Tentative budget deal has been reached ahead of potential government shutdown, Inslee says

Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, June 28, 2017

By Melissa Santos

The News Tribune

Gov. Jay Inslee’s office announced Wednesday morning that lawmakers have reached a deal “in principle” on Washington’s next two-year budget — an agreement that should avoid a partial shutdown of government services July 1.

The announcement came after lawmakers stayed up negotiating late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.

The news release from Inslee’s office offered no details of the plan, other than that “the agreement covers spending and resource levels.”

The release said legislative leaders are moving forward with educating their colleagues on what’s in the plan — and winning their votes.

Lawmakers this year have been working to comply with a 2012 state Supreme Court order to fully fund public schools.

That decision, known as McCleary, has defined the last several years in the Legislature as lawmakers have poured billions into the K-12 system.

But lawmakers left one of the most difficult portions of the ruling for last: an order to take on the full cost of teacher and other school employee salaries that currently are being supplemented by local levies.

The complex task fell upon a divided Legislature, forcing compromise between two parties that have fought for starkly different solutions to the problem. The state House is ruled by a majority of Democrats. The state Senate is controlled by a Republican-led coalition, with the help of one conservative Democrat.

The divide has brought Washington to the brink of shutdown. Earlier in the week, lawmakers said they needed to have a deal by Wednesday morning to have enough time to draft and pass a budget before midnight on Friday, the deadline to prevent the full or partial closure of most state agencies.

It wasn’t clear when the details of the budget agreement would be released Wednesday.