Clients
Count Consulting
Count Consulting provides lobbying and other services to organized labor. Gordon Baxter, owner, currently lobbies for unions in the maritime industry in the State of Washington.
2002 FINAL LEGISLATIVE REPORT
The 2002 legislative session ended on March 14. The Legislature had to contend with a $1.6 Billion deficit in the state budget and a worsening transportation mess. They were able to pass a budget with no major tax increases or program cuts. The Democrats, in the majority in both houses (50-48 in the House, 25-24 in the Senate) for the first time in years did not want to enter the 2002 election campaign with the Republicans yelling about tax-and-spend Democrats.
The $1.6 Billion hole in the budget is the fault of the worsening economy and the impact of Sept. 11. Although most state programs experienced cuts, few programs were totally axed. There will, however, be no cost-of-living raises for state employees this year.
There were some gains made by working people in this session with teaching assistants and research assistants at the state universities gaining the right to organize Unions. State employee Unions also gained the right to collectively bargain for pay and benefits.
There were unfortunately also disappointments. The bill to establish a state prescription drug purchasing pool did not pass. A bill supported by the ILWU to allow purchase of timber from public lands by mills which export logs also failed. I believe we can press this bill in the future, hopefully with greater success.
The Neah Bay rescue tug has been dispatched to eight vessels in distress the last seven months and definitely proven its worth many times over. With the help of Bruce Wishart of People for Puget Sound, we secured funding for at least 200 days this coming winter. A memorial also passed both houses asking the Federal government to help pay for the tug. The tug will continue to be a fight until we find a permanent source of funding. IBU Patrolman Stuart Downer and I are continuing our work on this.
A bill authorizing the Secretary of Transportation to supplement the income of a Department of Transportation or Ferry System worker injured by vehicular assault passed both houses and is on the Governor's desk awaiting his autograph. This is a bill we have worked on for the past two sessions.
The Legislature decided to avoid taking a vote on the 9-cents per gallon gas tax increase to pay for transportation improvements. The tax will be voted on by the public at the polls in November. We were able to keep 4 new auto ferries to replace the aging steel-electrics on the list of improvements. We also gained passenger-only terminal improvements for Kingston and Southworth, and money for passenger-only boat purchases for Kingston-Seattle service beginning September 2003 and Southworth-Seattle beginning September 2007. Our work on these terminals and boats has just begun, however, and we are going to have to work to get the referendum passed by the voters in November.
Although we made some gains this session, we must work harder to reverse our losses on the Timber Substitution Bill and Ferry System workers' pay and benefits. We also need to increase awareness and resources to the problems of freight mobility, especially around our ports. We must all work harder than ever this November to elect our friends and defeat our enemies. I will be communicating with you over the course of the year to discuss ways to make our presence felt even more in this year=s election and next year's legislative session.
I would like to thank many people for their help this year, especially Dave Freiboth , Terri Mast, Dave McKenzie and Stuart Downer of the IBU, John Munson, Max Vekich and Mike Brown of the ILWU, and John McCurdy and Marty Micomonaco of MEBA. Steve Brickley of the MM&P also helped us lobby on the passenger-only ferries. If I have forgotten anyone, please accept my humble apology and give me a call so I can add your name to the list.
NOW get on the phone, call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and leave a message for Governor Locke asking him to sign Senate Bill 5513, Motorist Assault on Transportation and Ferry Workers, and to keep funding for the Neah Bay Tug. Thank you.