Washington’s 2024 legislative session wrapped up Thursday. Here’s a look at how the day went
OLYMPIA – It was a seemingly typical day at the Washington Capitol: Groups of students passed by on tours, lawmakers voted for bills on the floor and reporters meandered around trying to wrap up their day’s stories.
Yet cheerful gestures and sequin costumes hinted that something was out of the ordinary.
Thursday marked the final day of the state’s annual legislative session, commonly called ‘sine die,’ the Latin term for ‘without a day.’ Legislators in Olympia had to finish up all lawmaking business for the year before returning to their respective districts across the state until they convene again in 2025.
House Republicans sported shiny red bow ties, a lobbyist attempted to run a mile on the fourth floor of the Capitol, and Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, celebrated his last day in the Legislature with a farewell speech.
Billig, 55, was first elected to the Legislature in 2010 to represent the 3rd Legislative District in central Spokane. He was elected to the Senate in 2012 and became majority leader in late 2018. His announcement this week that he will not seek re-election was met with some initial surprise.
In his farewell speech Thursday, Billig stood on the Senate floor for what will likely be the last time as he addressed his fellow lawmakers. The senator reflected on changes he said he’s helped cultivate in the 14 years he spent as a legislator.
“I’m not just proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Billig said. “I’m proud of how we’ve accomplished it. We’re more efficient, more effective, more diverse, more bipartisan and more transparent than any time in recent history.”
Lawmakers followed up Billig’s goodbye with a standing ovation. But they weren’t the only ones applauding the Spokane man. Behind gold curtains in the Democratic wings of the Senate chamber, dozens of legislative staffers and some of Billig’s family members cheered him on.
Sam Billig-Lanham, 9, dressed the part for his dad’s goodbye party and showed up in a navy suit and blue floral tie for the festivities.
When asked what his favorite thing is about his dad, Billig’s son responded, “That’s hard. So much stuff.
“We like to swim,” Sam added. “We like to play airplanes. … ride bikes.”
After the speech, Lindsay Lanham said she’s impressed by her husband and everything he accomplished in his 14 years as a legislator.
“Any big change can feel emotional, but I’m mainly just proud,” Lanham said.
Among the flurry of glittery blazers and accessories worn for “shiny die” (a play on words where lawmakers celebrate the occasion in festive attire), along with a string of retirement speeches, lawmakers finalized their supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets for 2024.
Funding finalized
Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, helps decide each year where the state will invest its money. He said this year’s operating budget not only reflects the strengths of Washington but the diverse opinions of lawmakers and the communities they represent statewide.
“The state of this strong economy doesn’t happen by accident,” Ormsby said. “It happens because we have intentionally made investments in the future of our state by investing in the people.”
This year, the state set aside $192 million of its supplemental transportation budget to help build the final 3 miles of the North Spokane Corridor project.
Lawmakers also earmarked $1 million for a program to assess the health care needs of homeless people who struggle with substance use disorders, $650,000 to study Spokane’s Waste-to-Energy plant carbon emissions reductions project and $50,000 for a domestic violence shelter that needs additional funding.
The state also set aside $975,000 to help with recovery efforts in the aftermath of the Gray and Oregon Road fires that leveled hundreds of homes in Spokane County.
Another $5 million will go to fund an inpatient treatment center at the Kalispel Tribe of Indians’ Camas Center Clinic in the midst of the statewide behavioral health crisis and opioid epidemic.