Washington lawmakers reach midpoint of 1st special session

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington lawmakers have hit the midway point of a 30-day special session, but there’s no indication they will reach a budget deal before needing to go into additional overtime.

Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday that while a bipartisan group of lawmakers are engaged in “useful discussions” on the education policy part of the two-year state operating budget, “they have not made substantial progress on the financial aspect of that.

The current two-year budget expires on June 30, which means the 2017-2019 budget must be signed by the governor by then or else the state risks a partial government shutdown. Within that budget, Washington lawmakers must also comply with a 2012 state Supreme Court ruling that they must meet the state’s constitutional requirement to fully fund the state’s basic education system.