Yesterday was sine die in Olympia, now what?

OLYMPIA – The House and Senate gaveled out this year’s Legislative session on Thursday while the sun was still up.

More than 300 bills passed through each chamber before the end of the session, referred to as “sine die”— a Latin phrase meaning without a day.

Now that the session is over and lawmakers all went home, what’s next?

Lots of campaigning and elections.

November’s ballot will now be three initiatives shorter. The Legislature decided to pass three of the six initiatives sent to them earlier in the session. One banning a tax on personal income, another codifying rights for parents with students in public schools and the last relaxing restrictions on police engaging in vehicular pursuits.

They didn’t require a signature from Gov. Jay Inslee either, so there’s no chance of a veto. They are enacted into law 90 days after the session, in early June.

The other three – repealing the Climate Commitment Act, repealing the capital gains tax and allowing people to opt out of the long-term care tax – will head to the ballot for voters’ consent.

Headed into a major election cycle, candidates are likely relieved to finally be able to start fundraising again. State law prohibits legislators from accepting donations to their campaigns during the legislative session.

And next session, we will see a lot of new faces.

The past two weeks brought several retirements from lawmakers, some who have been around for just two years and others more than 20.

These legislators have announced they won’t be seeking re-election this year:

• Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane;

• Former House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm;

• Sen. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia;

• Ranking member on the Senate Ways and Means Committee Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver;

• Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda;

• Rep. Spencer Hutchins, R-Gig Harbor; and

• Senate President Pro Tempore Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines.

A few others in the Legislature may not be coming back as they seek higher office:

• Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, running for governor;

• Sen. Rebecca Saldana, D-Seattle, running for public lands commissioner;

• Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, running for insurance commissioner;

• Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber, R-Republic, running for Congress;

• Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, running for Congress;

• Sen. Emily Randall, D-Port Orchard, running for Congress;

• Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Lake Sutherland, running for public lands commissioner; and

• Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, running for attorney general.

Despite an abundance of retirements and goodbyes, no one representing Snohomish County has made any big announcements – yet.

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