freedom at OLY

Dear Larry, Welcome to the first edition of "Freedom at the Capitol," our publication shedding light on key legislative happenings. Jan. 9, 2015 - Max shows lawmakers another SEIU racket: "Mandatory Training." - The budget puzzle: Revenue up 8 percent; governor wants 15 percent. - Worker protection bill introduced: Let employees vote out forced fees. The 2015 legislative session begins Monday, and for the first week the agenda is primarily ceremonies, information sessions for new lawmakers and getting acquainted. The Freedom Foundation will be using this time to meet with legislators and enlist champions to help chip away at the special privileges in law that only government unions enjoy. Stay tuned each Friday for the Freedom Foundation's legislative "Freedom at the Capitol" report. = = = = = = = = = MAX AT THE LEGISLATURE When a union enterprise spends more than $2 million to pass two initiatives requiring home healthcare providers to get trained and giving the union a monopoly on providing the training, what could possibly go wrong? Laws of economics predict high costs, low quality and extreme defensiveness on the part of the provider. At a meeting of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, healthcare training was the subject of the meeting. Max told legislators about the flaws of the SEIU scheme of mandatory training. He related the concerns of the care providers that the current law was "wasting taxpayer money and poorly serving applicants." Find more here. = = = = = = = = = THE BUDGET PUZZLE The current budget of state general fund operating costs is $33.6 billion for two years (13-15). The good news is that the revenue estimated for the next budget cycle is expected to be $36.3 billion. (Up more than 8 percent) The bad news is that the governor wants to spend $39.7 billion. (Up more than 15 percent) The increase he envisions includes $596 million for school employee raises, $580 million for state employee raises, $90 million for the SEIU contract. His plan requires $1.4 billion in new taxes—an amount similar to the cost of pay raises for union-paying employees. His plan also includes $1.3 billion for complying with the court mandate to provide full day kindergarten, smaller class sizes and more materials for schools. The payroll expansion for schools expected by the recently-passed Initiative 1351 is not funded completely. It is noteworthy that a recent poll shows that 65 percent of voters would rather not increase taxes even if it means the education funding mandates are not fully implemented Washington Voters Oppose Tax Increases for Education = = = = = = = = = SEN. JAN ANGEL INTRODUCES WORKER PROTECTION BILL The Freedom Foundation focus in the Legislature is to expose and remove the special privileges and loopholes created for the public sector union enterprises in our state. Already one bill has been introduced which takes a small step forward. Currently, union members in the private sector have the ability to call for a vote on forced-fee arrangements in their contracts. So do public-sector union members in Oregon and California. Union employees in Sen. Jan Angel's (R Port Orchard) district sought help from the Freedom Foundation to bring this small measure of democracy into the public sector union monopoly here in Washington. Senate Bill 5045 has already been filed by Angel to add this protection for public employees. Feel free to "Comment on the Bill"