2.22.16

Suggested lead:   With two weeks to go in the legislative session, the state House of Representatives debated and OK'd a pair of budget proposals Thursday.  Dan Frizzell has that story.

Wrap (:85 total):  The big two-year state budget comes out in odd-numbered years, with the evens reserved for tweaking that big one.  The adjustments proposed this year by the Democratic budget writers in the House add about 450 million dollars.  That pays for expenses generated by last summer's wildfires, for one, but also makes investments to help hire and retain good teachers, beef up the numbers of mental-health workers, and get homeless families and children off the streets. Representative Hans Dunshee, the veteran Snohomish Democrat who took over this year as the House budget writer, summed it up at a noontime news conference. 

DUNSHEE:  "We have some significant issues, and we intend to do something about them with this budget.  We have a teacher shortage, we have a mental-health crisis, and we have a homeless crisis.  This is a balanced budget that meets our constitutional and moral requirements." [:15]

A partisan controversy swirled briefly in the afternoon, as an apparently confused Republican senator issued an erroneous statement claiming the budget made cuts to early childhood education.  That claim was quickly proven to be false, but not before at least a handful of reporters had echoed the talking point.  So just for the record, whether one likes this budget or not -- and there are plenty of voices in each camp -- it doesn't cut early childhood education.  The House Appropriations Committee gave the budget a public hearing Monday afternoon, and it's likely to be OK'd by the full House on Thursday.  In Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.

 

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