Camden: Plans afoot for if lawmakers blow budget deadline

In other words, the last 50 days of special sessions have moved us millimeters closer to a budget deal. The odds of needing a third special session when this second special session expires June 22 seem only slightly less than the sun rising in the east tomorrow.

Should that third special session stretch into July, it’s more than a matter of carping about dilatory politics. Without an operating budget, the state doesn’t have the legal authority to spend money for certain things. Little things like many programs and salaries.

Under state law, when the end of the fiscal year is in sight and a budget deal is not, state agencies must develop contingency plans for a partial shutdown. They began in May, with preparations that included a warning to state unions that some of their members face temporary layoffs without an approved budget.

The actual notices of pending temporary layoffs would go to some 26,000 workers in about two weeks if legislators are still “exchanging paper.” If they reach a deal on June 30, as they did in 2013 and 2015, the state would send out a “never mind” notice.

If there is no deal by June 30, the impact on the first day might be limited because July 1 is a Saturday, so many state offices are closed anyway.

But if you were planning to spend that weekend at a state park — even if you have a reservation — you’ll be out of luck because they will be among the first state assets to close.

Preparing for closures

Sometime after that, maybe after the fireworks have been shot off for Independence Day, the shutdown might get more noticeable.

The Department of Health will have some emergency responders on call for life-and-death public disasters, disease outbreaks or a nuclear or radiological emergency. The Public Health Laboratory, which tests for everything from bioterrorism materials to rabies and screens newborns for potentially life-threatening but treatable conditions, would stay open. The department estimates it would keep as many as 102 people on the job because of federal mandates or public safety requirements. Out of a staff of about 1,700.

State prisons will operate on a limited basis, with enough staff to keep things running smoothly. But they won’t accept any new inmates from the counties.

The Department of Social and Health Services will fully staff Eastern and Western State hospitals, and many child and family protective services. But they, too, would cut back staffing on many programs and services to what officials describe as “skeletal.”

And so it goes. As this is the third set of contingency plans in the last five years for a potential budget shutdown, many agencies were able to submit them with no or just limited updates. This form of recycling probably will not boost Washington’s reputation as a green state.

All the plans are being posted on the Office of Financial Management’s website.

Jim Camden is a columnist with the Spokesman-Review in Spokane. Email: jimc@spokesman.com.