The Washington House and Senate will soon begin to negotiate a new two-year budget, but first they have to get past a roadblock.
That is that the Republicans have said they don’t want to negotiate with the Democrats in the House until the Democrats in the House pass the tax package that funds a bunch of their budget.
The Democrats are saying that’s not a reasonable or fair expectation. They have no intention of taking a tax vote until the final budget deal.
A new Elway Poll out Monday suggested Washington voters are as divided as the legislature. Forty-eight percent said they want to increase funding for public schools without new taxes, even if that means additional cuts to other services. Forty-three percent support raising some taxes to fund schools and avoid further cuts.
The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percent.
