Democrats look to add 25,000 jobs

Stimulus package focuses on green energy, retraining

By Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published January 14, 2009

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Jocelyn McCabe of the Association of Washington Business said the proposal "looks promising" and the tax credit is worth exploring, but the AWB wants more details about how programs are funded.

Help for homeowners

Washington Realtors announced a five-point housing plan Wednesday that includes

down-payment aid to 12,000 first-time home buyers. The Realtors’ proposal would require an increase in the state Housing Finance Commission’s debt capacity, which Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said is already the focus of a bill by one of her caucus’ members, Sen. Claudia Kauffman.

The association also wants:

A tax credit for closing costs for first-time home buyers; this would require federal action.

A temporary property tax credit for home buyers. But Brown said any tax credit shifts tax burden, which works against that proposal.

A public-education campaign to help consumers learn about responsible financing and purchasing options.

Protection for the housing industry with a “do no harm” rule for any regulations adopted.

Realtors issued a news release that said 1,000 first-time home purchases would generate $126 million for the state economy. It based that on work by an advisory group that included ChangMook Sohn, former state revenue forecaster who ran for state treasurer last year as a Democrat.

But Gov. Gregoire's spokesman Pearse Edwards said "there are a lot of good ideas out there and we look forward to working with the House and Senate on a variety of proposals." He predicted there will be similarities in themes between Gregoire's plan and the Senate's.

"We need to create jobs," Edwards said.

Retraining

The Senate package includes a proposal to tap surpluses in the state's $4 billion unemployment insurance fund to use for worker retraining. Other proposals would help students get work-study jobs in the private sector. Still others would piggyback on Obama's federal stimulus plan that could put money into adding broadband connections to rural areas.

And still other ideas championed by Sen. Karen Keiser of Kent would provide help to health care workers who want training so they can move up from low-wage jobs into higher paying medical fields that have a shortage of workers.

Brown said the cost for the package of close to a dozen bills could be just a few million dollars out of the state's general fund, which faces a shortfall of billions of dollars. Other money would come out of the unemployment insurance fund, which business groups have fought for years to protect against raids for other purposes — fearing rate increases could result.

The majority leader said the state is a producer of many new businesses, but the challenge is to help them survive.

As part of the sweeping proposals, lawmakers would expand eligibility for unemployment benefits, aligning benefits more closely with retraining programs. They also would expand enrollments for worker retraining into high-demand fields, foster internships for college students in high demand fields, and invest capital funds in demonstration projects such as labs and technology parks.

The package has these elements:

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