2.8.16

Suggested lead:   Frustration is mounting in Olympia, as the House and Senate appear to be on two completely paths. Dan Frizzell has that story.

Wrap (:70 total): 

SULLIVAN:  "We have 60 days to go back to our constituents, and if the only thing that we're going to talk about is a dual investigation of DOT and the firing of the Secretary of Transportation, I know my constituents aren't going to take that very well." [:11]. 

That's House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, a Democrat from Covington.  He's referring to the fact that with a handful of mostly inconsequential exceptions, the Republican-controlled Senate's main accomplishments this session have been the two headline-grabbing controversies he mentioned.  By contrast, the House has focused on what Sullivan called essentials:  K-12 school funding, school construction, mental healthcare, the state voter rights act, and addressing the pay disparity between men and women for similar jobs. 

SULLIVAN:  "There really is a contrast.  In the House we've really focused on sending over good policy. From the start we had our agenda set up to get bills that we thought would move our state forward. We're gonna continue to focus on that.  In the Senate they appear to be focused on other things, but from the House perspective we're going to continue to focus on getting good policy passed." [:18]. 

Tuesday ends the first half of the 60-day session. After that, each chamber has just a week to wrap up work on its own policy bills and pass them across the rotunda. In Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.