State lawmakers this week focussed on budget legislation as this year’s session heads for adjournment in less than a month.

On Thursday, the Senate unanimously adopted SB 5086, the state capital budget, authorizing $3.98 billion in new capital construction projects for state agencies and institutions of higher education for the 2017-19 fiscal biennium. The proceeds of state general obligation bonds would fund $2.53 billion of the total appropriations. The bill also provides for a net decrease of $870,000 in adjustments to the current 2015-17 capital budget. It now goes to the House for consideration.

After considering 59 amendments in a lengthy executive session Wednesday evening, the House Appropriations Committee approved a substitute version of HB 1067, the House Democrats’ 2017-19 spending proposal. As passed by the committee, the budget plan calls for $44.9 billion in total spending for the next two years.

The bill includes appropriations of $22.0 billion for K-12 public schools; $5.9 billion for the Department of Social and Health Services; $8.2 billion for other human services programs, including the Health Care Authority and the Department of Corrections; and $3.8 billion for higher education institutions and financial aid.

It would also fund the state employee and nonstate employee pay raise agreements negotiated between the Governor and state employee unions, Initiative 732 cost-of-living adjustments, and additional K-12 salary increases. The bill would also provide supplemental appropriations in the current 2015-17 state budget, adding $1.6 million in total budgeted funds.

HB 1067 was sent to the House Rules Committee for possible scheduling on the House floor calendar, but House leaders moved SB 5048, the Republican-led Senate’s version of the two-year state budget, to the floor instead. The content of SB 5048 was essentially stripped and replaced by HB 1067 as an amendment.

Procedurally, this means that, after passage in the House, the amended bill will go back to the Senate for approval of the amendments and final passage. The Republican-led Senate will likely reject the amendments and ask the House to step away from them. If the House refuses, as it is likely to do, the bill would go to a “conference committee” of members appointed by leaders in both chambers to negotiate a final state budget measure.

The House began debate on 86 proposed amendments to SB 5048 on Thursday afternoon, continuing the debate Friday morning. Twenty amendments were adopted, and the bill was brought up for a vote at noon. It passed along strict party lines by a 50-48 vote.

Interestingly, on Thursday, the votes on most amendments came down to a 48-48 vote, failing to garner the necessary constitutional, simple majority. Two Democrats were excused for the afternoon, underscoring how close the partisan division in the House really is.

Despite passage of the spending proposal, House Democrats have yet to consider and vote on a revenue package to fund the plan. HB 2186, which would raise about $3.0 billion in new taxes, including a new 7 percent tax on capital gains income, is scheduled for a public hearing on Monday.

There are 23 days remaining in this year’s 105-day Regular Session, and, according to observers in Olympia, an agreement on a final budget bill is still a long way off, likely resulting in lawmakers going into overtime with one or more special sessions.

Keep up with the latest developments by visiting www. washingtonvotes.org, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. #waleg