Extra Special Session Watch: Day 18 . . . 22 days to shutdown . . . Status Report: Nothin'.
An
article in Crosscut on Thursday says, "there's barely a stirring from the Legislature's budget negotiations." According to reporter, John Stang, there also doesn't seem to be a real sense of urgency about reaching an agreement, since Governor Inslee "
appears to be the most anxious of Capitol Dome denizens about getting the budget passed with a decent amount of time before the June 30 deadline."
Earlier in the week,
@KeithKOMO4 tweeted a
pic with the caption, "
#WALEG budget negotiators Rep Ormsby & Sen Braun sitting at opposite ends of panel. Symbol of budget talks?"
From this we can infer that progress toward a budget agreement is minimal. But at least they're in the same room, right?
And, the Seattle Times did use the word "compromise" in its headline for a Sunday
story about various tax proposals being promoted and rejected by negotiators. According to Senator Jon Braun, the Republican chief budget writer, Governor Inslee has helped matters a
bit "by suggesting some of the stuff [tax increases] come off the table."
In the meantime, although it's too late for some seniors in districts that have already held graduation ceremonies, the Times is reminding legislators about that pesky
assessment issue they have yet to resolve. The editorial says that the number of seniors impacted is "about a 1,000 and diminishing statewide," but a Spokesman Review
piece on Wednesday gives the number as 3,300.
TVW: Watch live and archived legislative proceedings.
Note about
legislative updates:
CSTP relays these legislative updates to provide information on bills, budgets and legislative processes. CSTP doesn't have a legislative agenda, but does track legislative issues most relevant to teaching.
