By Peninsula Daily News services
OLYMPIA — The state Legislature adjourned Friday without reaching a budget deal, heading for a long-weekend break before they return for a special session called by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Flanked by House and Senate leaders, Gregoire announced that a special session will begin Tuesday to give lawmakers more time to close deals on the state’s operating and construction budgets.
Gregoire, a Democrat, added that the Senate will immediately begin work pushing bills through committee, while the House will meet and then send most members home until budget negotiations reach an end.
Special sessions technically last 30 days, but the governor said she hopes it doesn’t take lawmakers that long to reach agreements.
Lawmakers are facing the challenge of writing a state budget that closes a projected $5 billion deficit. Both chambers must pass about a few dozen individual policy bills necessary implement the budget.
The Senate and House budget proposals differ by a few hundred millions of dollars.
A tussle between the chambers also appeared in the $3 billion construction budget, in which senators want to pass a constitutional amendment limiting state debt. House leaders aren’t sold on the idea, and negotiations have spilled over to session overtime.
Friday’s adjournment came on the 103rd day of the session. Regular sessions are 105 days long, but lawmakers went home for Easter weekend.
“They must find agreement between their two budgets and pass the bills necessary to implement those budgets and there are a large number of them,” Gregoire said. “They have recognized how tough it was to write a budget. They have done it without gimmicks. They have done it in a way that’s responsive to the people of the state of Washington.”
Gregoire said Senate and House leaders have agreed to solely focus on budget issues.
“This is a special session to address the budgets. Period,” she said. “This is not another legislative session. This is a special session to get the job done that we already started.”
She also called on them to continue working on reforming the state’s workers compensation system, a contentious issue between organized labor and business lobbying groups.
A business-backed Senate bill would establish the option of lump sum settlements into the state’s system for workers injured on the job.
Supporters say that the bill has enough sideboards for workers to avoid getting bad deals, but it has stalled in the House. Labor has opposed any kind of settlements.
State officials say Washington needs about $37 billion for its operating budget, to keep up with current responsibilities, programs and maintenance. The expected revenue for the next two years is $32 billion.
The $5 billion deficit includes funding of two education initiatives that lawmakers can easily strip of money.
The Senate budget slashes $4.8 billion in spending, including a $250 million cut in K-12 education. Budget writers assume it would come from a wage reduction on teachers.
The House budget cuts $4.4 billion and included a proposal to privatize liquor distribution, an idea that assumes $300 million in one-time revenue, but the proposal has sputtered in the last days of the session.
While the Legislature was not able to finish on time, Gregoire lauded them for having a relatively narrower focus and sending fewer bills to her desk, and for not starting new programs.
Gregoire said she has signed more than 160 bills, with more on the way.
