OLYMPIA – State lawmakers scuffled over high school testing reform into Wednesday morning and the fight is having ripple effects on a fresh new budget and long-sought transportation package.
The Senate is at the center of the political wrangling. Democrats want to vote on a bill to axe a requirement that students pass a biology test or approved alternative to graduate. Republicans, who hold the majority, oppose the bill and say its passage would weaken the standards for graduating from high school.
As leverage, most Democrats are refusing to vote to pass a bill suspending Initiative 1351, the class size reduction measure.
It takes a two-thirds majority to suspend an initiative in the first two years after voters approve it.
Without enough Democrat votes, Senate Republicans could not muster the super-majority. They tried shortly before 6 a.m. The measure garnered 27 votes — including Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, and four other Democrats — but needed 33 votes to pass.
This is where the new two-year budget signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday is affected.
The budget assumes the initiative will be deferred so the state can avoid paying the estimated $2 billion cost it incurs.
But with the initiative not on hold, there is a $2 billion hole in the budget, at least for now. House and Senate budget writers say it’s not an immediate concern because no money needs to be immediately spent to plug the gap. If the dispute lingers past a few weeks, there could be concerns, they said.
And then there’s the 16-year, $16 billion transportation package, which is in jeopardy of becoming a casualty of the kerfuffle.
The House and Senate already passed bills to raise the gas tax to pay for the package. But the House still needs to approve a bill allowing the sale of bonds to finance projects, and the Senate needs to pass a bill outlining the list of projects to be funded.
House leaders say they’ll hold off on taking action until the rumble on high school testing reforms is done. If the Senate reaches a compromise, it will come back to the House, which strongly supports axing the biology test requirement.
The House and Senate have not scheduled any floor sessions until next week, at the earliest.
Wednesday is the fourth day of the third special session. It could last up to 30 days.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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