Time is running out for state lawmakers in Olympia as this year’s 105-day Regular Session approaches final adjournment in just a few days on Sunday, April 23rd. Barring last-minute agreements on key budget and education funding measures, a special session now appears to be inevitable.

Both the Democratic majority House and Republican-led Senate have passed state spending bills for the next two years, including plans to comply with the state Supreme Court’s McCleary mandate to provide additional state funding for basic education. House and Senate leaders, however,  have yet to begin negotiations in earnest to work out a final agreement on their sharply different proposals. A major obstacle continues to be the House Democrats’ refusal to schedule a vote on the $3.5 billion in new taxes they have proposed to pay for their spending plan.

Overtime for legislative sessions has become routine in recent years. The last time lawmakers actually finished the budget-writing, 105-day regular session on time was in 2009. In 2015, the legislature spent a record 176 days in the regular and three special sessions. Final adjournment that year was not until July 10th. For a summary of legislative session days going back to the state’s first session in 1889, go to leg.wa.gov/LIC/Documents/Statistical%20Reports/Leg_Session_Dates.pdf .

While the stalemate on budget and education issues continues, both chambers are moving a large number of bills through final passage and sending them to the Governor for approval. Most of the measures require a vote to concur, or agree, with amendments to bills added by the opposite house. When either house does not agree with such amendments, the bills remain in dispute until a compromise version is worked out by a conference committee of selected members from each chamber.

To date, about 350 bills have now passed both houses, and 221 have been sent to the Governor to be signed into law. So far, Governor Inslee has not vetoed any bills put before him.

In addition, more than 300 bills sent by the House and Senate to their respective opposite chamber could still be considered before this session ends on Sunday. All legislation that has not passed prior to adjournment will be sent back to the originating house, and would have to be re-introduced and returned to their highest status during a special session. Any of the more than 2,100 measures introduced during the regular session could also be considered again during a special session, despite the fact most of these did not survive the various regular session cutoff dates.

Keep up with the action during the last few days of this session on www.washingtonvotes.org, and look for our Missed Votes Report that tallies the number of roll call votes taken by individual legislators. The report will be released shortly after the Regular Session adjourns. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. #waleg