Just when we thought we were out, they pull us back in.
There are other lines from the 1990 flick “Godfather III,” we could paraphrase to illustrate our frustration with the Legislature’s inability to complete its work related to the state operating and transportation budgets. Earlier in the week, we seemed well on our way. In fact, the operating budget was passed, averting what would have been a disastrous partial shutdown of state government. Also passed was a transportation funding bill that will pay for about $16 billion in road, bridge and transit projects in the state, including $670 million in Snohomish County. But final votes on some related bills, specifically a vote to suspend Initiative 1351, remained but seemed to be in hand.
I-1351, passed by the voters in November, sought to decrease class sizes in all public schools, but it identified no source of funding. With I-1351 heaped on top of the education spending that lawmakers were mandated to allocate by the state Supreme Court, most in the Legislature knew they would have to delay its provisions. The House, in Democratic control, did pass a bill to suspend I-1351 for four years, 72-26, well above the two-thirds majority required. But the issue failed in the Senate, with only five Democrats voting to suspend it, blowing a $2 billion hole in the operating budget. The budget still stands, but unless I-1351 is suspended, the Legislature would have to find $2 billion in cuts to other programs, new revenue or a combination of the two. At the same time, as the state begins seeking bonds to fund the construction outlined in the transportation and capital budgets, the $2 billion hole could make it difficult and expensive to borrow.
In defending his vote against suspension, Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said more debate was necessary: “The voters deserve a thoughtful discussion, not a suspension of their will in the middle of the night.”
Yes, voters did deserve that discussion, but it should have come months ago, before lawmakers found themselves in a third special session. I-1351 was not a surprise to any lawmaker. It was there all along, and none of the proposed budgets attempted to address it beyond the assumption that its provisions would have to be delayed.
Even some last-minute horse-trading failed. Democrats had sought concessions that, among other changes to graduation standards, would have allowed about 2,000 high school students who failed a biology test to get their diplomas this year. Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, said Republicans were ready to drop the biology exam requirement, but the offer was rejected by Senate Democrats.
We’re at a loss to understand what anyone gains from further delay. And there’s too much at stake, including the projects outlined in the capital and transportation budgets and other hard-fought agreements.
The Legislature has until July 27 to conclude its work, and it must soon report its progress toward amply funding education to the state Supreme Court or risk penalties under a contempt of court decree.
There is one more line from “Godfather III,” that seems apt here: “Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger.”
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