3rd special session begins; lawmakers struggle over budget
OLYMPIA — Lawmakers began a third special session Wednesday amid spreading concern they will be unable to reach a budget deal in time to prevent the first-ever shutdown of state government.
The new session started minutes after the fruitless second extra session concluded. Gov. Jay Inslee said lawmakers can’t waste any time in their pursuit of an agreement to fund state government by the end of next week. If they don’t succeed, many state services will be halted and thousands of workers laid off July 1.
“The clock is running out,” Inslee told reporters at a Wednesday news conference. “I’m a lot more concerned today than I was three or four days ago.
“If legislators do not send me a two-year budget to sign by June 30, they will have to live with the legacy of being the first Legislature ever to fail completely on the one job they’re legally required to do,” he said.
And Inslee directed criticism at unnamed Senate Republicans for suggesting lawmakers enact a temporary 30-day budget if they can’t reach a deal. The governor said he’d veto such a bill if it came to his desk.
“A government shutdown and a 30-day budget are both equally reckless, equally irresponsible tactics,” he said.
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