WA Lege Day 60: Nearing closure

OLYMPIA — The two warring factions in the Legislature, the House and the Senate, have reached agreement on one of the sticking points, education reform.

The Senate just passed HB2776, a bill on K-12 funding, which essentially puts off until next biennium the heavy lifting on funding. In return, the House is expected to pass soon HB 6696 a bill that is designed to help with reforms that will allow the state a better chance of competing for “Race To The Top” money being offered by the federal government.

Shortly after that, we can expect an announcement by Gov. Chris Gregoire and legislative leaders on the special session to deal with the budget.