Click here to watch “The Impact” – March 29, 2017
https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2017031296
This week on “The Impact”:
In this week’s episode we analyze the operating budget released by the House Democratic Caucus which includes $3 billion in additional tax revenue to fund social safety net programs and K-12 schools. We lay out an overview of the budget and highlight some areas where it contrasts with the state/local property tax trade-off proposed by Senate Republicans.
“We anticipate there being some differences about how we think about things. So these aren’t apples to apples comparisons. This is apples to zucchinis,” said Rep. Timm Ormsby, D – Chair, House Appropriations Committee. “There’s two things that I’m certain about the property tax. It is convoluted and very difficult to understand and it is universally hated.”
You’ll also hear the response from Senate Republican leaders in the Majority Coalition Caucus.
“The capital gains tax targets the exact same geographic region as the property tax proposal we have the difference is our property tax currently is already unfair,” said Sen. John Braun, R – Chair, Senate Ways & Means Committee. “Our proposal and their proposal are similar. If anything, we’re higher in K-12 and yet they need 8 billion dollars over the next four years to pay for them. “
Later we transport you to a tiny home construction contest on the Capitol Lawn to benefit the homeless involving high school and college students in career and technical programs.
You’ll hear from some of the students about what it means for their futures and how it feels to give back.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t necessarily understand what it means. Like kids at school were just like, ‘oh it’s just a house.’ Well it’s a house for other people. We made it for other people. So it just, it makes me feel a thousand times better about myself that I’m putting myself out there for other people,” said Isabella Kenward, student, Auburn High School.
We also highlight two powerful moments from the week in legislative testimony.
The first involves a childhood sexual abuse survivor and Illinois mother who traveled to Olympia speak in support of a new educational campaign in schools.
“I was taught stranger danger. Don’t go look for the lost puppy. Don’t take candy from the stranger, showing the same rusty car driving up the man missing his teeth trying to lure the kids into the car. The police officer showed us that from kindergarten to 6th grade when the reality is it’s not strangers parents need to be so concerned about. It’s the people you know and trust,” said Erin Merryn.
The second involves a mother who described the wreck that killed her son while testifying about a proposed distracted driving bill.
“This young man is no longer on this earth because of this. Because somebody picked up a phone because it made a noise and they needed to know what it was. The first words out of his mouth were ‘I wasn‘t texting. I was just looking at my phone.’ Just looking at a phone took my son’s life,” said Tina Meyer.
In the final segment we cover topics ranging from municipal rent control to background checks for public employees in our extended interview with members from the House Local Government Committee.