Author Archives: Erik Smith

Rep. MacEwen sponsors bill to help prevent future special sessions

Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, has introduced House Bill 2062 which would direct the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council to submit its first projections on tax collections earlier.

Currently, during long sessions like this year, March 20 is the deadline for the first projections. MacEwen’s bill would move the date to February 20. Lawmakers rely on that forecast to develop budget plans because it gauges how much money the state will have available to spend.

“We should be doing everything we can to help us complete our work on time. Every day of the special session costs roughly $18,000 and that is an unnecessary expense,” MacEwen said. “In these difficult economic times we must act instead of wait. It’s the old adage ‘time is money’, and now it’s the taxpayer’s money. With the forecast released sooner, budget writers will have more time to craft a strong bipartisan budget without another costly special session.”

This year the Legislature was unable to finish its work on time. The regular session ended April 28 and the special session will begin May 13. The special session can last as long as 30 days.

MacEwen bill to save state Christmas tree crop becomes law

House Bill 1209, sponsored by Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, was signed into law April 25.

The law extends a program that licenses state tree growers and protects their harvest. Without this program, if the state Christmas tree crop were to become infested, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) could quarantine an entire season of growth. The current law would have ended the program in 2014 and now it will go through 2020.

“Statewide, the forest industry provides more than 100,000 jobs. It is clear this industry is critical for our economy and jobs. The forest industry is critical to my district and it employs more than 3,000 people in Mason County alone,” said MacEwen, R-Union. “I am happy to have helped save our Christmas tree crop should a infestation ever become a problem.”

House Bill 1209 was the first law on the books for MacEwen, who is a freshmen legislator. The regular session ended April 28 and the special session will begin on May 13. MacEwen is the assistant Ranking Republican on House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and the Capital Budget Committee. He also serves as assistant whip for the House Republican Caucus.

MacEwen vocally opposes tax bill that could close businesses in Mason County and surrounding communities

Yesterday, April 24, Democrats in the House of Representatives ignored repeated opposition to House Bill 2038, which would increase taxes on small service business by $905 million.

The bill narrowly passed with a 50 to 47 vote as five Democrats sided with Republicans. According to the title, the intent of the bill is to fund the education legacy trust account through new taxes and ending tax exemptions that were set to expire this summer. The largest exemption to change is business and occupation (B&O) tax on many self-employed people, small businesses and service businesses.

Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, along with most House Republicans, vocally opposed this legislation on the House floor. McEwen’s floor speech had unique insight since he is business owner with first-hand knowledge of how this tax will impact employers.

“My timing in starting my company wasn’t great, it was three weeks before nine-eleven. And I still remember that morning. I had rolled some big dice in resigning from the company I was working for and starting my own… and in the days after nine-eleven my dad came to me because I was pretty distraught over this whole thing. I was wondering how I was even going to get through that month and I still remember what he said to me. He had run a successful business and he said, ‘When you can’t control the revenue, control the expenses.’ We are seeking to try and control revenue that we really can’t control. We spend $10,300 per student in this state, on education. McCleary didn’t say just throw more money at it; it said fix it. We have not made a fair effort fix it. Instead, we seek to put more money toward it. We’re going to raise taxes again. “I stopped to get gas in my district on the way to come back here. I know the owner of the gas station and he comes out and starts talking to me about these taxes. He is pretty astute. He knows what’s going on but the guy on the other side of the pump stops pumping and sticks his head around and says, ‘Are you serious? How am I going to afford this?’ “I met with my assistant yesterday to sign payroll which happens today. And, I always make it a point to look at those names on the checks. I’m thinking to myself, this won’t happen tomorrow if this bill passes, it will be over the course of the next year or so, but at that point which one of these people are we going to let go? And, between me and my partners everyone of those employees has been chosen for a reason. And, one of them just had a baby. So which one? Which one, if this goes into law, do we let go? “I urge this chamber to think. We need to do some serious reforms. We do need to fix education and we do need to fund it first. But, we can’t just keep digging into the pockets of the taxpayers… there’s not much left there. Vote ‘no’ …thank you Mr. Speaker.”

