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Phone numbers and Web sites
Legislative information Center (Bill Room): 360-786-7573
www.leg.wa.gov
Legislative Hotline: 800-562-6000
During session:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. M-F
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays
During interim:
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. M-F (closed at noon for one hour for lunch)
Closed Saturdays
Chief Clerk of the House: 360-786-7750
Secretary of the Senate: 360-786-7550
Governor's Office: 360-902-4111
www.governor.wa.gov
State agencies: www.access.wa.gov

House passes transportation budget, still working on revenue bill

The state House passed an $8.4 billion, two-year transportation budget proposal Tuesday as House Democrats unveiled a revenue package that would augment it.
Under the Dome: Today is Wednesday, April 17, the 94th day of the 105-day legislative session.

Quoted:
"These bills should be considered for the ninth order because they have a philosophical majority in this body to pass. ...These bills have a majority of the support of Washingtonians."
~Senate Minority Leader Ed Murray~
D-Seattle, during a failed attempt to bring the Reproductive Parity Act and the Dream Act to the floor, bypassing the Republican committees blocking the controversial bills.
Under the Dome: Today is Tuesday, April 16, the 93rd day of the 105-day legislative session

Quoted:
"Yes, our communities sometimes need a nudge, and this particular bill is very effective at providing that forcing function, to ensure the sate intervenes when local communities can't.
~Rep. Chad Magendanz~
R-Issaquah, speaking in support of a bill dealing with persistently failing schools. Senate Bill 5329 ultimately passed on a 68-29 vote.
Under the Dome: Today is Saturday, April 13, the 90th day of the 105-day legislative session.

QUOTED:
“The nutty things I do around here when I’m stone sober, you can imagine what I’d do if I was drinking.”
~Sen. Jim Hargrove~
D-Hoquiam, a self-professed “teetotaler,” speaking against a bill to create a beer and wine license for small theaters. Hargrove said that he thought the plan could increase minors’ access to alcohol.
Clock ticking on schools, overall budget

With just two weeks left in their 105-day session, Washington lawmakers are running out of time to pass a state budget that puts at least $1 billion more into public schools to answer a state Supreme Court ruling, protects the poor and doesn’t rely on gimmicks.
Under the Dome: Today is Friday, April 12, the 89th day of the 105-day legislative session

Quoted: "You can't mandate it from the state level. You don't know - you're not in that home."
~ Kennewick Republican Rep. Brad Klippert, speaking in opposition to a bill that would, among other things, establish that when a child is in foster care, sibling visitation may not be used as a sanction or incentive for a child's behavior. Klippert, a foster parent himself, said that he believes such sanctions are sometimes necessary.
State weighs payments for wrongful convictions

Alan Northrop anxiously waits outside a Senate committee hearing, his girlfriend rubbing his shoulders and whispering words of support as he prepares to sign in to testify about nearly two decades of freedom lost.
Who’s more threatened: Animals or local interests?

Three species and the prairies they call home could be added to the federal endangered species list, leaving an unknown future for Thurston County landowners and training operations at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Wyman picks up torch to help save funding for the State Library

It’s turning into an unofficial hazing ritual for Washington’s secretary of state: Win the election, get sworn in, then go fight to save the State Library from budget cuts suggested by the governor or the Legislature.
Mental health spending gains ground

The social safety net became ground zero last week for a fierce debate in the Legislature over how to fund schools, but there was consensus among lawmakers on at least one social service: treating mental illness.