washington business
Editorial Scorecard
WA Session Ends : Lawmakers Acted on Guns , Housing , Abortion … But not Drugs
Lawmakers wrapped up their work Sunday by adopting a $ 69 billion operating budget for the next two years that funds pay raises for teachers and state employees , and devotes new money to mental health , emergency housing and rental aid .
It was the sixth year in a row that lawmakers finished their budget work and adjourned on time , a task made easier by dominant Democratic majorities in the House and Senate . Lawmakers passed more than 450 bills , and by Sunday , more than 150 had been signed into law by Gov . Jay Inslee .
While Republicans were vastly outnumbered and unable to block action on gun restrictions and other laws they vehemently opposed , there were areas of bipartisan agreement , such as on massive state construction and transportation budgets passed with widespread support from both parties .
Winners and Losers on Housing
Going into this session , lawmakers agreed that the housing crisis called for , among other things , supply-side solutions from the private sector .
House Bill 1110 was aimed at meeting pent-up demand for the denser housing that single-family neighborhoods have largely banned since the Cold War — duplexes , triplexes , fourplexes — something its sponsor , Rep . Jessica Bateman , D-Olympia , first set out to do in 2022 . ... We ’ re told that it took some 15 hours of negotiations to write up a final version . It felt like even longer for the parties involved ....
We would be remiss not to mention a few of the bills that intend to streamline and consolidate the permit process for housing developments . They include Senate Bill 5058 from Sen . Mike Padden , R-Spokane Valley , and Senate Bill 5290 from Sen . Mark Mullet , D-Issaquah .
Not every idea made it through . A proposal to allow lot-splitting statewide died , as did a sweeping measure to allow more high-density development around transit lines .
— The Washington Observer , April 24
Everyone Says They Want Compromise in Politics , Until it Happens
“ Voters do not respond well to [ compromise ], nor do they side with a candidate who is defined by it ,” said one prescient Democratic polling memo , from 2013 . It noted that in a polarizing , hyperpartisan political environment , the word “ compromise ” or “ consensus ” amounts to capitulation in many peoples ’ minds ...
There ’ s a new report about the Washington state Legislature that sheds some surprising light on this phenomenon . It suggests that bipartisanship and compromise is what ’ s “ real ,” while the partisan smackdown is more for show .
As with Congress , most state legislative seats now are safe for one party or the other , a dynamic that tends to disfavor appearing to get along with the other side . Sure enough , state lawmakers bicker like a Mini-Me Congress , at least in public . One ugly example : This year ’ s regular session ended in April in a total partisan blamefest after a drug reform bill failed .
But the daily reality is almost the opposite . An analysis of all 487 bills that passed the 2023 Legislature shows there were only 11 that passed on a purely party-line basis . That means 98 % of the work was done with some cross-party appeal ( i . e ., some Republicans joining Democrats to vote yes on things , or some Democrats joining Republicans to vote no ). — Danny Westneat , June 1
— The Seattle Times , April 24 special edition 2023 5