1stRambo
Gold Member
- Feb 8, 2015
- 6,221
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Yo, welcome Gov. Jay Inslee, to a long line of wannabe Democrat Leaders, you`re not alone!!! The Party Sucks!
Court orders sanctions of $100K a day against Washington
By RACHEL LA CORTE
Aug. 13, 2015 2:41 PM EDT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the state pay $100,000 a day in sanctions, starting immediately, for its lack of progress toward fully paying the cost of basic education.
The ruling was the latest development in a long-running impasse between lawmakers and justices, who in 2012 ruled that the state is failing to meet its constitutional duty to pay for the cost of basic education for its 1 million schoolchildren.
The justices have told the Legislature to find a way to pay for the reforms and programs they had already adopted, including all-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes, student transportation and classroom supplies, and to fix the state's overreliance on local tax levies to pay for education. Relying heavily on local tax levies leads to big disparities in funding between school districts, experts say.
In its ruling Thursday, the court encouraged Gov. Jay Inslee to call a special legislative session to address the issue, saying that if the Legislature complies with the court's previous rulings for the state to deliver a plan to fully fund education, the penalties accrued during a special session would be refunded.
Earlier this year, the Legislature approved what it called a $1.3 billion down payment toward fully paying the cost of basic education, an amount critics said fell billions of dollars short.
Last month, the attorney general's office argued in a filing to the court that it should dissolve its current contempt order against the state. Senior Assistant Attorney General David Stolier wrote the various ways the Legislature has fulfilled the high court's 2012 McCleary decision on the funding, and he said the state is on schedule to meet all the requirements of the court.
While the court acknowledged that progress was made by lawmakers during this year's triple overtime legislative session, it said the state failed to provide a plan for full compliance by the 2018 deadline.
"The State has not shown how it will achieve full funding of all elements of basic education by 2018," said the order, signed by all nine of the court's justices. "The State urges the court to hold off on imposing sanctions, to wait and see if the State achieves full compliance by the 2018 deadline. But time is simply too short for the court to be assured that, without the impetus of sanctions, the State will timely meet its constitutional obligations."
The court wrote that monetary sanctions are an appropriate act by the court, and they are "an important part of securing the promise that a court order embodies: the promise that a constitutional violation will not go unremedied."
The order calls for the sanctions to go to a special account "for the benefit of basic education."
Peter Lavallee, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said his office was still reviewing the decision and had no additional comment.
"GTP"
Court orders sanctions of $100K a day against Washington
By RACHEL LA CORTE
Aug. 13, 2015 2:41 PM EDT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the state pay $100,000 a day in sanctions, starting immediately, for its lack of progress toward fully paying the cost of basic education.
The ruling was the latest development in a long-running impasse between lawmakers and justices, who in 2012 ruled that the state is failing to meet its constitutional duty to pay for the cost of basic education for its 1 million schoolchildren.
The justices have told the Legislature to find a way to pay for the reforms and programs they had already adopted, including all-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes, student transportation and classroom supplies, and to fix the state's overreliance on local tax levies to pay for education. Relying heavily on local tax levies leads to big disparities in funding between school districts, experts say.
In its ruling Thursday, the court encouraged Gov. Jay Inslee to call a special legislative session to address the issue, saying that if the Legislature complies with the court's previous rulings for the state to deliver a plan to fully fund education, the penalties accrued during a special session would be refunded.
Earlier this year, the Legislature approved what it called a $1.3 billion down payment toward fully paying the cost of basic education, an amount critics said fell billions of dollars short.
Last month, the attorney general's office argued in a filing to the court that it should dissolve its current contempt order against the state. Senior Assistant Attorney General David Stolier wrote the various ways the Legislature has fulfilled the high court's 2012 McCleary decision on the funding, and he said the state is on schedule to meet all the requirements of the court.
While the court acknowledged that progress was made by lawmakers during this year's triple overtime legislative session, it said the state failed to provide a plan for full compliance by the 2018 deadline.
"The State has not shown how it will achieve full funding of all elements of basic education by 2018," said the order, signed by all nine of the court's justices. "The State urges the court to hold off on imposing sanctions, to wait and see if the State achieves full compliance by the 2018 deadline. But time is simply too short for the court to be assured that, without the impetus of sanctions, the State will timely meet its constitutional obligations."
The court wrote that monetary sanctions are an appropriate act by the court, and they are "an important part of securing the promise that a court order embodies: the promise that a constitutional violation will not go unremedied."
The order calls for the sanctions to go to a special account "for the benefit of basic education."
Peter Lavallee, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said his office was still reviewing the decision and had no additional comment.
"GTP"
