State budget showdown: Republicans pledge ‘it will work out,’ Dems say they’re ready to compromise



OLYMPIA – After Democrats and Republicans in Olympia failed to come together on a budget during the regular session, something that has become quite common, budget negotiators remained at the Capitol this week to try to hash things out during a costly special session.

Key to those negotiations is how the state will meet a court-ordered mandate to fully fund education. Both sides remain in staunch disagreement over how to come up with those funds and how to eliminate or lessen the reliance school districts have on local property tax levies, which have created deep disparities in the quality of education across the state.

With no clear agreement in sight, Q13 News brought two of the state’s lead budget negotiators – Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island) and Sen. Dino Rossi (R-Redmond) – to the table to talk out their differences.