This Washington
Special Session in Olympia Will Revive Controversial Bills
Here's what's happening in Olympia: While the difference between the house and senate budgets isn't that great—$4.8 billion in cuts vs. $4.4 billion—the time legislators need to pass all the related bills (termed "Necessary To Implement the Budget," such as limiting eligibility for children's health care
) is a lost cause. Originally, the session was supposed to wrap up on Sunday.
So, here's what's going to happen now. On Thursday or Friday, the governor is expected to call for a special session. That means legislators will have to come back for a second session, officially 30 days long, that will probably start up next week. I say "officially" because if they limit their work to the budget and the "NTIB" bills, the session could take as little as ten days.
[pullquote]This means that controversial bills could reemerge as bargaining chips as the chambers try to come up with a budget deal.[/pullquote]
However, here's the catch: By law, a 30-day session puts any bill passed by one chamber in play. This means that controversial bills—the workers' comp bill (which scales back payouts) that passed the senate, but languished in the house, or the bill that would scale back the voter-approved renewable energy initiative by allowing biomass wood products to count as renewable—could reemerge as bargaining chips as the chambers try to come up with a budget deal.
By the way, besides the fact that the current house budget doesn't cut as deeply into teachers' pay and social programs, the main difference between the two budgets is a provision in the house proposal that would privatize the state's liquor distribution system, raising a supposed $300 million. (The Office of Financial Management doesn't buy it.)
So, here's what's going to happen now. On Thursday or Friday, the governor is expected to call for a special session. That means legislators will have to come back for a second session, officially 30 days long, that will probably start up next week. I say "officially" because if they limit their work to the budget and the "NTIB" bills, the session could take as little as ten days.
[pullquote]This means that controversial bills could reemerge as bargaining chips as the chambers try to come up with a budget deal.[/pullquote]
However, here's the catch: By law, a 30-day session puts any bill passed by one chamber in play. This means that controversial bills—the workers' comp bill (which scales back payouts) that passed the senate, but languished in the house, or the bill that would scale back the voter-approved renewable energy initiative by allowing biomass wood products to count as renewable—could reemerge as bargaining chips as the chambers try to come up with a budget deal.
By the way, besides the fact that the current house budget doesn't cut as deeply into teachers' pay and social programs, the main difference between the two budgets is a provision in the house proposal that would privatize the state's liquor distribution system, raising a supposed $300 million. (The Office of Financial Management doesn't buy it.)
