Friday’s “pro-forma” floor session in the state senate briefly turned dramatic as minority Democrats tried to take advantage of a temporary 24-24 tie to pass a bill to extend property taxes.  The temporary tie was created by the resignation last week of Sen. Brian Dansel, R-Republic, to join the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Pro forma” sessions are usually scheduled for ceremonial and legislative housekeeping purposes, and normally no substantive votes are taken. Senate minority Democrats tried to amend the senate rules to force a floor vote on HB 1059, to extend a local property tax increase that is scheduled to expire next January. The measure had already passed the Democrat-controlled House earlier in the week. They counted on Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib, who is in charge of making parliamentary rulings, to decide that the rules could be changed by a majority of senators actually present.

After hours of deliberation, Lt. Gov. Habib, a Democrat, ruled against the attempt, saying that a majority of the 49-member body would be necessary to make the change. The Democrats then sought a temporary suspension of the rules to force a vote on the bill Monday. To do that, they would have needed a two-thirds vote of at least 25 members present. However, by then only 24 senators were left on the floor, ending the attempt to force a vote on the bill.

The Republican-led Majority Coalition regained its 25-24 edge yesterday, with the unanimous selection by 15 Eastern Washington county commissioners of Rep. Shelly Short, R-Addy, to replace Sen. Dansel. She has served as a state representative for the area since 2008, and she is expected to run for a full four-year senate term this coming November.

Also on Friday, senate Republicans rolled out their plan to fund basic education and comply with the requirements of the McCleary court decision. SB 5607 proposes to increase the proportion of school expenses paid by the state, while still allowing local funds to supplement per-student spending.

 Under the bill, local property taxes would be reduced and state property taxes would be increased. It would create a flat statewide property tax levy of $1.80 per $1,000 of assessed value, replacing the current system of local levies that vary among school districts.

The new state levy would raise about $2.0 billion a year for schools, while eliminating about $2.4 billion in local school district property tax levies. According to GOP leaders, most people would see their property taxes go down under the Republican plan.

The plan would replace the current school funding formula with a minimum annual funding level of at least $12,500 per student. Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, SB 5607’s prime sponsor, said that the state would make up the difference for any school districts whose tax base is not large enough to reach this minimum. Such payments would cost the state about $1.4 billion every two years, which he said could be met without additional taxes. The legislature could increase per-student dollar amount in future years based on inflation and other expenses.

The Senate Ways and Means committee held a public hearing on the bill Monday, after voting to waive the 5-day pubic notice requirement, and passed an amended version out of committee on Tuesday. No floor action has been scheduled as yet.

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