2012 Washington Prosperity Project Legislative Priorities

The following list comprises Washington Prosperity Project's 2012 policy agenda.

We have five priorities:

• Prioritize state spending and ensure the state budget is sustainable
  • State leaders must develop a budget based on current revenue before considering new revenue options. 
  • To ensure sustainability, leaders should look at the impact of their budget decisions over a six-year period.
  • The final budget must rebuild adequate reserves and prioritize funding for services that will drive economic growth -- namely education and infrastructure.

• Ensure business costs and regulatory policies are competitive
  • Washington consistently ranks as an expensive state in which to do business. In 2012, at a minimum, lawmakers must protect business cost improvements enacted in 2011 and avoid increasing other business costs.

• Invest in an efficient and safe transportation system
  • Our state's transportation infrastructure is in dire need of new investment.
  • Lawmakers should pursue a statewide transportation investment that will support jobs, commerce and economic growth. 

• Support student achievement in our public education system
  • The most important committment our state can make is to provide a quality education for our young people, ensuring every student graduates from high school and college career-ready.
  • Lawmakers and education leaders must take action to raise student achievement. Lawmakers should:
    • Streamline state education governance to establish clear prekindergarted to grade 13 education standards, goals and performance measures.
    • Implement an educator evaluation system that incorporates multiple measures of student growth and enact performance-based policies taht drive decisions regarding teacher placement.
    • Accelerate student performance in math and science. 

• Ensure our higher education institutions are prepared to develop talent and foster innovation
  • Lawmakers must place greater priority on postsecondary education. They must work to increase publican and private investments and provide institutions with the latitude necessary to remain competitive.

The Eastside Chamber Coalition has also recently developed their 2012 policy agenda.

To view it, please click here (PDF).

Thrive Washington: Strategies to move our state forward

A Joint research series from the Washington Roundtable and Washington Research Council

The Great Recession dramatically changed fiscal conditions in Washington state, possibly forever. The impact of falling revenues and structural budget deficits has elicited a near universal call for a transformative shift in state government. The Thrive Washington research series provides actionable policy recommendations that, if enacted, will preserve essential services, lay a foundation for economic growth and create an environment in which Washingtonians can thrive. The following series ran from October 2010 to June 2011.