Published: Thursday, May 7, 2009
Gregoire may cancel special session
OLYMPIA -- Overtime for the legislative session seemed all but certain just a week ago.
Now, some of the same problems that led to lawmakers' one-hour late adjournment with a handful of bills still in limbo seem to have struck again.
Gov. Chris Gregoire, who wanted majority Democrats to quickly agree to narrow the scope of a potential special session is starting to run out of patience and has said she's close to calling the whole thing off.
"They've got issues that are very important to them and they want to put them on the table," Gregoire said earlier this week. "I'm just very reluctant to call a special session which is really like another general session. I'm not interested in that."
On Tuesday, Gregoire said that if she didn't have agreement by House Speaker Frank Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown by the end of the week, she wouldn't call a special session.
The regular 105-day session ended in the early hours of April 27 after a political power play between the House and Senate in the waning hours resulted in them missing the scheduled midnight adjournment deadline. Three bills seen as necessary to implement the $35 billion two-year operating budget remained stuck in the House.
Gregoire immediately said a special session was needed, and several dates have been floated around the Capitol campus since then, ranging from mid-May to early June. This week was off limits because hundreds of teens have taken over the Capitol as the youth Legislature runs through Saturday. (A youth special session isn't likely.)
The three bills that have been discussed by the governor for a special session are:
A plan to reduce state spending on a program that benefits "property-poor" schools, saving about $60 million, while allowing school districts to collect more money from property tax levies. That bill is seen as the biggest priority.
A measure to clear the way for illegal immigrants in state prisons to be deported, saving the state more than $8 million.
A criminal sentencing bill that expands the low and high end of the sentencing range, allowing more discretion for judges when sentencing offenders. This bill could save the state nearly $376,000 through 2011 because it is expected that sentences will be reduced.
But House leaders have been lukewarm about rushing back to Olympia.
House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said she thought it might be better to wait until September, when lawmakers already will have to return to the state capital for meetings.
Kessler said the biggest challenge to getting a special agreement has been making sure lawmakers stick to a one-day session, "do the three bills and get out of Dodge."
Gregoire also wants lawmakers to give her a backup plan detailing where she should cut state spending if revenue collections continue to tank in the coming months.
Having that plan in place would help avoid further special sessions if the economy gets worse, Gregoire said. She'd asked for those marching orders during the regular session, but the Legislature did not complete a blueprint before adjourning.
Brown said she hasn't given up on resurrecting the bill the caused much of the trouble in the final hours of the regular session. Brown said a plan to alter Initiative 937, which requires some utilities to get some of their power from alternative sources such as wind or solar, is still a priority for her.
"I'm at the point of very much still wanting to see the bill come forward," she said.
Disagreement between the House and Senate over this bill was what essentially brought the Legislature to a standstill for several hours on the last day of session.
Kessler said that she doesn't think Brown "understands how toxic it is."
Brown said Wednesday that she couldn't guarantee that an agreement between House and Senate Democrats would be reached by the end of the week, but said she thought it was important to have a special session sooner rather than later.
"I would still think that for schools it would be a good idea to pass this levy bill before September," she said.
House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, said Republicans will show up for a special session if one is called, but that the likelihood of Democrats sorting out their differences makes that less likely as the days go on.
"It's hard to create compromise when everyone sees themselves as the most powerful person in the world," he said.
Now, some of the same problems that led to lawmakers' one-hour late adjournment with a handful of bills still in limbo seem to have struck again.
Gov. Chris Gregoire, who wanted majority Democrats to quickly agree to narrow the scope of a potential special session is starting to run out of patience and has said she's close to calling the whole thing off.
"They've got issues that are very important to them and they want to put them on the table," Gregoire said earlier this week. "I'm just very reluctant to call a special session which is really like another general session. I'm not interested in that."
On Tuesday, Gregoire said that if she didn't have agreement by House Speaker Frank Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown by the end of the week, she wouldn't call a special session.
The regular 105-day session ended in the early hours of April 27 after a political power play between the House and Senate in the waning hours resulted in them missing the scheduled midnight adjournment deadline. Three bills seen as necessary to implement the $35 billion two-year operating budget remained stuck in the House.
Gregoire immediately said a special session was needed, and several dates have been floated around the Capitol campus since then, ranging from mid-May to early June. This week was off limits because hundreds of teens have taken over the Capitol as the youth Legislature runs through Saturday. (A youth special session isn't likely.)
The three bills that have been discussed by the governor for a special session are:
A measure to clear the way for illegal immigrants in state prisons to be deported, saving the state more than $8 million.
A criminal sentencing bill that expands the low and high end of the sentencing range, allowing more discretion for judges when sentencing offenders. This bill could save the state nearly $376,000 through 2011 because it is expected that sentences will be reduced.
But House leaders have been lukewarm about rushing back to Olympia.
House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said she thought it might be better to wait until September, when lawmakers already will have to return to the state capital for meetings.
Kessler said the biggest challenge to getting a special agreement has been making sure lawmakers stick to a one-day session, "do the three bills and get out of Dodge."
Gregoire also wants lawmakers to give her a backup plan detailing where she should cut state spending if revenue collections continue to tank in the coming months.
Having that plan in place would help avoid further special sessions if the economy gets worse, Gregoire said. She'd asked for those marching orders during the regular session, but the Legislature did not complete a blueprint before adjourning.
Brown said she hasn't given up on resurrecting the bill the caused much of the trouble in the final hours of the regular session. Brown said a plan to alter Initiative 937, which requires some utilities to get some of their power from alternative sources such as wind or solar, is still a priority for her.
"I'm at the point of very much still wanting to see the bill come forward," she said.
Disagreement between the House and Senate over this bill was what essentially brought the Legislature to a standstill for several hours on the last day of session.
Kessler said that she doesn't think Brown "understands how toxic it is."
Brown said Wednesday that she couldn't guarantee that an agreement between House and Senate Democrats would be reached by the end of the week, but said she thought it was important to have a special session sooner rather than later.
"I would still think that for schools it would be a good idea to pass this levy bill before September," she said.
House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, said Republicans will show up for a special session if one is called, but that the likelihood of Democrats sorting out their differences makes that less likely as the days go on.
"It's hard to create compromise when everyone sees themselves as the most powerful person in the world," he said.
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