6.30.17 

Suggested lead:  In Olympia, lawmakers OK’d a state budget late Friday, averting a government shutdown and pouring billions of new dollars into K-12 schools.  Dan Frizzell has that story.

Wrap (:89 total): When state legislators finally began bringing long-delayed pieces of major legislation to the House and Senate floors Friday morning, the partisan rancor that characterized much of the last 180 days seemed to evaporate. Bill after bill quickly fell into place, and by the end of the day Governor Jay Inslee had signed a new state budget and a tax bill that will make the record seven-point-three billion in new education spending possible.

Lawmakers are confident that the 43-point-five-billion-dollar spending plan will satisfy the state Supreme Court’s order in the 2012 McCleary ruling that the Legislature had to devise a way to provide the revenue to fully fund Washington’s public schools.  House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, a Democrat from Covington, was a lead on the House budget negotiating team. 

SULLIVAN: "The budget we passed today is a great success for the state of Washington. We invest seven-point-three-billion over the next four years in quality programs to help students to be successful, but we also invested in mental health, in early learning opportunities for our younger students, in higher ed . . . some really good things that move the state forward for the next four years." [:21]

Before and after Inslee signed the budget act, lawmakers stayed busy passing bills that had been held up until the last few days, including paid sick and family leave, and the creation of a new state agency, the department of children, youth, and families. Still to come are a two-year construction budget and a plan to revamp, once again, Washington’s complex water laws. In Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.