Oregon Public Broadcasting

Washington lawmakers have adjourned what was called the toughest session in 25 years.

The final gavel fell at one o’clock Monday morning. But a “special session” may be necessary to complete unfinished business.

Several bills necessary to implement the budget did not pass the House by the midnight deadline. Governor Chris Gregoire says she’s prepared to call lawmakers back into session, but first she will meet with legislative leadership.

This year majority Democrats faced a record $9 billion shortfall. They closed the gap with cuts and federal stimulus dollars, but no general tax increase. Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins reports.

It’s probably a safe bet both Democrats and Republicans would agree this was not a session to write home about.

Four billion dollars in budget cuts. Five-billion in one-time patches. And plenty of upset constituencies.

State Representative Eric Pettigrew pushed a temporary sales tax to buy back cuts to healthcare. But he says voters weren’t that interested and many lawmakers viewed the sales tax proposal as regressive.

Rep. Eric Pettigrew: “I think people wanted to look at this as an being an opportunity to have some discussion about a little more progressive tax system and maybe taking a stand against a regressive kind of effort was part of that.”

Meanwhile minority Republicans complain they were largely boxed out this session. They say Democrats did not do enough to reform state government and relied too much on federal stimulus money.

They predict Washington will face an even larger budget shortfall in two years.