Checks Aren't in the Mail

(Updated Friday 6 a.m.)-Just before the Department of Revenue began mailing multi-million-dollar refund checks to the estates of some of the wealthiest dead people in Washington, lawmakers came to an agreement that will keep that money in state coffers. The deal on the estate tax came after a late-night, down-to the wire finish that had the Senate executing a complicated deal for one of its major pieces of reform legislation in return — a bill that will require the state to steer more money toward hazardous-waste cleanups.

FBI files released to the AP show the federal agency questioned former Gov. Albert Rosellini’s political associations and probed a series of allegations that he was corrupt. However, Rosellini, who died in 2011 at the age of 101, was never the subject of an FBI criminal investigation.

In a performance worthy of Congress, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee announces that he will call the Legislature back into session Wednesday morning, and says the reason the Legislature hasn’t finished its work is spelled G-O-P. All problems can be laid at the feet of the Republicans who dominate the Senate, he insists. No above-it-all concilation here. Though actual differences are small, the state is hurtling toward a June 30 drop-dead date for passage of a budget, and while the Ds accuse the Rs of brinksmanship, that cuts both ways. Will cooler heads prevail?

The pieces started falling in place for a session-ending deal on the state budget as the Senate advanced three big pieces of legislation its leaders say must be considered as part of a compromise with the Democrats who control the state House. The Republican-leaning Senate majority wants big reforms on worker’s comp and management of K-12 schools, and it wants to put the emphasis on public education in future spending decisions. These may not be the full list, but it’s a start, and the Senate action this weekend shows what it is going to take to strike a deal.

Apparently it’s all about how you ask the question. Two wildly contradictory polls were released Monday regarding the Legislature’s current debate over a transportation tax increase. Pollster Stuart Elway, emphasizing taxes, concludes the public turns thumbs down 54-40. But a poll from EMC Research, probing voter concerns in the wake of the Skagit River Bridge catastrophe, shows voters think passage is important, by a whopping 69-29 margin. Both are sure to figure in the high-stakes argument, which comes to a head this month.

It was a wild debate in the Senate Saturday as the Republican-leaning Majority Coalition advanced its latest budget proposal. The new plan is a response to a split-it-down-the-middle offer from House Democrats, and at least on first glance it doesn’t seem to have changed much. But there is more movement toward compromise than may seem apparent, and the Republican-leaning Senate Majority Coalition seems to be signaling its willingness to accept some new taxes, if the House Dems are willing to accept sweeping government reforms.

House Democrats sent their split-the-difference budget proposal sailing in the direction of the Senate Thursday night as they passed their $33.6 billion tax-and-spending plan on a largely party-line vote, taking the dealmaking out of the negotiating rooms and putting it on the public stage. The bold move by the House Dems might be seen as an end-run on the normally secretive budget negotiations, and sets up a public conflict with the tax-averse Senate, but it certainly has shaken things loose during a sleepy special session.

So much for the cone of silence! After a month of apparent inactivity in budget negotiations, House Democrats are going public with a plan to split the difference with the Republican Senate. Think of it as a unilateral compromise. They’ll be running it on the floor perhaps as soon as today. The Dems have backed off considerably on their plans for tax hikes, but plenty of argument remains ahead over their plans to raise oil taxes and take on the high-tech industry. Although one might think the end-run on the budget negotiations is a bid for public support, Dems say they are just trying to get things done fast.

The deadline for action on the Washington estate tax has been moved a week ahead by the state Department of Revenue. Now lawmakers have until the end of their current special session to take action on a bill that would patch a hole created by a Supreme Court decision. If no action, poof, the state’s number is up — and there goes $50M or so, possibly as much as $138M.