If the Legislature were to call itself into a special session restricted to finishing work on the budget and those bills necessary to implement the budget (NTIB), how many bills would be in play?

That's a question I've been trying to resolve but the answer is not as clear cut as I had hoped.

According to staff for the House and Senate Ways and Means committees, a NTIB bill is generally a bill referenced in the budget that requires making a statutory change to achieve savings.

Where things get complicated is the fact that the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate can be asked to make a parliamentary ruling on whether a bill is NTIB. Unfortunately there aren't exact formal rules on what is considered NTIB and the rules can be different between the House and Senate.

Legislative fiscal staff are in the process of formalizing the House and Senate NTIB bill list but the details are not yet available.

This list of NTIB bills was provided by Rep. Hunter when he released the House budget. Approximately that many bills are also likely NTIB for the Senate budget proposal.

With numerous NTIB bills left to be enacted, it is critical that the Legislature call itself back into a special session restricted to adopting only the budget and NTIB bills. They already have enough unfinished work to consider without being distracted by other issues.

This is especially true when considering these comments by Rep. Moeller today in The Columbian:

“I think we’ll take the entire 30 days,” he said. Last year, he noted, it took the Democratic majority 30 days just to settle on a package of taxes to submit to voters, all of which were rejected in November. “I can’t imagine how we will get through all the contentious bills we have to get through, negotiate the differences, and come to agreement within a few days.”

One proposal that hopefully will be ruled NTIB is SJR 8202 - Authorizing the reduction of public officials' salaries. This proposed constitutional amendment has been sitting on the Senate floor since March 7. Similar House proposals have also not been acted on.

According to the bill report for SJR 8202:

"Under the state Constitution, the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials prescribes the salary of state elected officials of the executive branch; members of the Legislature; and judges of the state Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Courts, and District Courts. The salaries of county and municipal elective and appointive officials are prescribed by either the respective legislative authority or a local salary commission authorized by a local ordinance or resolution. The state Constitution allows salary increases for these elected and appointed officials during their terms of office, but salary decreases during their terms of office are prohibited.

Summary of Bill (Recommended Substitute): The compensation of elected and appointed state, county, and municipal officials, other than judges, may be decreased during their terms of office as necessary to reflect compensation reductions implemented for other public employees in the jurisdiction in which the officials serve."

I've attempted to confirm whether SJR 8202 is NTIB but have not been successful to date.