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OLYMPIA -- Jobs were the talk of the Legislature on Wednesday, but Democrats and Republicans again differed on the best strategies for getting people back to work.
Majority Democrats in the House of Representatives passed a jobs bill introduced by Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, by 57-41 that supporters claim will put 38,000 people to work making school buildings energy efficient.
House Bill 2561 is a scaled-down version of a proposal Dunshee introduced during the 2009 legislative session that, with voter approval, would have allowed the state to issue $3 billion in bonds to put an estimated 90,000 people to work modernizing public buildings.
That bill never made it to the House floor for a vote. The 2010 version reduces the bond amount to $861 million and asks the secretary of state to put a referendum on the next general election ballot so voters can say whether they agree with the plan.
Dunshee and fellow Democrats described the bill during debate on the House floor as one that would bring hope to the state's unemployed workers and their families.
"There are 40,000 construction workers standing in the unemployment line in Washington state," Dunshee said after the floor vote. "This bill is about putting those good people back to work. It's about opportunity, hope and innovation, and the jobs we'll create will make our public schools safer, more energy efficient and healthier for our kids."
Republicans on the House floor questioned whether the bill could create as many jobs as Dunshee claimed, and if it did whether they were the kind of sustainable jobs Washingtonians need.
Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, said when he did the math, $861 million divided among 38,000 jobs resulted at best in pay of $22,600 per worker.
But after factoring in the cost of materials to modernize buildings and overhead on projects, the result is just more than $16,000 per worker, he said.
"That's $7.84 per hour -- below our minimum wage," Orcutt said.
Mid-Columbia Reps. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick; Larry Haler, R-Richland; Terry Nealey, R-Dayton; Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla; Susan Fagan, R-Pullman; Joe Schmick, R-Colfax; Bruce Chandler, R-Granger; David Taylor, R-Moxee; Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake; and Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum, all voted no on Dunshee's bill.
The bill next goes to the Senate for consideration.
An hour after Dunshee's bill passed the House, the House and Senate Republican caucuses unveiled their own set of bills they say would help private businesses put people back to work in stable, long-term jobs.
Sen. Janea Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, and Rep. Cary Condotta, R-East Wenatchee, were joined by several business owners who said they're overtaxed and overburdened by regulations.
Republicans want to reform the workers compensation system and save costs by getting injured workers back on the job sooner, smooth out a projected spike in unemployment insurance taxes without cutting benefits to workers, and attract start-ups by giving a business and occupation tax break to new businesses.
"Just hours ago, we learned that unemployment in our state jumped again to 9.5 percent," Holmquist said. "People are hurting. A top priority for the 2010 Legislature should be to protect and create new jobs. We understand that our state's economic recovery depends on our business climate and employers' ability to provide jobs to our citizens."
Holmquist and Condotta said they've been told the reform bills won't come to a vote in either the House or Senate, but they're hoping citizens will pressure lawmakers to change their minds.
"Decisions can change with enough pressure," Condotta said. "We think these bills are very moderate. We should at least have the opportunity to talk about it."
Gov. Chris Gregoire also has proposed a plan this session that she says will create 40,000 jobs. Her plan includes:
w A business and occupation tax credit for large building projects.
w A tax credit of $2,000 per new employee for small businesses that don't qualify for other incentives.
