The state Senate
returned to Olympia Monday afternoon, starting with overrides on
27 Senate bills vetoed by Governor Jay Inslee March 10th.
Inslee issued the vetoes as a way to encourage legislators to get
supplemental budgets completed, and has indicated that with an agreed-upon
operating budget, he would not object to either chamber overriding the
vetoes.
The Senate bills
now move to the House for its consideration of override votes. Bills that
receive the two-thirds override in both chambers will not go back to
the Governor, but go to the Secretary of State’s office to be assigned a
chapter law number.
House members also returned Monday afternoon to get a briefing on
the proposed compromise supplemental operating budget. A number of bills
have been pulled to the floor, including the budget bills. Look for
HB 2380 (capital budget) and ESHB 2376 (operating budget) to move first in the House.
House members begin work Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. The House is expected to go
to caucus after it convenes, but should vote on the budget bills today
and send them to the Senate for action.
Also of interest to WSPTA members is the newly introduced HB
3009 (on March 24th) which would allow time spent eating a
morning meal in the classroom to count as instructional time if instruction is
also taking place. This bill replaces the “Breakfast after the Bell” bill,
which failed to pass by the end of regular session. No funding is included in
the compromise operating budget for one-time start-up grants at schools that
adopt a morning meal program after the school day starts.
The compromise operating budget also includes funding for
beginning teachers, students who are homeless, students in the foster youth
system, and to implement aspects of the education opportunity gap bill - all of
which passed during the regular session. The bill also includes about a net of
$4 million for charter schools (SB 6194), which has not been scheduled for a
Governor bill signing yet.
Legislation to extend an increase in school district
levy authority from 2018 to 2019 will not be proposed during the special
session. The compromise operating budget includes Section 515 which states the
legislature's intent to adopt compensation and levy reform measures by April 1,
2017, or to introduce legislation to extend the authority another year if
action by the end of session seems unlikely.
If all goes according to House and Senate leadership plans, work
should conclude by the end of Tuesday, the 20th day of the
first special session.
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