Senate Adjourns Early Amid Wrangling on Simple Majority

In an unusual move, the Senate adjourned almost 2 hours before the 5 p.m. deadline on Wednesday. Senator Joe Zarelli (R-18, Ridgefield) moved to bring SJR 8207, simple majority for school levies, back to the floor. That move took precedent over other matters before the Senate. The Republicans had intended to provide enough votes to pass the measure out of the Senate and had informed the Democrats of that fact. However, the Senate Democrat leadership unexpectedly moved to adjourn rather than have another vote on SJR 8207.

The House version, HJR 4204, passed earlier in the week. Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown stated that she intends to move the house bill.

The Daily Olympian and the Vancouver Columbian have additional coverage of the story.

NOTE: This report has been updated to clarify the circumstances around the Senate’s early adjournment.

Simple Majority for School Levies Fails to Pass Senate

The Senate today failed to pass Engrossed Substitute Senate Joint Resolution (ESJR) 8207, sponsored by Senator Tracey Eide (D-30, Federal Way) to amend the Washington Constitution to allow school excess levies to pass with a simple majority of votes (50% plus one). The vote was (30-17) and a constitutional amendment needs 33 votes to pass the Senate.

ESJR 8207 was amended on the Senate floor to apply the simple majority clause only if the levy is voted on during a general election. Senator James Hargrove (D-24, Hoquiam) sponsored the amendment. If a levy is put forward at another time of year, the current requirements would apply (60 percent majority and 40 percent of total voters voting in the last preceding general election.

After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D-3, Spokane) moved to allow the bill to be reconsidered by the Senate at a later date.

If the bill were to be passed by the Legislature, it would be put before the voters for a vote in November 2007. It would need to receive a simple majority of voters to be adopted.