Hello Readers,

It is with great pleasure that I can report that the state Legislature finished its 60 day session on time yesterday evening, March 13.  Our elected officials accomplished their main goal of passing the supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets.  The capital and transportation budgets are generally agreed to as these budgets are for schools, state agency buildings, roads, ferries, higher education and things that are less policy oriented.

The operating budget, though, is a different story.  Both parties have different priorities and this means some contentious debate over how our money is spent.  Since the Democrats have control of the House, Senate and Governor's office, they rule the day and do not have to compromise very much.  This can result in overspending, as we saw the Republicans do in Congress when they had full control. 

The final operating budget can be found here:  http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/2687-S.PL.pdf. 

A lot of very interesting state budget information put out by the Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program (LEAP) can be found here:  http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/WM/ at the Senate Ways and Means Committee website. 

You can pore over the details of all 3 supplemental budgets.  In the current biennium that runs from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2009, the state will spend $29.853 billion and will keep just under $836 million in reserve.  (This is just in operating funds--it does not include the capital and transportation budgets.)  The question is will that be enough to weather the inevitable economic downturn that is apparently already upon us, as evidenced by the slowing of revenue growth.

Each biennium the state spends more than the previous one.  It has not been since the severe recession of the early 80's that the state has ever spent less than the previous biennium.  In fact, state spending has increased approximately 33% in the last 4 years.  Some of this spending, of course, was necessary and prudent as it has gone into K-12 education, teacher raises, expansion of college and university enrollments, improvements in math and science and other areas that can be viewed as "investments". 

However, the state is also throwing more money at health care, giving public employee unions and the SEIU more and more and asking for nothing in return, allowing huge expansions in collective bargaining that drives up costs and regulations on business that do not necessarily result in better outcomes.  Along with increasing state agency fees, it is not surprising that Tim Eyman's initiatives, as flawed as they are, continue to pass.

There were some bright spots that did occur during the short session of 2008.  A broadband deployment project along with expansion of community technology programs, supported by WTIA, passed the legislature.  The transportation budget included a $150K pilot project for Kitsap County to expand teleworking and telecommuting, which WTIA also lobbied for.

One area that WTIA members and the state's tech industry ought to be concerned about is the increasing amount of legislation regarding privacy and the use of personal data.  Consumers and legislators are rightfully concerned about the increasing use (and misuse) of personal information by both government and business.  With the high incidence of identity theft, breaches of databases, new and powerful data collection technologies, like RFID, and the ability to do extensive personal searches on the internet, many people are wary of how their personal information is being used and marketed.  Plus the "over marketing" we all experience in the media, in our e-mail, etc. is creating a backlash that ends up as restrictive legislative proposals.

At the same time, all the new consumer products, social networking sites, mobile applications and other popular technologies all rely on having good information about how people shop and act in the marketplace.  We all want convenience but do not always understand the link between the giving up of personal information and the conveneince we all enjoy.

WTIA will be looking at this issue closely over the next few months and want our members involvement and input.  Please contact me at Lmcmurran@washingtontechnology.org if you would like to participate in our privacy task force.

If you have any questions about specific legislation, please do not hesitate to contact me as we are a resource for you, our members.

I will be blogging more about health care and the upcoming state elections in the next month.  I look forward to your feedback and involvement in the WTIA--your voice with government.  Thanks and have a great weekend.