Posted February 13, 2012 by Brad Boswell
The legislature is deep in the throes of floor action, with chamber cutoff scheduled for Tuesday, February 14th at 5pm. These means that bills that haven’t passed out of their house of origin are dead for this session. Much of the concern at this point is still focused on the budget and what impacts any cuts could have to physician reimbursements and hospitals. At this point, the legislature is waiting for the February 15th revenue forecast to be published and then the budget negotiations will begin in earnest.
This session is scheduled to end on March 8th; however, there is not a great deal of confidence that they will be able to finish in that time and an additional 30-day special session is expected.
Transportation
The focus in the transportation arena remains with Senator Haugen and Representative Clibborn’s fee bill, which has been pared down significantly from the Governor’s proposal that included the barrel tax. While the House Transportation Committee was able to get the bill out and included the barrel fee, it is not expected to move through the Senate and does not appear to have the momentum it needs to continue; however, we are still working on some modest fee package to continue to move through the process.
Education
Education remains a hot button issue with both teacher evaluation and charter schools still very much in play. It is expected that both of these education reform measures will be in the mix the entire session.
Learn more about the Chamber's legislative agenda , and the shared agenda we're advocating with 29 other business organizations around the state. You can also view a full list of the bills our government relations team is tracking this session.