Gregoire sets stage for '08 priorities

By Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published December 21, 2007

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"We need all the governors and all the members of Congress to stand up and say, 'This is ridiculous,' " Gregoire said in response to questions from the board about highway funding.

Gregoire also defended her supplemental spending plans, which include the $50 million for flood control, $50 million for low-income housing and $1.2 billion in savings. That is in addition to the approximately $33 billion two-year spending plan that lawmakers approved in April.

The $1.2 billion set-aside "is the first in history," she said.

The governor had other comments on issues going before the Legislature in January, flooding and even the presidential campaigns:

• She refuses to use general-fund money to pay for benefits under a paid-family-leave law set to go into operation in Washington in 2009. A task force has recommended general-fund money for the first four years, but Gregoire has agreed only to the set-up costs, thinking lawmakers backing the program had promised a payroll tax. "They need to figure this out," she said of legislators. "I'm a believer in the program, but I'm not going to use general-fund dollars."

• She wants to speed the hiring of 450 social workers authorized for children's services. Gregoire said she doubts the state can find more, despite a new report suggesting 1,000 new hires are needed to handle the work load.

• Gregoire thinks she can cut hospital admissions resulting from adverse drug reactions by 30 percent. She proposes spending $1.4 million to create an online drug registry that lets pharmacists and doctors see all the medications a patient is taking.

• Gregoire supports having local governments tape-record executive, or closed-door, sessions so judges can review what is said in the event of legal disputes. She is considering whether to request the legislation.

• "The jury is out" on whether the Seattle SuperSonics and Storm leave the Northwest, as ownership leader Clay Bennett has threatened. "I don't see an end to the litigation," Gregoire said of legal battles over leases at the city-owned arena. She said "we're not going to give state money" for a solution.

• The flooding damage along the Chehalis River requires a "hard and long" look to see what lessons can be learned from paving in the flood plain and logging on slopes, she said.

• Gregoire thinks Washington Democrats are divided on a presidential nominee — favoring U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards. "At the national level, I can't tell if we're trying to make it into a horse race or if it is one" between Clinton and Obama, she added. Out of respect to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a long-shot candidate, Gregoire said she is holding back on stating her preference.