Wash. Senate narrowly approves state budget plan

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Moving their difficult budget-balancing work forward by one anxious step, the state Senate narrowly approved a spending plan Saturday that counts on roughly $920 million in still-undetermined tax increases.

The Senate budget, a product of the Democratic majority, cleared its latest hurdle on a back-and-forth 25-19 vote. Several Democrats voted against their own budget, and a couple of senators had to switch their votes at the last minute to ensure the package would get the minimum number of "yes" votes required for approval.

It won't be the last difficult vote: Majority Democrats are still trying to hash out the details of their tax package, a central part of the budget they approved Saturday evening. The election-year legislative session has less than two weeks remaining in its constitutionally allotted 60 days

As drafted, the Senate tax plan includes a three-tenths of a penny sales tax increase, a raft of deleted tax exemptions, and a $1-per-pack cigarette tax hike. But Democrats already are backing away from key portions, including a plan to drop the sales-tax exemption on the value of trade-in cars.

Responding to Republican complaints that the revenue package wasn't finished, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said Democrats are intent on bridging the gap and will make up the difference in program cuts if they can't agree on enough revenue.

"The responsibility of the Legislature is to pass a balanced budget every year, as painful or as difficult as that may be," Brown said.

Lawmakers are trying to bridge a $2.8 billion deficit, which represents the gap between current state spending and expected tax collections through June 2011. The Legislature solved a $9 billion deficit last year through a combination of spending cuts, one-time accounting fixes and billions of dollars in federal bailouts.

This year's Senate budget plan calls for about $830 million in spending cuts, along with the roughly $920 million in tax increases. Another $500 million would come from fund transfers and other one-time fixes, with federal assistance penciled in for about $580 million. Some $525 million would be left in reserves.

The Senate's GOP minority, with little power to affect the final outcome, said the Democratic budget plan was far too speculative and didn't seek to seriously reduce the long-term cost of state government.

"We have seen this state march steadily toward the brink of financial ruin, and it would appear from this budget that the plan now would be to just jump," said Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley. "It cannot be said that this is responsible."

Democrats, however, countered that they are proposing major reductions, including the closure of a prison in Pierce County and elimination of the state printing office.

"Over last year and this year, no one can say that significant reductions were not made in every area of state government," Brown said.