House Passes Main Budget; Senate Leaders Defend Statements

By John Stang
of Crosscut.com

Washington Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom said Thursday that the House Democrats’ proposed referendum to close seven tax exemptions to help fund improvements to education is too much of a gamble to risk on upgrading schools.

The problem: The House Democrats never proposed such a move.

Leaders of the Senate’s Majority Coalition Caucus held a messy, six-minute-long press conference Thursday that was abruptly ended after reporters challenged the accuracy of statements by Tom, D-Medina, and Senate Republican Caucus Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville.

…

Meanwhile, the Democratic-controlled House passed bills Thursday to put their revised 2013-2015 operating budget proposal into play.

The House passed the main budget bill 53-35 late Thursday. The vote was mostly along party lines. The bill included one tax exemption. The House then passed the other six tax exemptions in another bill, 52-40, mostly along party lines.

This morning, Gov. Jay Inslee urged the Senate to follow the House lead. “The House approved a budget last night that the Senate should quickly consider and act on,” he said. “This is a budget that shows serious compromise, and meets the Senate more than half way. It significantly scales back revenue and takes numerous policy issues off the table while preserving critical human services and moving us forward on education. Senate leaders should recognize that this is a budget that can get the job done in these final days of the special session.”

During the House debate, Rep. Hunter said, “It is still a strong investment in public education, but not as strong an investment as I would’ve liked.”

(To read the full article, go to crosscut.com/2013/06/07/olympia-2013/114857/house-democrats-push-their-budget-plan)