With legislators under pressure to conclude business by the scheduled end of session on April 26th, the House and Senate are working to reconcile the differences between their proposed biennial budgets.  In an effort to make up a nearly $9 billion shortfall, both the House and Senate have proposed severe cuts across the board, including substantial cuts to critical safety net programs such as Volunteer Chore Services, GAU (General Assistance Unemployable), and the Housing Trust Fund.

Here is a brief outline of this session's highlights and upcoming deadlines:

The process has whittled the thousands of bills introduced during the 2009 session down to just a few hundred.  One of the first casualties of the first cut-off was SB 5476, which would have abolished the death penalty in Washington State.  The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC) testified in favor of the bill, and worked to keep the bill alive, but fell one vote short of moving it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The House version (HB 1909) never had a hearing.

Bills in the House (2SHB 1727) and Senate (E2SSB 5688) that would expand the legal rights accorded to same-sex couples in Washington State -- making them the same as those granted to married couples -- made it through to their respective chamber's Rules Committees, where the House version remained.  WSCC testified against the bills and over 2,400 Washingtonians held a rally defending traditional marriage on the Capitol steps.  2SSB 5688 eventually passed out of the Senate 30-18, out of the House Judiciary Committee by a 6-5 vote, and out of the House Ways and Means Committee 13-7.   The bill will likely move to the floor for a full vote of the House.  Proponents of the bill have made it clear that this measure is a pathway to legalizing same-sex marriage in Washington State. 

March 30th was the  cutoff date by which all bills had to be voted out of their opposite house policy committees; that is, bills that  passed by the House had to be out of their Senate policy committees, and vice versa.  April 6th was the date by which bills with a fiscal impact had to be voted out of the fiscal committees in the opposite house. 

April 17th will be the final day to consider opposite house bills, with exceptions for matters "necessary to implement the budget," amendments, and initiatives.

Note:  When a bill is amended in a committee, an “S” is added to the bill’s designation to note that the bill has been amended [changed] (e.g. SSB 5678, SHB 1234).  A “2” before this “S” means the bill has been amended twice.  An "E" before the "2" or "S" means that the bill was amended during debate on the floor.