By Pat Jenkins
The Dispatch
Citizens who foot the bill aren’t the only ones who dislike sessions of the Legislature that go into overtime. At least some of the lawmakers don’t, either.
When the 2018 session begins in January, state Rep. Christine Kilduff, whose district includes some of south Pierce County, and a fellow legislator will be ready with a plan to bring an end to years of special sessions that have often pushed the state government to the brink of a shutdown and forced state spending they say is unnecessary.
Kilduff is sponsoring legislation that would create a constitutional amendment to restrict the Legislature from considering any bills not related to the operating budget if it hasn’t been adopted by the 90th day of a 105-day session. The remaining 15 session days would be required to be spent considering the budget and related legislation that’s necessary to implement the budget. Priority would be given to work that’s required to keep the state running, Kilduff said.
“As elected officials, the people expect us to be accountable to them,” said Kilduff, a Democrat from the 28th District, which includes parts of Graham and Spanaway. “Our focus should be on delivering results, working hard and finishing on time. If we can’t fulfill these basic duties, no other bills or policy matters until we pass the budget.”
In companion with Kilduff’s proposal, Rep. Drew MacEwen, a Republican from Union, has introduced legislation that would change the state’s fiscal year to coincide with the end of a regular session. Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the fiscal year would begin May 1 in long, 105-day sessions and April 30 in short, 60-day sessions. McEwen said the change would keep the Legislature from relying on additional sessions to finish its work.
“I find it impossible to believe we need to go into special session every year to complete our work on time,” said MacEwen. “Special sessions are a waste of taxpayers’ time and money, and we should be embarrassed that we continue to use them as a crutch year after year.”
Since 2013, the Legislature has gone into special session 10 times, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars each of those years to pay for the unscheduled work.
The 2018 session will begin Jan. 8 and is scheduled to last 60 days.
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