Early this week, Governor Gregoire released a 2013-2015 biennial budget, outlining how she plans to close the state’s $970 million deficit. The good news is that the Governor included new revenue in her proposal. The bad news is that even with this revenue, she proposed to eliminate cash assistance to 18,000 blind and disabled adults and to completely eliminate the State Food Assistance Program (along with additional cuts to Working Connections Child Care and TANF).

Since 2009, Washington has made $11 billion in cuts to state services that protect the health and safety of our communities – we cannot afford any more. Governor-elect Jay Inslee has thus far not indicated any willingness to consider the need to raise revenue in order to balance the state’s budge.  It is clear that including new revenue will be crucial to avoid further devastation to our state’s infrastructure and safety net programs. 

See the Coalition’s postcard campaign for our message to Governor-elect Jay Inslee about why revenue needs to be on the table this session. (Download, print, and send your own!)

At our December General Membership meeting, we covered some of the key issues and positive legislation we’ll be speaking up about in the 2013 Legislative Session.  Thanks to the more than 50 people who attended, and to our friends from Columbia Legal Services and the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance who dove into policy details and opportunities for our members to help educate legislators about these issues and proposals:

• Invest in the Housing Trust Fund to built more affordable housing across Washington State
• Pass Part 2 of the Fair Tenant Screening Act
• Enact REVENUE to Avoid Cuts to Services and Programs
• Protect and strengthen life-saving programs:
  • Disability Lifeline Programs: Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) and Aged, Blind, and Disabled (ABD) Assistance
    • Increase the Aged, Blind & Disabled cash grant
    • Restore a modest cash grant for Housing and Essential Needs recipients to buy their own essential needs: Everyone needs a little cash
    • Include ADATSA clients in eligibility for Housing and Essential Needs program (2013 Briefing Paper from King County)
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
    • Restore cash grant to pre-2011 levels, before 15% reduction
    • Carve out more exceptions to the 5 year life-time limit
    • Increase time allowed for participants to pursue education and vocational training from 12 to 24 months
    • See the TANF priorities of the Welfare Advocate Group here: fact sheet
• Pass Legislation that Addresses Youth Homelessness
  • Reinstate the 72-hour notification rule for youth shelters (fact sheet)
  • Expand the Extended Foster Care Program to allow ALL youth aging
    out of foster care to have access to safe housing until age 21
  • Remove barriers for rehabilitated youth by making youth juvenile offense records private (fact sheet)
  • Provide legal representation to vulnerable foster children and youth (fact sheet)
  • Contact our partners at The Mockingbird Society or Columbia Legal Services for more information on these bills.

The Coalition also strongly supports the whole Washington Low Income Housing Alliance’s legislative agenda for the 2013 Session.