By Rachel La Corte
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday he was calling lawmakers back for a special session that will start Monday, expressing frustration that lawmakers once again are forced to go into overtime to finish their work.
“This job cannot wait,” he said at a news conference. “It is most disappointing that state of Washington and the people of this state are in this position again.”
The Legislature has had to go into special session every year since 2010, sometimes multiple times within the same year.
As they work to craft a two-year state operating budget — which must be signed into law by June 30 or else the state risks a partial government shutdown — Washington lawmakers must also comply with a 2012 state Supreme Court ruling that they must meet the state’s constitutional requirement to fully fund the state’s basic education system. The court has said that the state has until Sept. 1, 2018, to do that, but that the details — including funding — must be in place before the Legislature adjourns this year.
While the state has made progress since the original ruling, the biggest piece remaining of the court order is figuring out how much the state must provide for teacher salaries. School districts currently pay a big chunk of those salaries with local property-tax levies.
Among the differences between the budgets put forth by both chambers is how they address the local property tax levies. Unlike the Senate plan, which would replace local school levies with a statewide uniform rate earmarked for schools, the House plan would lower the local levy rate, but not eliminate them completely. The two-year plan put forth by the House also seeks about $3 billion in taxes that the full chamber has not voted on, including a new capital gains tax.
Republicans have said they can’t negotiate the budget until House Democrats pass that revenue. Both chambers passed their respective underlying spending plans last month, but both sides have been accusing the other of not passing all of the bills needed to balance out their proposals.
The regular session is set to end Sunday, but lawmakers are expected to break for the weekend on Friday, with just a few lawmakers on hand Sunday to officially end the 105-day session.
