E-Wire for March 3rd - Counting down to the Close!

Guess what happened over the weekend?  Yes, the Senate pulled together a series of bills to move forward on the Transportation Budget.  Senator King has offered 13 votes and is asking for 12 votes from the Democratic Caucus to pass the bill.  It has no referendum clause and it has some issues that may be non-starters in the House.

Guess we will see, eh?

Last Friday also seemed to be the witching hour in the Senate.  The move in committee to kill a bipartisan supported bill raised eyebrows among members.  This led to a floor fight, which the Democrats lost.  Here is the transcript of hearing that led to 9^th Order Move by Senate Democrats.

On a lighter note, the Senate is currently hearing a proposed solution to the Teacher Evaluations issue that has bedeviled the legislature all session.  The House has its own version.  Nothing doing,  but doesn't anyone remember that the vote against this bill concerning teacher evaluations was bipartisan?  Just wondering.  Here is the House Version and the Senate Version.

The Washington State School Directors Association will be hitting the hill tomorrow in an attempt to push the legislature towards addressing a long-standing unfairness in the way the state funds rural districts.  The goal would be to adopt language which lets school districts keep timber subsidies for counties that have Federal Forests and Parks in their jurisdiction.  Washington State is the only state that takes the money into the General Fund and doesn't allow school districts to keep the additional funds for school programs.  WSSDA will try to get the State to change this long-standing practice.  The PTA supports their efforts and supports the policy to allow these communities to be compensated for the tax revenue loss created by our ability to enjoy their bounty. 

Onto the E-Wire!

The House Capital Budget is looking at funding classroom expansion.  Here is how that looks to one district.

Central Kitsap moves forward with all day Kindergarten.

Someone say something about McCleary?  Deadlines?

Representative Reuven Carlyle (Seattle) gets the award for coming up with novel ways to raise money for schools by taxing products that didn’t even exist when the McCleary fight began. But he is getting pushback.

One should take a moment to thank US Representative Dave Camp for thinking outside the box on tax reform.

Vote in House to codify McCleary passes out of committee.  Meanwhile, House Capital Budget pushes for improvements to pave the way.

Peter Callaghan talks about K-12 Education Funding and the future of levies.

Invest in STEM…

Rep Moeller talks about one of the loopholes that is tying the Senate up in knots.

So, 13 years ago, the E-Wire was rocking and rolling on Cherberg’s 4^th floor as the Nisqually Earthquake struck.  It made for a long, wild session which went into multiple overtime.  Here’s a look back.

That’s all folks, see you tomorrow!!