State House makes budget progress

The state House overwhelmingly approved what many called a “partial down payment” on the state’s $2 billion budget gap Tuesday night, setting the stage for the special session to end today.
The vote was 86-8 in favor of House Bill 2058, which relies on less than $200 million in actual cuts to spending. Four lawmakers were absent; seven of the eight no votes were Republicans, and the lone Democrat against was Rep. Marko Liias of Mukilteo.
The biggest pieces in the $480 million budget bill are fund shifts and new revenues – including $82 million in unspent money from the previous biennium and $50.6 million from quicker conversions of unclaimed property by the Department of Revenue.