No meaningful tax relief or resources to address fentanyl crisis in WA House budget | Rep. Connors
Feb 27, 2024 #waleg
The state collected an extra $3.3 billion over a 4-year outlook, and yet the House Democrats’ 2024 supplemental operating budget provides no meaningful financial relief for working families, argued Rep. April Connors during floor debate on HB 2104. #waleg
we live in one of the most beautiful
States in our nation it's not only
diverse in people but it's diverse in
landscape we go from evergreen trees to
the high desert where I live I think of
course I live in the most beautiful
District because we have Wineries and
potato fields and three rivers that are
are together the Columbia the snake and
the Yakama and we have the most majestic
Horse Heaven Hills where I live but I'm
saddened that I have to vote no on this
budget
today previously stated we have a huge
excess Revenue in the state of
Washington as stated by the good member
from the 14th
District we're not giving that excess
Revenue back to the people and the
numbers that we
should other states do rebates back to
the people in their state when they have
excess revenues States like California
Colorado Delaware New York Georgia
Hawaii and the list goes on and on and
on but while washingtonians are hurting
right now we're not providing that
relief to
them the state collected an extra
$3.3
billion over this four-year
Outlook this is the people's money we
have collected On The Backs of the
people working in the state of
Washington we owe the
people to give some of their money back
to
them washingtonians are struggling right
now and frankly I'm embarrassed by many
of the numbers in our state to say we're
the third highest state in the nation
for gas prices to say we have the fourth
highest grocery P prices in the nation
to say we're number four in housing cost
in the
nation we're not providing relief to
families right
now I heard a lot today I took a lot of
notes down as we went through uh the
Amendments that were presented
today and one that we was just
previously talked about is the fentel
crisis this budget does not go far
enough to help that crisis especially
when we're talking about children
in my district right before I came back
to the stay house a young girl was in a
hotel room with her
mom who was a known drug
addict with a father who came over who
had a restraining
order the mom and the dad locked
themselves in the
bathroom the newspaper report says the
little girl knocked on the bathroom door
and told her mom she was
hungry after they came out the little
girl was rushed to the hospital where
they found rainbow rainbow SK Skittle
fitel
pills in her stomach and up her nose she
died Madam
speaker it's you and I it's our
responsibility to do better especially
on that piece of the budget
item I'm hearing from my school
districts too I'm a mom I have two kids
still in our public education
system and I'm hearing how much they are
struggling with their budgets because of
the special education cap and I hear
this on a daily basis because my husband
is also on the school
board par
Educators many of my friends are doing
that last year when we had the restraint
bill before the house one of my friends
took the time to give me a stack of
letters from par Educators and what they
go through on the job every day
especially those that are dealing with
special
education we owe these par Educators a
working
wage are
fairies state of emergency I think I've
ridden a fairy once in Washington State
so while it might not be on my high
priority list living in Eastern
Washington I was sent here Madam speaker
to represent everyone in the state of
Washington not just my
district I want to be more involved in
crafting the state
budget I'm
prepared to be more involved in crafting
the state
budget my district District sent me here
to help craft the state
budget I'd like to take a couple minutes
I jotted down some words that the good
representative from the second district
said when he talked about the
transportation budget these are the
words he
used may I read them please proceed he
used the word
leadership he was used the word
commitment he used the word
responsible
collaboration a
team
bipartisan working within our
means and
prioritizing the House of
Representatives owes that approach to
the citizens of the state of
Washington Madam speaker I am
encouraging you to vote no with me on
this budget