Politics & Government

At least 200 Attend Dahlquist's First Town Hall Phone Meeting

Rep. Cathy Dahlquist fielded questions from her constituents in the 31st district regarding everything from the state budget to education to healthcare.

Based on the first phone town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Cathy Dahlquist, R-Enumclaw, Wednesday night, constituents from cities including Milton, Edgewood, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Buckley, Enumclaw, Lake Tapps and Auburn were most concerned with balancing the state budget, with jobs and the economy coming closely after that. 

An impromptu poll conducted during the call asked participants which issues were most important to them in this current 2011 state Legislature session.

The results were as follows:

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  • state budget: 32 percent
  • jobs and economy: 28 percent
  • health care: 19 percent
  • education: 13 percent
  • public safety: 8 percent

It's unclear as of Wednesday night how many people were polled there, but Dahlquist's spokesperson Bobbi Cussins indicated that their system registered roughly 2,700 participants -- with 200 or so remaining on the line for the full hour-long session.

"It was really successful," Cussins said. It was a way to gather a large group of people without concerns about gas and travel and limited time, she said. "In person, a town hall meeting like this might have gotten 12 people. We saw at least 200."

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In all, Dahlquist took 17 questions during the town hall meeting, and proportionally, they reflected her constituents' values -- 11 of those questions centered on concerns about balancing the state budget and out-of-control spending as well as how to better utilize taxes to support small business owners.

Responding to a question regarding how to get concessions made in Olympia and enforce the principle of living within one's means, Dahlquist responded that has a small business owner herself, she thinks the solution is to get people back to work. "It's a fairly-emotional issue and it doesn't need to be emotional -- it needs to be fact-based. Get people back to work and I think our revenue will even out a bit."

But hiring isn't so easy for small business owners who have to account for the state's business & opportunity (B&O) tax, which one caller from Lake Tapps said was stifling his ability to do business and hire people.

The good news, said Dahlquist, is that the House just passed House Bill 1672 that doubles the small business B&O tax credit. Lawmakers also need to look at the punitive damage that the tax places on businesses since it's taxing gross receipts rather than net receipts, she said, and there needs to be a real analysis of the B&O tax structure in the state.

Another Bonney Lake business owner, who operates an adult family home, took issue with House Bill 1277 which would increase his annual licensing fee from $100 to something amounting to more than $2,000. His home is at a 40 percent vacancy rate now and he's frustrated. "This is a business-destroying bill," he said. 

The presumption is that those who drafted this bill felt that adult family homes had been getting a free ride and not paying their share of costs associated with oversight and regulations of these facilities, he said, but the quantity of regulations is over the top.

Dahlquist concurred. "The amount of regulations we've passed, the unfunded mandates going to schools, the mandates period going to businesses -- it's not helping with job growth," she said.

Not Enough Squeaking About Education

Down in Olympia, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, Dahlquist said. And right now, those doing the most squeaking are people representing interests in health care.

When asked by a caller in Edgewood about where she sees the future of funding for local school districts, Dahlquist said she has been advocating Title 9, Section 1of the state constitution that says the state will fully fund education first, but others do have legitimate concerns about everything from public safety to health care. "As the cuts continue, the largest piece of the pie has been education."

But those who put education first aren't in Olympia because they're teachers who are working; and students who don't advocate and don't pay taxes. Similarly, people who care about eduction are parents with children in the school system. Once the child is gone and finished with college, their priorities change from education to healthcare and even jobs. "In your whole life, your job is important," she said. "But education is important to getting a good job which improves the economy and improves the budget. ... It's frustrating for me because it's [education] a priority for me."

More specifically in education, Dahlquist, like 55 percent of those polled during this call, does not support Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal to eliminate the position of superintendent of public instruction and rather set up an executive position to oversee education in the state who would be appointed rather than elected.

Many things need to be eliminated at OSPI, she said, but eliminating OSPI alone isn't the solution and there are several educational commissions and councils that need to be evaluated as well. Similarly, simply cutting spending on education will not lead to student improvement. "I think it's a reaction to people being dissatisfied with our education system."

At the same time, many local school districts have recently been hit by  from the state that affected the K-4 enhancement program that promoted smaller class sizes. Dahlquist, in replying to a question about possibly delinking WASL requirements from high school graduation in order to make up for some of the cuts, said that would not be right. "What we've seen with reading and writing is that once you have a standard of accountability and test, that schools and staff and students try to meet that. ... We could be going backwards here. We want to hold kids accountable."

