Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, introduced a bill this week to make normally closed-door collective bargaining meetings with state workers open to the public. A hearing is set for next Tuesday. Braun's bill would also cap state employee raises at 3 percent. It is at least theoretically possible for the Republican-controlled Senate to pass the bill next week. However, the Democrat-controlled House would not be able to act on the bill until the second 30-day special session, which appears inevitable at this time. (Labor-friendly House Democrats will likely kill Braun's bill.)
Background: The Inslee administration and the state's union negotiated a pay raise package worth an extra $583 million in the 2015-2017 budget. Senate Republicans want to trim the package by at least $75 million to fit those salaries into their $38 billion budget proposal. Even if Braun's bill passes both chambers and gets the governor's signature, it would be too late to affect the current budget talks.
