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Gov. Chris Gregoire has said she plans to call lawmakers to Olympia to start a 30-day special session on Nov. 28. But there doesn’t appear to be a lot of takers on the Democratic side for DeBolt’s proposal, which he thinks could save $2 million.
“The governor has said many times, the special session is for the budget; the regular session is for job creation,” Gregoire spokeswoman Karina Shagren said Monday. “She still wants to use that time to develop policies and strategies to get Washingtonians back to work. You can’t just close a $2 billion budget deficit and say you are done.”
The regular session is due to begin Jan. 9 and runs 60 days, as it always does in even-numbered years when lawmakers take up a supplemental budget. The earlier special session would be focused on dealing with a $2 billion budget gap that emerged since lawmakers finished their work in May.
Gregoire has said she wants lawmakers to get the new budget cuts done in the special session, if possible.
But the cuts are harder this time, coming after the Legislature struggled for about 120 days to adopt a budget. A bipartisan agreement in the Senate – not supported by DeBolt’s Republicans in the House – eventually paved the way for a plan that increased many fees and cut $4.8 billion in projected state spending.
Sen. Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat and Senate budget chairman, said he doubts it is possible to approve all the legislation that would be needed to put a budget into law by Christmas.
“I guess my challenge, if Mr. DeBolt says we can do it in special session, (is): Put out a budget and show us how many of your members will vote for cuts to education and health care. … My guess is not enough.’’
House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, said House Democrats are still trying to grasp what $2 billion in cuts could look like – and he warned that new cuts will have even more impact on those who need state services than the budget passed in May.
“I think people would say we’re willing to go as long as we need to get the right budget,’’ Sullivan said.
There also is the problem of raising revenue, which requires a two-thirds vote in Olympia – thanks to Initiative 1053, which voters approved in 2010. Another option: A simple majority of lawmakers in the House and Senate could vote to put a tax question on the ballot.
Murray said he doesn’t know if he can get votes in the Senate to send a tax measure to the ballot. But, he added: “Without it, I don’t know how I get the votes for an all-cuts budget. It’s a very difficult situation.”
“I think even Republicans – when they see what is left to cut – are going to be stunned. I think some of them may come to believe we ought to give the voters the option to try to buy back some of those cuts,’’ Murray said.
In addition to calling for quick action on the budget, DeBolt wants lawmakers to gut Growth Management Act rules in counties with high unemployment, halt new government rule-making and require government entities to grant regulatory permits within 90 days if an agency can’t make up its mind.
Sullivan raised questions about DeBolt’s proposals, which did not specify how many jobs they would create. Democrats also want to help create jobs, and some kind of bond issue for public projects could emerge, Sullivan said.
Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688
bshannon@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/politicsblog
