Meanwhile, the Legislature spends untold time and money wading through the muck to get to the heart of the session's proposals. There's no time to waste this year. Lawmakers have to figure out how to balance the budget in light of a cooling economy and citizen initiatives that mandate spending hundreds of millions. They have to figure out fixes to the state's traffic crunch and the Northwest's electricity woes. And they have to do it all in 105 days, if they don't want to spend more money to extend the session.
Some self discipline is in order.
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