In Our View: Pass Budget, Fix Hirst

The Legislature wrapped up its 2017 session 59 days ago, but a recent report reinforces the notion that lawmakers’ work is far from finished.

Eventually, a special session will need to be called by Gov. Jay Inslee in order to iron out two lingering wrinkles from this year’s session — passage of a capital budget, and a fix to the state Supreme Court ruling known as the Hirst decision. At stake is an impact of billions of dollars to the economy; at question is a frustrating impasse that is threatening to overshadow the successes of the legislative session.

Republicans have declined to consider the capital budget until Democrats agree to fix the Hirst ruling, which Democrats are declining to address until the capital budget is passed … around and around they go. The Hirst decision, from October, says that counties must make an independent ruling about the availability of water before approving a permit for any project requiring a new well. It is more complicated than that, of course, but the gist is that the ruling brings development to a standstill in rural areas while raising large questions about water rights.

To bolster their position, Republicans are pointing to a study commissioned by the Building Industry Association of Washington and conducted by HR2 Research and Analytics, based in Bellevue. That study claims the Hirst ruling will result in the loss of $6.9 billion in economic activity annually, primarily in rural areas. It also quantifies missed opportunities to grow the tax base, create jobs, and generate construction funding. “The Democrats can no longer ignore the Hirst decision,” Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said. “The $6.9 billion in economic activity that would be lost every year that Hirst remains in effect is absolutely unacceptable.”

While any study must be viewed with scrutiny, this one is eye-opening. Even if the assumptions in the analysis are exaggerated, if the Hirst decision costs the state, say, $3 billion annually in economic activity, would that be acceptable? Of course not, especially in rural areas that are desperate for economic boost.

A fix for the Hirst decision must be hammered out by lawmakers, but it must be a fix that is manageable, effective, and acceptable to the courts. The danger lies in passing a haphazard solution that is likely to face opposition from environmentalists and Native American tribes and doesn’t pass legal muster, landing the issue right back where it is now.

As Republicans link the Hirst issue to the capital budget, trying to use whatever leverage is at their disposal, they engage in action that is harmful to residents. The capital budget — which has strong bipartisan support — would provide $4 billion over the next two years to construct schools, community centers, parks and other projects that enhance the quality of life throughout the state

Many of these are shovel-ready, simply waiting for financing from Olympia; holding them up for an unrelated issue amounts to needless intransigence. As columnist Jim Camden of The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review wrote during legislative negotiations: “It was as if Senate Republicans, having taken the capital budget hostage, were willing to shoot their hostage rather than negotiate the ransom.”

The state needs a capital budget, and it needs a fix to the Hirst decision. To help facilitate that, it needs Gov. Inslee’s office to get involved in the negotiations — as recommended by Republican leaders. Every day the impasse lingers is a costly one for Washingtonians.