Gov. Jay Inslee told lawmakers Thursday evening there will be “no break and no rest” after they failed to come up with a supplemental budget agreement by the end of the regular 60-day session.
The governor immediately called them into a 30-day special session. He also vetoed 27 bills, following though on a threat he made earlier in the week to veto bills if lawmakers did not finish their job on time.
Among the 27 bills vetoed is one establishing guidelines for growing legal industrial hemp, and another bill that changes rules for how restaurants have to store Asian noodles and Korean rice cakes.
He also signed ten bills that he said have a “common thread of public safety and health and law enforcement.” Those bills include one making epi pens more widely available at places like sports arenas and youth camps, and another that makes vehicular homicide a more serious crime.
Read the full list of bill action here.
The governor said lawmakers have made progress on budget talks, but they still fall short. “Given the nature of the numbers involved, there is no reason they should not be able to reach the necessary compromises in the next several days,” he said.
He also expressed frustration with the recent repeated special sessions.
“Unfortunately it’s become a little bit of a habit for the Legislature, and I don’t believe that habit should continue,” he said.