Guest Commentary

OLYMPIA–Gov. Jay Inslee has signed bipartisan legislation sponsored by 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler that will provide temporary property-tax relief for Malden-area residents and other Washingtonians who are rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by wildfires last September.

Under Senate Bill 5454, Washington residents who lost a home to wildfire between Sept. 1 and Sept. 19, 2020, will be exempt from paying property taxes on the full value of the original structure for three years, if the home is being rebuilt or physically improved.

The Senate passed the measure 49-0 on March 9. The House approved it 97-1 on April 11.

Nearly 300 homes, including more than 120 residences in or near the Whitman County towns of Malden and Pine City, were destroyed by wildfires that burned different parts of Washington last September.

"I'm pleased this bill has been signed into law because it will help those people across the state who lost their homes in the terrible wildfires last Labor Day," said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, whose district includes Whitman County. "These homeowners lost practically everything, and families and individuals have struggled to recover. Some of them didn't have homeowner insurance. This bill offers them some temporary tax relief to help ease their financial burden as they try to rebuild their homes and their lives."

Schoesler thanked the bipartisan group of senators who co-sponsored the bill, including Sens. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick; David Frockt, D-Seattle; Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside; Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley; Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island; Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim; Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley; Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake; and Jeff Wilson, R-Longview.

According to a Spokane news report, 121 homes, eight commercial properties and 94 other structures were destroyed by the Labor Day wildfire in or near Malden and Pine City.

Statewide, 298 homes were lost in the September wildfires. In all, more than 700 structures were lost. More than 600,000 acres burned in Washington during the two weeks after Labor Day.

New operating budget: too much spending

On the final weekend of the session, the Senate and House passed a compromise version of the new state operating budget. This budget pays for the state's daily operations, including early learning, K-12 education, higher education, health and human services, criminal justice, natural resources, courts, and more.

I voted against the 2021-23 operating budget, primarily because it raises spending too much – to a record $59.2 billion. While there are things in this budget that I like and support, I simply can't support spending so much of the taxpayers' money.

Even factoring in the costs of the COVID pandemic and the effects of the governor's shutdown of Washington's economy, state revenues are still projected to be positive, with more dollars going into the state's coffers than expected several months ago. Unfortunately, the final budget spends all of this revenue in the coming years. Even worse, it spends all of the money in the state's $2 billion Budget Stabilization Account, known as the "rainy-day fund."

In my nearly 30 years as a legislator, I've seen this situation unfold before: Democrats pass a new operating budget that significantly increases the level of spending. An economic recession follows, forcing the Legislature to make unpopular cuts to important services and programs – or raise taxes to avoid cuts. After the economy recovers and revenue starts rolling in again, Democrats repeat this frustrating cycle.

What's really disappointing is that many Washingtonians are still struggling financially because of the pandemic and the related economic restrictions. Hard-working taxpayers are having to make do under difficult circumstances. It's too bad my Democratic colleagues in the Legislature couldn't show some fiscal restraint and not set our state up for another budget crisis the next time Washington's economy takes a plunge and revenues decline.