The Senate Ways and Means Committee is now conducting a hearing on Senate Bill 6503, otherwise known as the temporary layoff bill. Government shutdown bill is another moniker that's been adopted in some circles.
A preliminary analysis provided by committee staff indicates the bill, by shutting down many government offices one day a month and sending workers home without pay, would save $93 million over the remainder of the two-year budget cycle. You can find that analysis (fiscal note) and the bill report here.
We'll be updating this post as the hearing proceeds.
You can watch this hearing on TVW. We'll also post video after the meeting wraps up.
The preliminary fiscal note does not indicate how many state employees would be affected but, as The Hopper reported last week, it's believed to be safely in the tens of thousands.
Advocates for state employees are testifying against the bill, saying state employees already have taken big compensation cuts over the last year (this would make the total cut upwards of 9 percent, one advocate argued). Some are talking about needing to look to closing tax loopholes or new taxes instead.
"Believe me we are looking in every direction," said Committee Chairwoman Margarita Prentice, a Renton Democrat and the bill's sponsor.
Others talked about unintended consequences.
For instance, the Department of Natural Resources testified that closing the agency would mean curbing timber harvesting activities, wiping out $8.5 million in revenue.
Prentice indicated the bill may not be in its final form.
"Obviously, the bill will need some tweaking and work done on it," she said.
The committee has moved on to Senate Bill 6382, which essentially extends the pay freeze adopted last year for exempt and Washington Management Service employees -- generally the state's highest paid workers. The bill has been modified to also eliminate bonuses paid to such workers.
No fiscal note has been drafted for the bill as yet, so it's unclear how much it would save. There was little testimony on the bill before the committee adjourned just before 4:45.
"We're not going to hear many issues that are going to be too popular, not in this committee," Prentice said before banging the gavel. "It's going to be difficult. We're just going to have to wade through it."
Again, we'll post video of the hearings on these two bills this evening when it's available.
UPDATE: The Associated Press has filed a report on the the Legislature's early actions plans, including these two bills, and you can find it here.
UPDATE: Here's the video courtesy of TVW.