This Washington
Will Progressive Agenda Survive Budget Vote?
All eyes have been on the $800 million revenue deal that's currently getting worked out between the state House and Senate. As we've reported, it includes a beer tax, a soft drink tax, a stepped-up B&O tax, and no sales tax. (A tax on big banks was left on the cutting room floor.)
What about the spending side of the equation, though? For example, during the regular session, when the Blue-Green alliance (the ad-hoc progressive caucus in the House) got done with their budget amendments, the spending equation got up to $857 million—lowering the House ending fund cushion by about $50 million.
Now, with a $57 million difference between that budget and the new revenue package, will the caucus' add-ons be the first to go? For example, the Bee Gees (as the Blue-Greens are called) added a $7.8 million proposal to pay for environmental programs such as the Department of Ecology’s hazardous waste cleanup program and $1.7 million to restore the adult day health care program, which serves about 1,600 vulnerable seniors and disabled clients.
We talked to Bee Gees frontwoman Rep. Sharon Nelson (D-34) today, and she reports that she's "very optimistic that the budget will reflect Democratic values and will have the stuff we worked to get in there." She says communication with the budget negotiating team has been excellent and "if there were any problems, we would have heard about it."
Word is: The revenue package will get voted through this weekend and the full budget will get done as the deadline ticks down on Tuesday.
What about the spending side of the equation, though? For example, during the regular session, when the Blue-Green alliance (the ad-hoc progressive caucus in the House) got done with their budget amendments, the spending equation got up to $857 million—lowering the House ending fund cushion by about $50 million.
Now, with a $57 million difference between that budget and the new revenue package, will the caucus' add-ons be the first to go? For example, the Bee Gees (as the Blue-Greens are called) added a $7.8 million proposal to pay for environmental programs such as the Department of Ecology’s hazardous waste cleanup program and $1.7 million to restore the adult day health care program, which serves about 1,600 vulnerable seniors and disabled clients.
We talked to Bee Gees frontwoman Rep. Sharon Nelson (D-34) today, and she reports that she's "very optimistic that the budget will reflect Democratic values and will have the stuff we worked to get in there." She says communication with the budget negotiating team has been excellent and "if there were any problems, we would have heard about it."
Word is: The revenue package will get voted through this weekend and the full budget will get done as the deadline ticks down on Tuesday.
