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Dispatches from public radio's correspondent at the Washington Legislature. Austin Jenkins is the Olympia correspondent for the Northwest News Network. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) weekly public affairs program "Inside Olympia."

Washington Lawmakers Race Key Cut-Off Deadline

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An aerial view of the Washington State Capitol Campus in Olympia

Washington lawmakers face some long workdays as they try to beat the cut-off to move bills to out of their chamber of origin. Bills that don’t move on die.

The deadline is 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

This is that time of session where the action has moved away from the committee rooms and onto the floors of the House and Senate. The floor leaders are trying to churn through as many bills and votes as they can.

A lot of what gets voted on is bipartisan, but the controversial bills can really slow things down. More than 2,000 bills have been introduced so-far this year and about a 1,000 are still alive. After Wednesday that number will be even smaller.

But the real bill killing will happen when House bills go to the Senate and vice versa. That’s because Democrats control the House and Republicans the Senate.

Washington lawmakers have officially crossed the halfway point of the 105-day session. They’re headed for adjournment on an April 26.

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."