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In Our View: Devising 2-year budget Legislature’s priority The Columbian
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The unusual nature of this year’s legislative session will be on display Monday. Before agreeing to hold remote meetings in the age of COVID-19, lawmakers must meet in person in Olympia.
The opening day might be the only relatively normal day of the entire 2021 session. Beyond that, legislators will address pressing issues mostly through virtual meetings.
The issues are, indeed, pressing. With the coronavirus pandemic causing an economic slowdown, state revenue over the next three years is projected to be $3.3 billion less than previously expected. That will require some combination of tax increases and budget cuts. “We must invest in the relief, recovery and resilience of Washington,” Gov. Jay Inslee said last month. “We cannot cut the things that we need most during a pandemic. In my proposed operating, capital and transportation budgets, I am investing in the people of our