Deal in the works for state budget?
It looks like the Senate has finally blinked in the game of legislative chicken that's been going on for half a month now.
Scuttlebut out of Olympia has it that the Senate is working on a new budget proposal that does not include a sales tax increase as part of the revenue mix.
(Governor Chris Gregoire, the House, the state Democratic Party, and NPI are all opposed to raising the sales tax, primarily because there are better options available that would be fairer and less regressive.)
The House's budget proposal adds up to the same $800 million figure as the Senate's, but it gets there by closing tax exemptions that certain senators - including a couple of powerful committee chairs - seem loathe to closing. (Perhaps that's because they have lobbyists breathing down their necks).
Whether the votes exist in the Senate to pass an alternative budget proposal is another matter altogether, but the chamber doesn't have much of a choice. The sales tax is the dealbreaker that's killing negotiations. If it's taken out, House leadership has suggested that finding common ground from there on out would be easy, since there are no other major stumbling blocks.
The Legislature doesn't have much more time before the special session expires. If they can't reach an accord within the next two weeks, that'll mean another special session will be necessary. And nobody wants that.
Scuttlebut out of Olympia has it that the Senate is working on a new budget proposal that does not include a sales tax increase as part of the revenue mix.
(Governor Chris Gregoire, the House, the state Democratic Party, and NPI are all opposed to raising the sales tax, primarily because there are better options available that would be fairer and less regressive.)
The House's budget proposal adds up to the same $800 million figure as the Senate's, but it gets there by closing tax exemptions that certain senators - including a couple of powerful committee chairs - seem loathe to closing. (Perhaps that's because they have lobbyists breathing down their necks).
Whether the votes exist in the Senate to pass an alternative budget proposal is another matter altogether, but the chamber doesn't have much of a choice. The sales tax is the dealbreaker that's killing negotiations. If it's taken out, House leadership has suggested that finding common ground from there on out would be easy, since there are no other major stumbling blocks.
The Legislature doesn't have much more time before the special session expires. If they can't reach an accord within the next two weeks, that'll mean another special session will be necessary. And nobody wants that.
# Posted by Andrew : 11:04 AM
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