On Wednesday’s “Legislative Review,” we’ve got highlights from the House floor debate over a controversial tax package. On a vote of 50 to 47, the House approved a $900 million tax package, which eliminates some tax breaks and extends a business tax surcharge, to pay for basic education spending. Plus, we have details from Gov. Jay Inslee‘s press conference in which he talked about the end of session, as well as a recap of a Senate energy committee with testimony from former Former Oklahoma congressman and NFL Hall of Fame receiver Steve Largent.

State lawmakers acknowledged on Wednesday that a special session may be needed to find a compromise on the state’s budget and other key issues.

“There’s much work to be done, we’d have to draw into an inside straight to be done by Sunday,” Gov. Jay Inslee said during a press conference.

Inslee said that many issues remain unresolved, including an agreement on the operating budget, capital budget and transportation package. He also said it would be a disappointment if lawmakers left Olympia without taking action on a number of key issues — gun control, DUI legislation, the abortion insurance bill, and the Washington Dream Act.

Meanwhile, Republican leaders reserved some hope that the Legislature can finish its business by Sunday, when the 105-day session is scheduled to end.

“This place is amazing in the miracles that can transpire if everybody gets together,” Senate Majority Leader Sen. Rodney Tom (D-Medina) said.

Lawmakers will have to find a compromise between the Senate’s no-tax budget and a House proposal calling for $900 million in new revenue. If a special session is called, it could last up to 30 days.

“It is still very much in the mechanics of the institution to finish on Sunday,” said Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler (R-Ritsville). “I am a farmer, so I have to be an optimist.”

The House voted to approve a budget on Friday evening with a vote of 54-43, with virtually all Democrats voting in support and all Republicans voting no. Rep. Monica Stonier of Vancouver was the only Democrat to vote against the budget.

The budget proposed by House Democrats increases education funding by $1.9 billion dollars. To pay for that spending, it calls for raising $1.3 billion in new tax revenue by eliminating 15 tax breaks and keeping two “temporary” taxes, including a beer tax.

Lead Democratic budget writer Rep. Ross Hunter said during floor debate that the budget makes a significant investment in education, including class size reduction, all-day kindergarten, classroom supplies and “all the stuff you need to make a school work.”

Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, (D-Seattle), asked her fellow lawmakers to “vote yes on closing loopholes for a few in order to open the doors of opportunity for all.”

Speaking in opposition, Republican Rep. Cathy Dahlquist said that the budget “misses on several points” when it comes to education reform. “We continue to fail our students in graduation rates, and we continue to widen the opportunity gap,” she said.

Rep. Gary Alexander, the ranking Republican on the budget committee, criticized the budget proposal for including tax revenue. He says it’s not necessary to balance the budget.

“You add $1.3 billion in new tax increases on our citizens at a time when they can least afford it,” Alexander said.

The Senate passed its version of the budget last week. Gov. Jay Inslee has put forward a proposal that’s similar to the one championed by House Democrats, and now all sides must begin negotiating a compromise.

A $34.5 billion budget proposed by House Democrats was passed out of the House Appropriations Committee late Thursday night, clearing the way for a floor vote Friday afternoon.

The budget was expected to win approval in the Democratic-controlled committee, but a slew of amendments will likely be proposed by House Republicans during the floor session this afternoon.

The proposal calls for the elimination 15 different tax breaks and the extension of business and beer taxes set to expire this year. Those maneuvers would raise about $1.3 billion and meet a court mandate that the Legislature fully fund basic education at the state’s schools.

The lead Republican budget writer Rep. Gary Alexander (R-Olympia) was critical of the late-night committee vote in a statement released late Thursday.

“I’m always amazed that the policies and programs supported in the budget are heard in the light of day, but the faults exposed during executive session are witnessed by empty seats in the dead of night,” Alexander said.

The budget passed by an 18-13 vote around 10 p.m.

Committee chair and lead budget writer Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Medina) called the budget “honest, responsible and stable.”

Once the budget is approved by the full House, negotiations will begin to find a compromise with the budget passed by the GOP-controlled Senate last week.

House Democratic leaders on Wednesday unveiled a $34.5 billion dollar budget that would funnel more into education by eliminating a number of tax breaks.

The proposal is similar to a budget plan proposed by Gov. Jay Inslee two weeks ago and calls for about a $1 billion more than a plan proposed by the GOP-controlled Senate last week.

The plan calls for a $1.9 billion increase in funding for K-12 education, including $1.3 billion dedicated to meeting a court mandate to fully fund basic education. A budget proposed by the Senate last week called for a $1.5 billion increase in funding for education and $1 billion for the McCleary decision, which made education the Legislature’s top priority this session.

“It represents a real commitment to meeting our paramount duty without devastating other vital state services,” said House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan (D-Covington).

Read a summary of the budget here and a breakdown by agency here.

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The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted to approve the chamber’s proposed budget on Thursday evening, and it could be considered on the Senate floor as early as this afternoon.

The vote was 16-3, with Democratic Senators Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Steve Conway and Bob Hasegawa voting no. Three more Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Mike Padden, voted to move it without recommendation. All the remaining Republicans voted in favor of it.

Republican lead budget writer Sen. Andy Hill called the budget a “very good product.” Sen. Jim Hargrove, the ranking Democrat on the committee who worked with Hill to craft the proposal, said it’s time to begin negotiating the “end budget that we can get out of here with.”

“The real issue here is that we need to get a budget out of the Senate so that the House can get their budget out,” Hargrove said.

Before voting no, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles said there are “real disappointments” in the budget, “especially with the parts dealing with higher education and with preserving the social safety net for our most vulnerable citizens.”

Committee members took up more than 60 amendments before voting on the budget, many of which restored various proposed cuts (including one that would have cut 10 percent of TVW’s budget. Sen. Hargrove joked that “the screen would go black right now” if they didn’t restore the cut.)

Watch the committee hearing here.