Peninsula Daily News news services
OLYMPIA — Budget balancing and education reforming — possibly undone before the Legislature’s Thursday night adjournment deadline — will probably make Gov. Chris Gregoire call a special session, she said Tuesday.
That would keep the 49 members of the Senate and 98 members of the House of Representatives in Olympia for an undetermined time — so sides can agree on how to fix a $2.8 billion budget deficit.
The part-time Legislature convened Jan. 14.
The two houses of the Legislature — both controlled by a Democrat majority — also must resolve their debate over school reform, Gregoire said.
Gregoire said she won’t know until Thursday whether they’ll be close enough to finish on either issue before midnight, the scheduled adjournment time.
“What’s more important to me is that they get the job done, and they get it done well,” she said.
Kessler weighs in
The House majority leader, Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam whose 24th District includes the North Olympic Peninsula, acknowledged that it will be tough to meet the Thursday deadline “unless we come to some pretty quick agreements on substantively different revenue packages.”
Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, agreed, but said House and Senate leaders are working hard to get a budget plan approved soon.
“If it takes a few extra days, it’s OK,” she said.
Early Tuesday, the House approved a $680 million tax package that would shrink exemptions, collect more money from smokers and service businesses, and extend the sales tax to new types of purchases, including bottled water.
It was significantly smaller than the $890 million tax blueprint approved by the Senate.
The House package avoids a general sales tax increase.
The Senate has called for a temporary increase, but Gregoire said “it’s the wrong time in an economic recovery to assess a sales tax.”
Republican response
Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, said he thinks Democrats are having a hard time reaching agreement because of election-year concerns about raising taxes.
“I think the political winds are against the Democrats and I think they’re feeling the heat,” he said.
Republicans in both houses do not have enough votes to overcome the Democrat voting majority.
The Legislature earlier this session suspended the provisions of Initiative 960, approved statewide by voters in 2008 that invokes a two-thirds legislative vote on any tax increases or new taxes.
Education reform
Another issue likely to keep lawmakers in Olympia is education reform.
Gregoire said Tuesday she doesn’t want legislators to go home without resolving their debate over the reform associated with the federal Race to the Top competition for increased funding.
The measure looks to make low-performing schools more accountable and creates a new teacher and principal evaluation system, something that must be done for the state to be eligible for the federal dollars under the Obama administration.
The House and Senate are currently in negotiations over changes the House made to the original bill. The state’s application for Race to the Top is due in June.
“We’re going to have to be able to make that happen, not only for Race to the Top, but even more importantly to me, for the success of the children,” Gregoire said.
“That will be an essential piece before anyone goes home.”
