Senate Republican leaders support ruling against Inslee vetoes

OLYMPIA — Washington Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler and Sen. Curtis King, Republican leader on the Senate Transportation Committee, issued statements Friday after Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy ruled Gov. Jay Inslee’s line-item vetoes of the transportation budget adopted last year were illegal, according to a press release.

Lawmakers had filed suit against Inslee in 2019.

“We are pleased with the judge’s decision that the governor’s line-item vetoes on the state transportation budget last year violated the constitutional ban against vetoing less than a full section of legislation,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, in a press release. “Governor Inslee’s actions were clearly and blatantly wrong, and this ruling hopefully will send a strong message to him and future Washington governors that they can’t overstep their constitutional authority on this separation of powers issue.”

“The Washington State Constitution is very clear about line-item vetoes being unconstitutional. The governor’s use of line-item vetoes was just his attempt to expand his power and push his environmental agenda,” said King, R-Yakima, in a press release. “These vetoes would have hindered the efforts of small, rural transit agencies to provide service by basically forcing them to meet requirements for certain fuel types in order to receive grants and funding. The governor shouldn’t place an undue burden on rural transit by forcing these agencies to use a fuel that he happens to approve.”

Last year, Inslee vetoed the final sentence in each of six sections of the transportation budget; in each case the text, which related to grant funding for transit services, prohibited fuel type from being a factor in the grant selection process.