Tag Archives: Senate Majority Coalition Caucus

Senate majority leader welcomes Rossi’s return

Sen. Schoesler -- 2015RITZVILLE…The King County Council today appointed former state Sen. Dino Rossi to the 45th Legislative District position left vacant by Sen. Andy Hill’s death Oct. 31. Rossi, R-Sammamish, served the neighboring 5th Legislative District from 1997 through 2003, stepping down to run for governor, and again during the second half of 2012.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler offered this reaction after learning of the council’s selection:

“While many of us are still mourning the loss of Senator Hill, one of the finest public servants I will ever have the privilege to know, the King County Council has chosen another outstanding public servant to carry on as senator for the people of the 45th District. Dino Rossi’s talents and experience also will be welcomed by our Senate majority in the coming year as we work to protect Washington’s future.

“In four years as budget chair, Senator Hill set new standards of support for K-12 education, higher education and services for the most vulnerable residents of our state, all without endangering Washington’s economy through needless tax increases. Similarly, during his time as Senate budget leader, Dino Rossi crafted a bipartisan budget that provided strong support for education, services for the vulnerable, and state workers, and erased a massive deficit without general tax increases.

Sen. Dino Rossi, R-Sammamish

Sen. Dino Rossi, R-Sammamish

“We will miss Senator Hill’s wise and thoughtful leadership greatly in 2017 as our Majority Coalition Caucus continues to address the needs of students and families. At the same time, I appreciate that Dino made himself available to serve and commend the council for selecting someone of his caliber.”

In July 2012 the council appointed Rossi to complete the term of former 5th District Sen. Cheryl Pflug after she accepted a gubernatorial appointment. By law Rossi’s appointment expired with the 2012 general election; when new legislative boundaries took effect after that election, his Sammamish home was among the addresses that were no longer in the 5th District but instead part of the 45th District served by Hill.

Rossi (pictured at right) will take office immediately after the oath of office is administered. He will serve through the 2017 general election, when 45th District voters select someone to serve the final year remaining in the term won by Hill in 2014.

Schoesler says Senate budget proposal’s no-new-taxes approach is best

for website home page 2Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler offered this statement about the supplemental operating budget proposed today by the Senate. The update would increase state spending in the 2015-17 operating budget by a modest $49 million.

“Governor Inslee wants to raise taxes and raid the state’s rainy-day fund. The Democrats who control the House of Representatives want to raise taxes and raid the state’s rainy-day fund. Only the Senate’s budget avoids tax increases and protects the rainy-day fund. That is a top priority for our Majority Coalition Caucus, and the plan we put on the table today continues to build on the remarkable record of results we have achieved in four years of leading the Senate.

“The MCC has again shown it is possible to provide for education and state government’s other priorities without outspending the available revenue. By continuing to keep tax rates stable for families and employers, we encourage job growth in all corners of the state, not just the Puget Sound area, which puts Washington in the best position to continue recovering from the Great Recession.

“A supplemental budget is supposed to make adjustments in response to emerging needs and caseload shifts and one-time opportunities that could not have been foreseen when the two-year budget was approved. The governor and House leaders are wrong to use their budget proposals as a way to go after families and employers for more tax dollars and raid the rainy-day fund to support new spending.

“It is disappointing that the House’s budget proposal also takes aim at the Washington-only law requiring the two-year budget to balance across four years, not just two. This unique policy has brought stability by forcing budget writers to account for the long-term effects of their decisions – meaning beyond the next election. The House’s chief budget writer supported the creation of that law in 2012, before he started wearing that hat. Now he refers to the law as ‘voodoo economics’ and wants to kneecap it while using a half-dozen tax increases to balance the House budget proposal. They include a bottled-water tax that was already rejected by voters and a sales-tax increase that would devastate retailers in our border counties, in legislative districts served primarily by Republicans.

“This legislative session is scheduled to end two weeks from tomorrow; let’s work toward a budget agreement that is an update, not a rewrite, without the empty posturing about new taxes that dragged the Legislature through three overtimes this past year.”

Schoesler is a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which is holding a public hearing on the Senate’s supplemental operating-budget and capital-budget proposals today; it may be viewed online at www.TVW.org.