Taxes included in House Bill 2038 would come from many small businesses, including: contractors, landscapers, realtors, barbers, janitors, truck drivers, warehouse workers, bus drivers, music teachers and others. Since the B&O tax is calculated on gross income, if a company incurs a large gross income but nets little actual money they could be in for a huge tax increase. Republicans further argued that because of this the B&O tax could eliminate thousands of jobs in Washington state.

Now, House Bill 2038 goes to the Senate for a vote and has three days to progress, depending on the reaction of the Senate, the bill could be brought to the floor for a vote and pass, be changed and returned to the House for concurrence, or die. The regular session of the Legislature ends this Sunday, April 28.

View MacEwen’s speech online:https://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2013040151A#start=6916&stop=7068

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TAX INCREASES INCLUDED IN HOUSE BILL 2038

$534 million – Would permanently extend the business and occupation (B&O) surtax on certain businesses.
$14.6 million – B&O tax rates for travel agents.
$51.5 million – Would place sales and use tax on bottled water. This is the same tax that was repealed by voters in 2010.
$63.7 million – Would repeal the nonresident sales and use tax exemption. This could especially hit our border counties very hard along Oregon and the British Columbia borders.
$78.7 million – B&O taxes for high-tech research and development.
$63.2 million – Public utility tax on truck transport of goods in state that are destined for out of state.
$24.1 million – B&O and sales and use taxes for import commerce.
$29 million – B&O tax for sellers of prescription drugs
$40.8 million – Fuel tax for extracted fuel
$5.2 million – Handling losses fuel tax

TOTAL: $904.8 million

Can you afford the Belfair Bypass? Bypass can be viewed as a model of the larger budget issues

Special to the Shelton Journal

Since taking office in January, I have been studying the Belfair Bypass project as well as all state government. What is happening with the construction of our bypass is the small-scale version of what is happening in every budget the state has proposed so far.

Essentially the state Legislature has chosen to ignore the bureaucratic problems, oppose fundamental reforms of the Department of Transportation and other agencies, and ask you, the taxpayers, for more money.

One of my goals, since I ran for office, has been to get the Belfair Bypass funded. This would greatly enhance freight mobility, congestion relief and be an economic stimulus to our region. I believe the bypass is important for our district.

What I believe even more strongly, is our district needs to keep the money it earns. We need to keep food on the table, a roof over our heads, gas in our cars and money in our local economy.

I’ve been disappointed to see the solution offered by many in the Legislature. That solution is for our state government to ask our hardworking families for more of their hard-earned money time and time again.

The latest transportation budget claims it would fund construction of the bypass – a claim that has been made before. Democrats who wrote this budget say construction can happen, but only with a new 13-cent per gallon gas tax. If it passes, we will pay 69 cents in taxes for every gallon at the pump and have the highest gas tax in the nation. There are many members of the Legislature that believe this is a fine bargain.

If you live in Seattle, maybe it is fine. If you live in Mason County, where 50 percent of the residents commute outside the county every day for work, your gas bill will increase by hundreds of dollars. Can you afford that? Even if it builds the bypass, can you afford to pay hundreds more per year, every year for the same amount of fuel? Without a doubt, this tax unfairly targets Mason County. It discriminates against citizens in rural areas and lower income families, while benefitting urban centers.

This isn’t the first time we have been asked to accept a tax. The architects of the 2005 state gas tax increase over-promised and under-delivered. The last gas tax increase built an off-ramp in the wrong place, a faulty ferry and flawed pontoons for the 520 Bridge replacement. Without creating any new standards of accountability they are asking us to accept a tax again.

If we look at what has happened with the Belfair Bypass as an example, we can understand how the Legislature works regarding their budget as a whole.

They have taken something that would make the lives of people better – a bypass that decreases congestion and increases property values – and held it hostage until we agree to pay more. They misspent the money we already sent them for transportation and have given no sign that they can or will spend new dollars more wisely.

House Democrats and the governor are doing the same thing on a larger scale with the operating budget.

They are taking something that improves our quality of life – a good education for our children – and are holding it hostage to agreement on increased taxes. The majority party proposes $1.3 billion in new taxes; including a 270 percent increase on service businesses, such as your local insurance and real estate agent.

