Under the dome for March 13

Today is the final day of the 60-day legislative session.

QUOTE

“I’ve got the white shoes. It’s time. I’m just getting ready for sine die.”

— Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, sporting his white-shoe look Wednesday, his yearly signal that sine die — the Latin term signifying the end of session — is drawing near

TODAY

Votes on the operating budget could begin after 10 a.m. today in the Senate. The House would follow suit later.

NOTEWORTHY

MOVE IT: There’s a lot of pacing to be done in a legislative session, and Democratic Sen. Chris Marr of Spokane was proud to be victor in Regence BlueShield’s fourth yearly “Move It” Legislative Walking Challenge.

He was honored Wednesday at the Capitol. The contest puts pedometers on lawmakers to keep track of their exercise and walking while at work. Marr issued a news release saying he racked up 361,541 steps. That beat out Rep. Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, who had 316,389, and Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, at 315,201.

Winning means Regence will donate $3,500 to a school in Marr’s Spokane legislative district for health purposes.

UPDATE

PART TIME: Rep. Bill Eickmeyer, the Belfair Democrat, is back at the Capitol this week, going at half-speed or half-time. Eickmeyer said he was out a week with a bacterial infection, but it got worse after he tried to return. He ended up missing a couple of weeks of session because of the lung infection, he said. The five-term lawmaker, who is retiring this year, returned Monday to work half-days, he said.

DATABASE APPROVED: A bill creating a new searchable online database for stategovernment budgets is headed to Gov. Chris Gregoire’s desk for signing. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6818 passed the House and Senate on unanimous votes but not before wrangling at the committee level. The measure, proposed by Democratic Sen. Eric Oemig of Kirkland, follows suit on efforts by the federal government and states such as Texas and Missouri to open the books to the public. Washington’s Democratic state auditor, Republican attorney general, and conservative groups such as the Evergreen Freedom Foundation and Washington Policy Center backed the concept. Under ESSB 6818, the Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program would set up the searchable database by Jan. 1, 2009, and link it to performance data.

FOSTER PARENTS

RESOLUTION: A push to create a professional class of foster parents has reached a political resolution: The project can go forward as long as they are not called “foster parents.”

“What it has been turned into is a pilot for intensive resource home providers. The term ‘foster parent’ has been stricken and there is no collective bargaining provided,” said Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam.

The Foster Parent Association of Washington State had teamed with the Washington Federation of State Employees to support the bill, House Bill 3145. They argued that a professional class and union representation is needed for the parents who take in the state’s most troubled children. But other foster parents said the proposal strayed to far from the traditional foster care system, in which parents are considered volunteers and often adopt their charges. The bill seesawed between a study of the issue to full-blown unionization for weeks. Wednesday’s compromise creates a pilot program for the new tier of caregivers, gives the class the new title of home provider, and does not allow union bargaining. The Senate approved the new version unanimously, and the House is expected to approve it.

Compiled by Brad Shannon and Adam Wilson