. And the, and staff has to decide which

00:52:28.949 --> 00:52:31.309
ones are priority and which ones aren't, you

00:52:31.309 --> 00:52:33.610
know what I mean? And he simply just doesn't

00:52:33.610 --> 00:52:35.489
take action on a handful of bills. Well, it doesn't,

00:52:35.489 --> 00:52:37.429
it doesn't stop the fact that the legislature,

00:52:37.469 --> 00:52:40.650
it doesn't under overturn the legislature's decision

00:52:40.650 --> 00:52:42.889
to pass it. Yeah. There was that weird deal a

00:52:42.889 --> 00:52:45.150
couple of years ago where Inslee. signed two

00:52:45.150 --> 00:52:48.090
bills at one time because they were enacting

00:52:48.090 --> 00:52:50.110
the same section of code and then wanted the

00:52:50.110 --> 00:52:52.550
code revisor to sort it out yeah i never understood

00:52:52.550 --> 00:52:55.010
why he didn't just quote -unquote pocket veto

00:52:55.010 --> 00:52:56.590
both of them because that would have had the

00:52:56.590 --> 00:52:58.289
same effect it would have had this yeah it wasn't

00:52:58.289 --> 00:53:00.710
quite as it could you even read i don't know

00:53:00.710 --> 00:53:04.510
how do you do that which hand is legal i don't

00:53:04.510 --> 00:53:07.230
know i don't know all right yeah that was weird

00:53:07.670 --> 00:53:09.429
Yeah, those are good points, though, because

00:53:09.429 --> 00:53:11.070
a lot of people do ask me those questions from

00:53:11.070 --> 00:53:12.510
time to time. What if the governor doesn't act?

00:53:12.590 --> 00:53:14.349
Well, it actually really doesn't matter. It doesn't

00:53:14.349 --> 00:53:18.929
matter. Once the time clock has wound down on

00:53:18.929 --> 00:53:20.849
that five days or that 20 days, the bill goes

00:53:20.849 --> 00:53:23.530
into effect at whatever schedule it would have

00:53:23.530 --> 00:53:25.969
otherwise gone into effect. It's just so interesting.

00:53:26.090 --> 00:53:28.429
It seems like every time we have a conversation

00:53:28.429 --> 00:53:30.349
about the legislative session and the legislative

00:53:30.349 --> 00:53:34.630
process, it all comes down to the clock. Yeah.

00:53:35.130 --> 00:53:37.329
every piece of it it's like we're playing a game

00:53:37.329 --> 00:53:40.449
almost right because you know if you don't meet

00:53:40.449 --> 00:53:42.150
certain deadlines if you don't meet the clock

00:53:42.150 --> 00:53:44.610
the clock runs out you know there are consequences

00:53:44.610 --> 00:53:46.809
one way or the other or in this particular case

00:53:46.809 --> 00:53:49.550
if the legislation is passed both chambers there

00:53:49.550 --> 00:53:52.050
are no consequences yeah the only consequence

00:53:52.050 --> 00:53:55.110
is the governor loses his or her opportunity

00:53:55.110 --> 00:53:58.429
to actually Either sign the bill or have influence

00:53:58.429 --> 00:54:02.210
on the proposal or the policy itself. Well, Brian,

00:54:02.269 --> 00:54:05.610
thanks again for coming. It's always good to

00:54:05.610 --> 00:54:08.190
see you, and it's always great to talk about

00:54:08.190 --> 00:54:12.289
budget with you. I don't know anybody who I could

00:54:12.289 --> 00:54:15.369
call who would be more insightful or more fun,

00:54:15.510 --> 00:54:18.730
frankly, to have this chat with. Your experience

00:54:18.730 --> 00:54:22.949
being part of the budget team over there at the

00:54:22.949 --> 00:54:26.679
state in the past really makes it. I think, for

00:54:26.679 --> 00:54:29.380
our members and certainly for me, too. So thanks

00:54:29.380 --> 00:54:30.980
for doing that. I really appreciate it. Happy

00:54:30.980 --> 00:54:33.860
to be here, Paul. Happy sine die, man. Yeah.

00:54:34.199 --> 00:54:36.980
Cheers to you. I hope you get some rest. I need

00:54:36.980 --> 00:54:40.900
it. I need it. Yeah. And thanks for all your

00:54:40.900 --> 00:54:43.119
help on the policy side. You know, you've been

00:54:43.119 --> 00:54:45.840
a big assistance to our members, especially on

00:54:45.840 --> 00:54:47.599
those housing bills and got another bill through

00:54:47.599 --> 00:54:50.219
this year, House Bill 1345. Kudos to you. Thank

00:54:50.219 --> 00:54:52.519
you, Paul. Excited about that. Yeah, I was, too.

00:54:52.559 --> 00:54:55.269
I was glad to see it. Thanks to our members as

00:54:55.269 --> 00:54:57.829
well for everything that you do in your home

00:54:57.829 --> 00:55:00.789
counties. We know how tough it is to be a locally

00:55:00.789 --> 00:55:04.070
elected official, and we know why you do it and

00:55:04.070 --> 00:55:06.610
how dedicated you are to your job. And don't

00:55:06.610 --> 00:55:08.469
think that doesn't go unnoticed here in Olympia

00:55:08.469 --> 00:55:12.309
by your team here at WASAC. Hope you can join

00:55:12.309 --> 00:55:14.690
us for our next chat. And until then, take good

00:55:14.690 --> 00:55:20.119
care. Thanks for tuning in to County Connection.

00:55:20.159 --> 00:55:22.340
Stay in the loop by subscribing to us through

00:55:22.340 --> 00:55:24.639
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00:55:29.599 --> 00:55:31.360
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00:55:31.360 --> 00:55:34.059
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