“The budget agreement is a first step — a good compromise under difficult circumstances.
“Funding our schools, guaranteeing health care for more than 300,000 Washington people who wouldn’t otherwise have it, maintaining vital services for our most vulnerable citizens — these are budget victories. So I say better late than never.
“Now, we can all look forward to Monday morning, Jan. 13, 2014, when I’m confident the next regular legislative session will restart the critical work of writing genuine tax reform. We desperately need this restructuring of our tax system if we expect to dependably finance essential state programs and services.”