Our state government misspent lottery money and other tax dollars we already sent and refuses to examine what didn’t work. Our state leadership has failed us financially and continues to pick politics over people and make excuses for breaking their promise not to raise taxes.

Every industry and labor group has lobbyists in Olympia working on their behalf. Who do the taxpayers have? I can assure you – you have me. I will fight against tax increases and fight for reforming state government so that we can get Washington working again.

MacEwen bill passes the Senate, goes to the governor to become law

A bill to help the state Christmas tree crop, sponsored by Rep. Drew MacEwen, was voted off the Senate floor yesterday 47-1. House Bill 1209 would extend a program that licenses state tree growers and protects their harvest. Without this program, if the state Christmas tree crop were to become infested, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) could quarantine an entire season of growth. MacEwen’s bill would extend the program, which is currently in place from 2014 through 2020.

“In Mason County alone more than 3,000 people are employed by the forest industry. Statewide the forest industry provides more than 100,000 jobs and $5.3 billion in wages. It is clear that this industry is critical for the state economy and jobs,” said MacEwen, R-Union. “However, without this legislation regulations kill our forest industry. We can’t allow that to happen.”

House Bill 1209 will now go to the governor to be signed into law. In Washington the governor has veto and partial veto powers, so it is possible the bill could be modified. But, due to its broad support and easy passage out of both chambers it is highly unlikely the bill will be changed. The governor has 20 days after sine die to sign bills. Passage of this legislation will be the first law on the books for MacEwen who is a freshmen legislator.

“Our state government needs to focus on getting Washington working and I am happy to have participated in moving us toward that goal,” MacEwen said. “It is my intention to continue to fight for legislation that helps decrease unemployment and benefits our communities where they need it most.”

The 2013 legislative session is scheduled to adjourn on April 28.

Rep. MacEwen says politics responsible for the death of bill to prohibit use of EBT for alcohol and drugs

Earlier this week the House Early Learning & Human Services Committee heard a bill that would have prohibited the use of public assistance funds to obtain alcohol and drugs.

Changes associated with the privatization of state liquor stores and the legalization of marijuana in Washington created loopholes which could allow the use of electronic benefit (EBT) cards or cash from EBT to purchase alcohol or marijuana. The bill failed to move before the cutoff this week.

In the Senate, an amendment was proposed to allow EBT to be used for medicinal marijuana. The amendment failed to pass; however, the bill still progressed to the House. During the House hearing a representative from the National Organization of Women and Welfare Advocates Group testified in favor of using EBT for medicinal marijuana.

According to Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, who sits on the House Early Learning & Human Services Committee, the bill didn’t make it out of committee because it wasn’t amended to add medicinal marijuana.

“This legislation was needed and I believe that politics trumped policy in this case. Public assistance dollars are provided to help families in need to purchase food and necessities,” MacEwen said. “In the past, DSHS has limited what can and cannot be purchased using an EBT card. Attempts by committee Democrats to broaden the bill so it allowed people to purchase medical marijuana with EBT is just another example of misuse of public dollars. We have an obligation to protect the vulnerable but we must also work to protect the interests of hard working taxpayers.”

Rep. Drew MacEwen’s Legislative Update: March 28, 2013

We are in the home stretch of the 105-day session which is scheduled to end on April 28. We have passed three deadlines so far: February 22, last day for bills to be passed out of policy committees; March 1, last day for bills to pass budget committees; and March 13, last day for bills to be passed off the House floor. We are now considering Senate bills in House committees. For a quick reminder of the process for passing a bill click here. Our next cut-off will be on April 3, at that time Senate bills must pass House policy committees in order to keep going through the process.

Due to the unique make-up of the Senate, and legislation that has died due to cut-off, there are not nearly as many bills to be heard. This has been a quiet week. However, we have been told that this is just the calm before the storm. We have yet to begin budget discussions and those are sure to be a battle. My fellow House Republicans and I will continue to fight to fund education first and get back to a priorities of government model of budgeting. In my recent video update I addressed the state of our economy and budget.

