The main hit will be on the transportation and construction budgets. Lawmakers can arrange priorities to fit in the quake repairs, meaning lower-ranked projects will fall off the table. It's scary to think what will happen to our transportation and capital budgets. Everything will have to be revisited. When you get a curve ball thrown at you by Mother Nature, you respond, just like when there are fires or volcanoes.
Leaders say that's now on a fast track.
Quake damage to state and local highways adds even more urgency, says Senate budget Chairwoman Lisa Brown, D-Spokane. As long as the repairs are being addressed, it makes sense to step up to the whole transportation needs of the state, she says. We've all been through a pretty terrifying experience together, and I think it's clear to us that there are things that are more important than partisanship. A sense of common purpose might serve as a lubricant in the sometimes cranky Legislature, lawmakers suggest. It doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or a Democrat or a House member or a senator.