However, House Bill 1412 seeing to amend end-of-course assessments in math, could save the state $16 million, she said.

Other Call Highlights

  • Education: A caller from Buckley asked about the GET program that helps families fund their children's college educations and what changes were coming ahead.

The problem was that it wasn't sustainable, Dahlquist said. Her advice was to continue to monitor the account and be responsible for it: watch it and make purchases when you believe it's the right time. "I think it's a good program but make sure you compare the cost of what a credit is to what the cost of a GET credit is. It is changing but we need to make sure it's sustainable and that we're not hurting our higher institutions because of it."

  • Enumclaw Business: One caller from Enumclaw who identified himself as a small business owner, asked Dahlquist what she could do to drive more economy into Enumclaw and help generate tourism dollars, in light of the recent Enumclaw City Council decision to  to build a park & ride facility to accommodate visitors to a pending Welcome Center the city is working towards.

Dahlquist replied that the decision was disappointing but it is a concern better directed toward the city. The state's role is to work on the budget -- for example, the transportation budget, she said. She's worked with fellow lawmakers Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw and Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn to repave sections of State Route 164 and provide better access to Enumclaw from surrounding communities. "At the state level, that's all we can do."

  • State Budget: Between 2004 and 2010, the state's revenue increased by 14 percent but spending increased by 33 percent, said Dahlquist. But those in control continued to embrace budget ideas that lacked vision and ignored the economic realities the state now faces, which is a $5 billion shortfall. The solution to help reign in spending is to pass a budget that eliminates wasteful spending and to prioritize, streamline and reform government services, she said.

Like what, asked one caller from Enumclaw. "Employment contracts in healthcare," Dahlquist replied. "Negotiating healthcare benefits that certain populations in state employment receive."

  • Taxes: State voters have rejected taxes that had previously been put on candy and bottled water but what about taxes on food, asked a Bonney Lake caller. "It's not something I'd normally support in a normal economy, but it's something people need to vote on."

What about taxes goods and services from overseas, asked an Auburn caller. Dahlquist replied that the Senate recently passed a bill that would charge Canadians coming across the border for groceries and gas taxes that they were previously exempt from. As a first-year lawmaker she's still learning the process. "It's a great democratic process in that it takes a lot of work to get a tax through."

  • Healthcare: Legislators typically are paid $42,000 for the year -- it's an annual salary and they are given good medical benefits -- in fact the benefits vary greatly from what Dahlquist said she previously paid as a small business owner. So when she was asked if she'd be willing to take a pay cut to help balance the budget, "Yes, I can take a pay cut. I believe state employees should be paying a greater share of healthcare benefits."

Her First Year So Far

Dahlquist, who serves on the Education Committee, the Education Appropriations Committee, the Technology, Energy and Communications Committe and the Rules Committee, has overseen the House passage of two bills related to public safety: 

House Bill 1549 was brought to Dahlquist by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. As passed in the House, the measure would require that schools receive a 30-day notice when a juvenile offender coming out of an adult correctional facility enrolls to attend classes in the K-12 education system.

House Bill 1206 would add criminal justice workers, including police officers, prosecutors and other correctional staff, to the list of those workers protected from harassment while they are performing their jobs. Judges and juries already have this protection.

“I was so pleased to have such strong bipartisan support for my bills. They really are common-sense updates to our laws and will better protect students, teachers and those who protect us in our communities,” Dahlquist said.

About her experience so far in the state Legislature, Dahlquist said she's had several 'a-ha' moments already -- primarily around the process of creating a law. From fruition, to getting fellow lawmakers to sign on, to doing it in a bipartisan way, to having a proposed law heard in committee and being a part of that presentation, to testifying about it, seeing it out of committee, having it go to the House floor, where "hopefully it gained a lot of agreement on both sides of the aisle before that happens. ... I didn't realize that it took a great deal of work and effort to make a law."

In all, it's been a "humbling experience. ... You can't please everyone all the time but I'm working hard for you and doing my best and I would appreciate your suggestions."

The public can contact Dahlquist at her legislative office. She can be reached at 360-786-7846 or cathy.dahlquist@leg.wa.gov. People are also welcome to leave a message on the toll-free legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000.

 

 

 



 


 

 


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