Phillips: Unfunded mandates from state must go

July 13, 2009

Summary

Introduces motion to quantify financial impacts of state unfunded mandates imposed on King County

Story

With King County facing a $100 million budget deficit over the next two years, Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Phillips introduced legislation today calling for action to clearly identify areas where the state has mandated services to be provided by King County and all counties across the state, without also providing the means to pay for them.

“The state government has increasingly imposed programs and requirements on county governments without giving us the means to pay for them,” said Phillips. “Not only is this harming our ability to pay for basic services like police protection and public health programs, it is actually in violation of state law.”

Phillips’ proposed motion would collect information on programs, funding, and revenue streams so that the County can identify where unfunded mandates have occurred. The King County Auditor would then conduct a financial review of the information collected on unfunded mandates.

Having detailed information about state unfunded mandates will allow King County to have a dialogue with state leaders about costs imposed on King County that the state is legally responsible for under RCW 43.135.060. That statute states that the Legislature shall not impose responsibility on counties for new programs or increased levels of service under existing programs unless the county is fully reimbursed by the state for the cost of that new or increased service.

“With today’s economic conditions, King County can no longer afford to take on the burden of paying for services for which the state is legally and morally responsible,” said Phillips.