Jobs No. 1 as Senate Democrats propose state stimulus package

OLYMPIA — Creating jobs, building energy-efficient homes and slashing work-study hours for out-of-state college students are among the Senate Democrats' proposals for getting the state back on track in the midst of a recession.

Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, flanked by fellow Senate Democrats, unveiled the outlines of the new stimulus package — leaving out specifics about cost.

"We believe our first job are jobs," Brown said Tuesday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to follow with her own stimulus proposal later this week. House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said its stimulus package should be released next month.

The Democrats control the governor's mansion and both the state House and Senate.

Brown said parts of the Senate proposal will work in conjunction with President-elect Obama's wide-reaching federal economic-stimulus plan, which Congress is expected to tackle this month.

The state Senate Democrats' proposal, which Brown said could possibly create nearly 25,000 new jobs, includes:

• Widening the "green" jobs industry by building more energy-efficient homes and performing energy assessments, or "weatherizing," older homes. This will not only help homeowners cut down on energy bills, but create jobs in the building industry.

• Retraining unemployed or underemployed people for positions in health and dental care where there is a shortage of nearly 12,000 workers. The money for training would come from the state's $4 billion unemployment-insurance fund.

• Changing university work-study programs so they are open only to students from Washington state. Students also could spend their work-study hours getting hands-on experience in a private-sector business, rather than working only on campus.

• Streamlining the permit and regulatory process so that ready-to-go construction projects can get under way.

• Providing tax credits for small companies that hire new workers.

Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, the ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, discounted the Democrats' package, saying it is "a lot easier to preserve jobs than to create them."

"We [Senate Republicans] are instead looking at how the state can help employers keep their doors open — now, and next week, and next month — and get over this rough patch so fewer people end up on the unemployment line," the Clark County lawmaker said in a news release.

With the Legislature facing an estimated $6 billion budget shortfall, only about $1.3 million of the Democrats' plan would come from the state general fund, the Democratic caucus staff said. The rest is expected to come from businesses in exchange for tax breaks; from the state unemployment insurance fund; and from money the state anticipates receiving from the federal stimulus plan.

Cities across the state are banking heavily on the federal money, said Dick Thompson, who is coordinating how it will be handled by the state.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 360-236-8267 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com