Sine die - Lawmakers adjourn at 1:10 a.m.
April 13, 2010
OLYMPIA, WA— The Legislature wrapped up its work early this morning. The end came 1:10 a.m. after majority Democrats sent Gov. Chris Gregoire the last pieces of a package of tax increases and approved a $31 billion supplemental budget that cuts jobs and lowers spending on public schools and universities.
The House and Senate also approved a capital-projects budget and a bond measure for the November ballot asking voters to approve $505 million in energy upgrades at schools, colleges and state buildings; a sales tax on bottled water would provide revenue to pay the bond debt over 25 years, and the measure would generate an estimated 30,000 jobs over five years, according to its sponsor, Rep. Hans Dunshee.
Tonight would have been the legal end of the 30-day special session that began March 15, and the long evening was full of surprises — including an announcement by House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, that she’s retiring after this year, her 18th in the Legislature and 12th as No. 2 leader in the caucus.
The tax package raises almost $794 million over the next 14 months, and Gregoire sounded happy that it was all done. She told reporters in the Senate wings:
Republicans warned the state was putting off necessary cuts in spending and setting up huge deficits in 2011, while also putting a damper on the economic recovery by raising taxes.
There were glitches. The governor wanted more than the $484 million left in reserves by the Democrat controlled House and Senate. And she got a scare late in the evening when her legislative director, Marty Brown, discovered the Senate wasn't planning to pass a bill that would have loosened $229 million in the state's rainy day fund just in case it was needed to cover unexpected drops in the revenue available.
Without it, Gregoire would have seen an unrestricted reserve of just $255 million in a budget that depends on $633 million in federal aid that is expected by January, but whose arrival is not guaranteed. So Gregoire stormed up the stone steps to the Senate at 11:12 p.m., rushing in to see Majority Leader Lisa Brown and urging a vote on House Bill 3197 [updated to correct bill number].
After talking to a few key lawmakers, Gregoire got the assurances she wanted, and the bill passed 30-14 on a party-line vote. Only Democratic Sen. Tim Sheldon voted against it. Sheldon said that if federal money fell through, he was OK with having the governor call lawmakers back to town to make additional cuts, which he would have favored over tax increases anyway.
Asked why she hadn't voted the bill out earlier, Sen. Brown said: "It was not clear to us it was high on the priority list of the governor and the House. Then the governor came to us."
Brown said she hadn't seen a problem in leaving the funds in the rainy-day lock box, believing the economy and revenues will improve. But even if things didn't turn out as planned, she said, "The money would have been there."
Kessler's departure provided a rare moment of comity in the legislative session that was marked by a partisan vote on most major bills from the very beginning of the 60-day session that began Jan. 11.
Except for agreement on a proposed constitutional amendment that would change the law for allowing bail, the partisanship was ever-present — mainly on economic, budget and tax measures.
But after Kessler gave a speech at midnight explaining her departure, some members wiped their eyes, and Republicans joined in the praise. House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt said Kessler "pulled people together" and "was able to keep a balance and grace" in the partisan environment.
ORIGINAL 2:10 a.m. post updated to correct bill number.