Legislative Commentary

The Senate passed a new operating budget on Friday after debating amendment after amendment for the better part of six hours. Our balanced plan would support critical constitutional reforms of the state’s school-levy approach, add more funding for basic education and strengthen the social-services “safety net” without calling for new taxes.

When we made our budget proposal public earlier in the week, I figured the fact that it increases spending but still stays within available revenue would draw criticism from Governor Inslee and others who want big spending increases – and a record tax incre...