Budget and the Economy

It is time for our state to truly move forward and create jobs. Continuing to take more money from hardworking taxpayers rather than prioritizing our budget is unacceptable. Political insiders will say there is not enough revenue to sustain our current budget. They will use that statement to levy new taxes on struggling families. It is not the truth. We have a fragile, slowly growing economy however we are still predicted to have $2 billion in new revenue.

The Legislature is capable of passing a budget that only uses $2 billon MORE instead of imposing new taxes on citizens. House and Senate Democrats have already proposed more than $10 billion in new taxes and it’s time we say ‘enough is enough.’ Our state leadership should be following the example of former Gov. Gary Locke. In his 2002 address, Locke made this statement:

“We are convinced there is a better way. This year, we decided not to start with current spending to try to meet the forecasted revenue. Instead, we decided to look at how we should be spending our state’s money in the first place. We are looking at what matters most to Washington citizens. We are focusing on results that people want and need, prioritizing those results, and funding those results with the money we have.”

New Role

I’m proud to announce that I was chosen for a new leadership role that will help address our fiscal planning. I have been appointed the position of Assistant Ranking Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee. This committee addresses and approves funding for the construction and repair of public buildings, land acquisitions, local government, infrastructure, housing and the authorization of state debt. I am excited to apply my years of expertise to our capital budget spending plan. I believe, as a state, we can live within our means, fund education and do so without severe cuts once we prioritize government spending.

Greenhouse Gasses

The one thing that has been a big debate this week is the passage of governor request legislation, Senate Bill 5802, which would create new limits on greenhouse gas emissions. House Democrats made the argument that we have incentivized fossil fuels more than clean energy as a reason for passing this bill. That is not true. Over the past 5 years there has been $14 billion in federal fossil fuels subsidies, but in 2010 alone $44 billion went to alternatives. I believe we should support alternatives, however not at the expense of favoritism to certain industries and poor investments. You can watch my brief speech here or view the entire debate on the floor here. If there is any element of state government that I can help you with, my door is always open. I am here to be a resource for you. If you have any questions or comments, please call me at (360) 786-7902, or e-mail me at Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your voice in Olympia.

Rep. Drew MacEwen chosen for leadership role on Capital Budget Committee

House leadership announced today that Rep Drew MacEwen, R-Union, has been appointed to Assistant Ranking Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee.

The committee addresses and approves funding for the construction and repair of public buildings, land acquisitions, local government, infrastructure, housing and the authorization of state debt.

“I am excited to apply my years of expertise to our state fiscal planning and budget. My background in finance makes me a great fit for this new role. It is time to focus on getting Washington working again and that can’t be done by further taxing hard-working families,” MacEwen said. “I believe, as a state, we can live within our means, fund education and do so without severe cuts. Once we prioritize government spending we will finally create a sustainable budget.”

On March 20 the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council stated that Washington should expect $2 billion in new revenue in the 2013-2015 biennium. Although the forecast demonstrates growth it is slower than the Legislature was hoping. An improved trend in housing construction and sales is expected to help the growth continue.

More information about MacEwen visit at houserepublicans.wa.gov/macewen. The 105-day session is scheduled to end on April 28.

35th District Rep. Drew MacEwen to hold telephone town hall April 1

Residents of the 35th Legislative District are invited to join Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, for a telephone town hall Monday, April 1. The call will start at 6:30 p.m. and last one hour. The event works much like a call-in radio show, where residents can listen in and ask questions of their lawmaker. People who want to participate can call-in toll-free at (877) 229-8493, then enter pin number 111444.

“I am happy to have this opportunity to speak one-on-one with the people in my district. A telephone town hall is the most effective way for me to reach constituents since hundreds of people can be involved and they can participate from their own homes.” MacEwen said. “The people back home need to stay involved in their Legislature and its my job to ensure their voices are heard. I look forward to hearing their opinions and questions.”

Those who are unable to participate in the call can contact the representative at his office in Olympia: Rep. Drew MacEwen: (360) 786-7902 or drew.macewen@leg.wa.gov. To learn more about Rep. MacEwen visit his website at: houserepublicans.wa.gov/macewen. The 105-day legislative session is scheduled to adjourn April 28.