w ebinar : m ay 1, 2012 t he 2012 l egislative s ession : r eflections and p rojections lucy culp,...
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WEBINAR: MAY 1, 2012THE 2012 LEGISLATIVE SESSION: REFLECTIONS AND PROJECTIONS
Lucy Culp, American Heart AssociationVic Colman, Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
STATE OPERATING BUDGET: BACKGROUND
November 2011: Governor’s BudgetDecember 2011: Special Session:
$500 million cutsFebruary 2012: Revenue forecastApril 2012: Final agreement in
last hours of special session
KEY BUDGET “HIGHLIGHTS”
$1.7 million for tobacco Quitline, covers the uninsured
No cuts to public health fundingDid not eliminate Disability LifelinePreserved the Basic Health Plan$12 million in new revenue from “roll your
own” tobacco
KEY BUDGET “HIGHLIGHTS” CONT.
School nutrition funding was maintained The state legislature reduced funding for State Food Assistance
(SFA) by half for the current biennium Dental care for vulnerable populations retained Transportation budget still unbalanced – too much for state
highway improvements and not enough for other transportation modes Local taxes for public transit in 2010 accounts
for ¾ of the operating revenue for public transit systems – not a sustainable solution
Want more plain talk details on our transportation budget ?
KEY BILLS: TOBACCO PREVENTIONCigar Licenses (HB 1683 and SB 5542)
Creates loophole in Initiative 901Licenses for cigar lounges and tobacco stores to allow non-
cigarette smokingWould allow 100 lounges and 500 stores
2011 Legislative Action:Tied to tobacco prevention fundingDefeated in final hours of session
2012 Legislative Action:New polling: 71 % opposeDefeated again in the last hours of budget negotiating
KEY BILLS: TOBACCO PREVENTION
SB 6166: Tobacco Tax Increase $1 increase in cigarettes, equivalent increase
for all OTP’s $40 million projected in new revenue, $1.7
million to reinstate Quitline for uninsured 64% support, goes up to 71% when includes
revenue dedicated to prevention or cessation Needs a 2/3 vote to pass May not be the best option for funding
statewide TPCP
HB 1246: Regulating Tobacco ProductsIntroduced in 2011, retained but did not move in 2012
Prohibited the sale of dissolvable tobacco products Banned flavored tobacco products, that are blatantly
marketed to youth. Put all tobacco products behind the counter where they
are not accessible to youth. Lifted local regulatory preemption so that counties can
put in place policies that would reduce accessibility and marketing aimed at youth.
KEY BILLS: TOBACCO PREVENTION
KEY BILLS: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
HB 2370 (Billig): include health in the state transportation system policy goals.
Transportation Choices Coalition as lead advocate group Great start on this 1st year bill
Solid prime sponsor who is highly motivated to reintroduce next year
Polling data on this topic demonstrated strong bipartisan support
House Transportation Committee even had bipartisan support
Challenges
KEY BILLS: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION – POLL DATA
KEY BILLS: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
HB 1217 (Ryu): Neighborhood Safe SpeedsBicycle Alliance as lead advocate group
Terrific support on the House side but ran out of time on Senate floor
Solid prime sponsor; committed to the issue for the future
Broader outreach to health interests this session than the previous
KEY BILLS: HEALTHY EATINGHB 1801 (Jinkins): Statewide Food ProcurementCOPC as lead advocacy group.
Got further this year Worked policy language of bill and got sign-off by key state
agencies Ran out of time to work fiscal issues
DSHS assumed 25% higher costs for “healthy foods”!! Need to push fiscal responsibility – “power of the purse”
(food umbrella contract) DOC had no fiscal costs
Where do we go from here? DOH workgroup with affected state agencies
>> will assess summer/fall about pushing out another bill
REFLECTIONS AND PROJECTIONS
Olympia still a challenging venue for moving healthy communities policy work
Active transportation seems like a better bet now than nutrition work. Why? Less threatening to personal lifestyles
(more removed) Active transportation advocates more organized and
better funded than nutrition types Will still need to work all sides of the issue to meet key
policy goals but we need to overcome policymaker fatigue about nutrition standards metrics
New Fed standards for school nutrition could be that opportunity
