OLYMPIA, Wash (AP) — Lawmakers are struggling to get enough support for a bailout plan that would make a key bond payment this week for a Wenatchee-area agency.
East Wenatchee Rep. Cary Condotta said Tuesday that the package doesn’t have enough support in his Republican caucus. He says the bill’s chances are waning and that it needs to be approved Wednesday in order to make the payment on time.
The plan would make the bond payment by using cash in an account that collects local sales and use taxes. Jurisdictions in the Wenatchee area would pay it back over time, and the bill would allow them to increase the sales tax there by .2 percent.
State officials fear that a default will have a negative impact across the state.
