Stalemate: Lawmakers must hold special session to try to pass state budget

OLYMPIA -- "The Legislature is going to have to come back to do a lot of work to get the job done," Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday as he announced the regular session must now go into overtime.

It's a disappointing end to the first 105 days.

"People expect us to do our job and get it done in time," said Rep. J. T. Wilcox, R-Roy. "It’s what they do at their job, and it’s profoundly disappointing to me that we didn’t get it done."

The governor is asking Republicans and Democrats to compromise to get a budget deal done, but that won't come easy.

Legislators are under the gun to fully fund K-12 education, which is mandated by the state Supreme Court and will cost about $1.5 billion.

Senate Republicans argue that, thanks to $3 billion in new revenue, they can make the budget work with no new taxes. Democrats disagree. They want a capital gains tax, while raising taxes on some businesses and closing other tax loopholes.

"We need to find more revenue," said Senate Democratic leader Sharon Nelson.

The regular session ends Friday, but the governor is calling all legislators back on April 29.