There was some breaking news overnight. At 1:30 a.m. the governor announced that legislative negotiators had reached a tentative deal on a new operating budget. While details of the deal have just been released, there is now hope that we’ll be able to avoid a state-government shutdown when the current operating budget expires at the end of the day June 30. Unfortunately, a third special session will be needed to complete that work. We expect it will be a short, 3-day session.
This week, the Senate once again passed several bills aimed at improving public safety by toughening Washington’s felony-DUI law and addressing other issues related to impaired driving. After passing Senate Bill 5105 unanimously three times this year, the Senate will have to do it one more time for this important measure to finally receive a vote from the House of Representatives.
The Senate also paid tribute to the late WSU President Elson Floyd…