As the Washington State Legislature churns through the shorter 100-day session I find something to follow that interests me. This session, as with last session, I follow arts, heritage, community culture infrastructure funding. These things find a variety of sources, including general funds from King County, and the City of Seattle. Those funds are drying up, with the money going away from society wants and on to needs. So, finding appropriate sources to support these other things is always difficult to find.
I am hoping, expecting, that funding for Seattle Center's KeyArena would come from part of that hotel tax collected in Seattle, so that facility would take the big step in revitilization of Seattle Center, and the Century21 Master Plan.
Last year I followed HB 2252 through the House Finance Committee, through the House Floor vote, over to the Senate Ways and Means Committee where it was substituted by SB 6116. Another version of SB 6116 that made it pretty far, but without much attention was SB 6051. SB 6051 did not get as far as SB 6116, neither passed the Senate Floor.
SB 6116 was the closest, still on the Floor near the end of the evening on the last day of the session last year. There was a lot of pressure put on State Senator Ed Murray (sorry about that). Mr. Murray worked very hard on this bill, but he ran out of time.
This year is not unlike last year. HB 2912 has passed the House Finance Committee, it is currently waiting for House Floor vote. On the Senate side there was SB 6661 that was referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, but it has not been accepted. Although that bill is stuck in limbo a bill from last year, SB 6051 was held and the re-introduced to the Senate Floor. For the most part I have been expecting both HB 2912 and SB 6051 to pass, and then reconciled.
Tonight I look at the Senate Floor Report and see SB 6116 listed again. What!!!
I was wondering in my last thread (see the comments) if we could just cut to the chase and have SB 6116 go to the floor. Well, great minds, lucky guess, whatever, there it is.
What does that mean?
I don't know.
You have my full support Ed Murray.
