Lawmakers agree to budget, now must cleanup Inslee’s mess

Almost three weeks into a special session, Washington legislators announced they agreed on a supplemental budget. They will vote on the budget today.

The final plan adds about $191 million to the current $38.2 billion 2015-17 budget. Nearly $40 million of that will be directed to mental-health programs and another $7 million to “help recruit and retain K-12 staff and support for beginning educators.”

The supplemental budget will not impose new taxes to pay for the spending increase, as Democrats from Jay Inslee to House Speaker Frank Chopp demanded. The Democrats tax increase obsession (and Republicans’ refusal to give into those unreasonable demands) is what held up the negotiations, according to the Seattle Times:.

If you think that lawmakers can now wrap up the session and go home, you’d be wrong. Thanks to Jay Inslee, they have more work ahead of them.

Now House lawmakers have the task of overturning Inslee’s silly veto of 27 bills which had passed with bi-partisan support. If you remember, Inslee decided to flex his non-existent leadership muscles with a threat to veto all the bills he had not yet signed if lawmakers did not finish the 2016 legislative session on time.

They didn’t. And, Inslee responded by vetoing 27 bills (while going back on his threat and signing others). The Senate took care of overriding those vetos yesterday.

It’s more proof that, rather than acting as a leader, Inslee has acted and continues to act as an obstructionist. Our green governor has only made legislators’ jobs more difficult. He is an obstacle, not a leader.