We may have a WA State Budget...

Well, the tax&spend Democrats in WA have forced a third unneeded "Special Session" on the tax payers.  The GOP for the most part have done a fairly good job of standing firm on no new taxes, etc... apparently,  there is some sort of agreement that has been reached and we will learn more about it shortly.  Here is an update from Former WA State Attorney General, Rob McKenna.

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It sure took a while, but legislators in Olympia are wrapping up their business with a little time to spare. The budget will be voted on soon, and the major elements are in place. Here’s what you need to know:

• No big new taxes – no cap-and-trade, no carbon tax, no capital gains income tax
• $1.3 billion in new schools funding to meet the McCleary decision's requirements
• College and university tuition will be reduced, an important priority for Senate Republicans and nearly unprecedented nationally
• The last hurdle to a transportation package, the governor’s hoped-for low-carbon fuel standard, has been cleared. Inslee has agreed to a provision that will prevent him from imposing one by executive order

With a Republican Senate, a Democratic House, and a Democratic governor, Washington has divided government. No side will get everything it wants, but improving tax revenues made it harder for Democrats to continue pushing for their proposed tax increases, so a deal was struck. Senate budget writer Andy Hill said the budget deal “has the results that I think addresses most people’s priorities.”
Sen. Joe Fain of Auburn summed it up this way:

The final budget increases funding for schools by an unprecedented level.
It also includes a massive and nationally unheard of college tuition reduction.
Just as important, due to better prioritization and the benefits of economic growth in Washington, these important achievements were accomplished WITHOUT NEW TAXES.

We’ve made no secret that the Senate’s education-first, no-new-taxes budget is the approach Smarter Government Washington prefers. Their framework is what this budget deal is built on. Congratulations to everyone who has worked for this moment.

-Rob McKenna