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Hurry up and wait. 

That’s been the theme in Olympia this week. During “floor action” – the time of the legislative session that bills are being heard and voted on by the entire House or Senate – there’s extensive debate between Legislators over all the bills still alive thus far. In lieu of the orderly committee hearings that are the weekly norm for most of session, this time of year features a ton of closed-door negotiations that, at a moment’s notice, could change the entire tenor of the bill. This hectic nature is what makes this time of year feel like twiddling thumbs in between periods of intense, time-sensitive work. Because of that, it’s always a more tenuous time of session for Legislators. 

The debates have been heated, and emotions boiled over in a really ugly way late last night in the House of Representatives when Democrats and Republicans took turns speaking on a controversial housing bill. The Speaker of the House had to stop the public hearing multiple times due to egregious rhetoric pointed towards other members of the Legislature. This kind of tenor on a controversial bill really displays how chaotic things have become behind closed doors. There are several bills that are far more controversial than this one, so it will be fascinating (horrifying?) to see how those debates play out. 

The preliminary House and Senate budget drafts should be released next week ahead of the March quarterly Economic and Revenue Forecast Report released by the Office of Financial Management. There is a lot of uncertainty about the next forecast, driven partially by our current fiscal crisis in Washington and partially by the very uncertain economic conditions nationwide as a result of tariff threats, rising costs of goods, and consumer perception of future economic conditions. This report will have massive implications on the budgets this year, and there will likely be more fiscal heartbreak for Legislators looking to pass pricey policy into law in 2025.  

Next week’s report will focus heavily on the budget situation, bills that are dead after Wednesday’s House of Origin cutoff, and caucus tensions. Bills will continue to be heard all weekend, and if you’re morbidly curious about why any of us do this insane job, you can watch it all on ! Just click on the ‘schedule’ tab on the banner and choose ‘live now’. You can watch a live stream of whatever is happening on campus at that moment!