OLYMPIA – The Legislature will convene in special session but when it will start is still unclear this afternoon.
An announcement from Gov. Chris Gregoire is anticipated later today.
Gregoire met for an hour with House and Senate leaders during which she said she wanted to see them reach agreement on aspects of their budget negotiations. The start date will depend in part on how much progress is made.
“The governor has given us some walking orders. She just wants certain things done today so that when we get in we are ready to go,” said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. “She doesn’t like a long session, I know that.”
“Most everybody agrees we won’t be coming back this weekend,” Kessler said.
She said the governor wanted the two chambers to settle on amount of money that will be left in the ending fund balance of the budget. The House budget sets aside $302 million while the Senate is banking $495 million.
Along with Kessler, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and House Speaker Frank Chopp were in today’s meeting.
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