Oregon Public Broadcasting

Washington lawmakers worked through the weekend to pass budget and tax measures -- including a temporary sales tax increase.

This is supposed to be the final week of the 60-day session. But the House and Senate still have to reconcile their differences and that could send the Democratic-led legislature into overtime.

Austin Jenkins has this update.

Washington lawmakers must close a nearly $3 billion hole in the current two-year budget cycle.

That means more cuts, but also taxes.

Over the weekend, the Senate passed a tax package that would raise nearly $900 million over the next year-and-a-half.

It would hike the cigarette tax by a dollar per pack, extend the sales tax to bottled water and increase the Business and Occupation tax on service businesses.

It would also raise the state sales tax by three-tenths-of-one-penny for the next three years.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown of Spokane explained the rationale for increasing a broad-based tax.

Lisa Brown: "There's a feeling with respect to a sales tax -- especially if it's temporary -- that everyone pays a little bit. Thirty cents on a hundred dollars is a small amount to pay and that would be what the addition would add up to."

But that sales tax increase is not part of the tax package over in the House.

Reconciling that difference could send the legislature into a special session.

Lawmakers are supposed to adjourn on Thursday.

Meanwhile Republicans blasted the Senate tax plan as one of the biggest tax hikes in state history noting it would total nearly $3 billion over the next three years.