Here's what's dead and alive, with the caveat that bills can always be resuscitated in Olympia. I'll update this later today if any bills get one last push.
DEAD: It appears there will be no big transportation tax measure, such as Gov. Chris Gregoire's $1.50 fee (or tax) on oil barrels. Nor is it looking good for a big overhaul of clean-energy rules that would keep utilities from buying power they don't need. Lawmakers won't abolish the death penalty. They likely won't take up Republicans' call for a separate education budget or Gregoire's suggestion to experiment with lottery privatization. Bills went nowhere to ban plastic bags and create a state bank -- though we might see the latter again if Speaker Frank Chopp has anything to say about it.
ALIVE: If you haven't heard, lawmakers are going to legalize gay marriage. Some of the other bills that survived include proposals to give legal recognition to marijuana shops; let local governments add restrictions on public records requests; publicize the finalists for top government positions; let universities create "program fees" that wouldn't be covered by prepaid tuition credits; force insurance plans to cover abortion if they cover maternity care; crack down on Medicaid fraud; cap towing fees; allow autopsies to be stopped for religious objections; tweak how ethics investigations are done; promote minorities' clout in local political districts; allow prosecutors to seek injunctions on gang members; collect DNA from arrested felons; allow two cars to use the same state-lands parking pass; and help pulp mills qualify for clean-energy recognition (which advanced while the big energy proposal stalled.)
IN LIMBO: Everything related to the budget is still in play. Then there's education reform: Proposals to overhaul teacher evaluations and allow charter schools didn't make it out of committee, but they are tied to businesses' support of a sales tax measure, and they are sure to get more attention as part of any final budget deal.
