“I think it’s likely the budget will not be negotiated by midnight tomorrow,” Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown said Wednesday.
Brown was referring to a $30.5 billion spending plan that House and Senate Democrats can agree on, as well as the tax increases and adjustments needed to pay for it.
If lawmakers miss their deadline of midnight tonight, a special session awaits. Either Gov. Chris Gregoire or the Legislature has the authority to call the special session.
Gregoire wasn’t saying anything for sure until today.
She told reporters Wednesday: “They will get out tomorrow night,” then she let that hang in the air before saying, “I’m not sure they’ll be done.”
Still unclear is whether the overtime period would begin immediately. Depending on how close lawmakers are to reaching consensus, Gregoire could decide whether it’s smarter to keep them working through the weekend or to give them a pause, spokeswoman Karina Shagren said.
The two chambers reportedly were making progress on bridging a nearly $210 million difference between their plans. Democrats in the House and Senate have endorsed a few hundred million dollars in similar new taxes – including raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1, adding a sales tax on bottled water and closing tax loopholes that benefit out-of-state businesses.
But they differ on the Senate’s proposal to raise $313 million from a temporary, three-tenths-of-1 percent sales tax and the House’s proposals to add sales tax to candy and elective cosmetic surgery, as well as capping first-mortgage interest deductions for financial interests. They also differ on the size and scope of an increase in the business-occupations tax for service providers such as accountants, lawyers and doctors.
Republicans blasted Democrats for failing to be organized, and House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt of Chehalis said House Democrats are too fractured over taxes to get things done.
“Quite frankly, I think there are several Democrats that are feeling the wind at their front, instead of at their backs. So they are afraid to take some votes,” Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt of Walla Walla said.
Hewitt said he and Sen. Joe Zarelli of Ridgefield had offered to meet to start looking for ways to cut state spending and avoid tax increases but were not taken up on that offer last year – or this year.
Democrats say they have accomplished plenty since beginning work Jan. 11.
“Sixty days to do what we’ve done has been nothing short of a feat,” said Rep. Dawn Morrell of Puyallup, the Democratic caucus chairwoman.
Morrell credited budget writers for working around the clock.
Both parties point to a constitutional amendment that is headed for the ballot as a major accomplishment of the year. Voters will decide whether judges should be able to deny bail to violent offenders facing life sentences.
Lawmakers have done little this year to jump-start the job market, something their attention is turning to in the final days. Gregoire and lawmakers were talking Wednesday about the possibility of voter-approved construction bonds or a larger tax on toxic materials to pay for city and county stormwater projects.
Morrell said she expects another idea for boosting construction jobs – a sales-tax break to technology companies that build their data centers in Washington – to get a vote in the special session. She wants to amend the bill to include centers in Pierce County.
Morrell said she thinks lawmakers need another week to finish the budget. She’s betting on it not taking much longer, telling her employer, Good Samaritan Hospital, that she’ll be back to work March 28.
Brown said she wouldn’t speculate about how long it would take. “We keep doing as much as we can until we’re done,” she said.
Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688
bshannon@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/politicsblog
Jordan Schrader: 360-786-1826
jordan.schrader@thenewstribune.com
