In a 5-4 ruling, the state Supreme Court today ruled in favor of Gov. Chris Gregoire and against SEIU Local 775 in a battle over funding of pay increases for health care workers that dates back to 2008.
You’ll want to read the full opinions but the gist of the majority is the power of the pen holder in the executive branch trumps a legal attempt to force changes in a budget adopted by the Legislature and signed by the governor.
The majority also points out it is not about to tell the executive how to spend scare resources.
The minority obviously disagreed. Justice Richard Sanders offers a separate and very short opinion that the court should have acted more swiftly. The case reached the court in December 2008.
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