A second step in cutting state employee pay and benefits: whack all employee's pay 2.5% to save health care.

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More ideas surface on cutting state employee pay and benefits... a process that should be followed at all levels of government.

GOP: Cut state salaries 2.5 percent to save health care

Senate Republicans would have state workers - including those at universities - take a 2.5 percent across-the-board pay cut to help preserve health insurance for the most needy in Washington state.

On Wednesday the caucus released details of its spending reduction plan to help the state deal with an increasing operating budget deficit. (Click here to see the whole thing).

Last month it was revealed that the state's projected operating budget deficit increased to $5.7 billion for 2011-13. The more pressing concern for policy makers was the prediction that the current budget, which runs through June, needs to trim by about a half billion dollars. Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed eliminating the state's health insurance for the poor and needy (which is called Basic Health), ending the state food assistance, no longer funding programs for gifted students and delaying grant payments that help low-income students go to college.

She asked for ideas from all four legislative caucuses, but so far has only heard from Senate Republicans.

In a letter to Gregoire, Sen. Joseph Zarelli, the Ridgefield Republican who is his party's budget leader in the upper chamber, implored the governor to call lawmakers into a special session this month, before the regular session begins in January.

"Too much time ahs already passed with inaction, or insufficient action. As a result, the decisions made today - and in the upcoming regular session -w ill be much more difficult than they needed to be if prompt legislative action was taken when the deficit was first recognized."

Senate Republicans they've identified nearly $850 million in reductions that could be made to the current budget, cuts that would help solve the 2011-2013 spending plan's shortfall, as well.

The plan assumes a 2.5 percent cut in state workers salaries, with the $46.3 million in savings going to preserving Basic Health. Gregoire has already asked state unions to reopen current labor contracts. The GOP plan would remove undocumented immigrants from the Basic Health Plan and terminate the Children's Health Program for non-citizens (for a combined savings of $15.6 million). It would also eliminate the General Assistance-Unemployable program, which provides money and medical benefits to the severely physically and mentally disabled or incapacitated, for a savings of $55.6 million to the current budget.

Republicans' would also reduce the amount of levy equalization money for poorer school districts.

Zarelli told Gregoire he recognized such moves would be hard.

"There are items dear to each group - reduction of levy equalization back down to 12 percent is a tough sell in my caucus....General Assistance-Unemployable has been a Speaker (Frank) Chopp priority. But we have a task before us that requires prompt, decisive action."

While all government employees should undergo much steeper cuts, this is a start.

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