Veto override may lead to capital budget approval

The passage of a state capital budget may lie in the legislature overriding Governor Jay Inslee's veto of a tax break in the overall state budget, Senator Dean Takko (D-Dist. 19) said Tuesday.

The vetoed section of the new budget would have given large manufacturers the same business and occupation (B&O) tax break that the Boeing Company receives.

Inslee said the break was bad legislation that won't have any economic benefit.

The legislature's third special session ends July 20, and Takko said both houses may address the veto before then.

"A deal is a deal," Takko said Tuesday. "To negotiate in the future, we [the two parties' factions in both the House and Senate] have to override the veto.

"And it's possible that if we override the veto, the Republicans may go for the capital budget."

Legislation to address the state Supreme Court decision known as the Hirst Decision is also holding up the capital budget.

The decision effectively requires people seeking building permits to prove a new well won't impact nearby streams or watersheds. This has stopped new home construction in many counties.

There are watersheds in central and eastern Washington that need protection, Takko said, but not in coastal areas.

"The problem is that we're trying to get one rule of law that fits the whole state," he said. "When you look at the statistics, only 1 percent of the water in the state is in personal wells, and this is all over that 1 percent."