2012 Washington State Budget: A Year of Political Earthquakes

Abstract

DOI 10.1515/cjpp-2013-0031 Calif. J. Politics Policy 2013; 5(3): 557–576 Francis Benjamin*, Maria Chavez and Nicholas Lovrich 2012 Washington State Budget: A Year of Political Earthquakes Abstract: Washington State continues to battle a slowly recovering economy, and the budgeting decisions which the legislature is required to make remain very difficult. Some legislators see the budget solution to Washington State’s current economic condition to rest not solely on budget reform and program cuts, but also on increasing revenue through new taxes. These legislators have felt unduly hampered by the 2/3 legislative supermajority vote requirement established by citizen initiative. The budget process, normally controlled by the majority caucus, became subject to intense political maneuvering and power plays so intense that the minority caucus — which historically has minimal clout during budget pro- ceedings — ended up with significant influence. The Seattle Times called the situ- ation “a political earthquake not seen in 25 years”. Keywords: Washington State; Budget; Citizen Initiatives; Court Rulings; Chang- ing Party Affiliation. *Corresponding author: Francis Benjamin, School of Politics, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Washington State University, Washington, USA, e-mail: benjamin@wsu.edu Maria Chavez: Department of Political Science, Pacific Lutheran University, Washington, USA Nicholas Lovrich: School of Politics, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Washington State University, Washington, USA 1 Introduction Washington State experienced continued budgetary challenges throughout the 2012 60-day regular legislative session and subsequently held a 30-day special session to deal with budgetary issues, followed by a 1-day special session to address remaining budget shortfalls. These challenges occasioned by ongoing revenue shortfalls put legislators in the uncomfortable position of needing to continue their budget-cutting efforts while looking for additional sources of revenue. The budget process, normally controlled by the majority caucus, became subject to intense political maneuvering and power plays so intense that the minority caucus, which historically has minimal clout during budget pro- ceedings, ended up with significant influence. The Seattle Times called the situa- tion “a political earthquake not seen in 25 years” (Seattle Times Editorial 2012b).