Updated to restore missing text.

House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt missed Friday’s floor vote on a Democrat-authored state operating budget. DeBolt had been out most of the week and underwent unspecified medical tests.

“I’ll be back on Monday. I had some tests run. I’ve had some health challenges the last couple of years, and I just haven’t been feeling up to par,’’ DeBolt said when reached at home early Friday evening.  He had been out of the office since Wednesday but said he didn’t want to scare anyone: “I’m feeling much better today.’’

DeBolt, a Chehalis resident, won his first election …

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A proposal to let local governments sell surplus property at a discount for affordable housing projects turned into an emotional debate about humanity and the human soul on the floor of the state House Wednesday night.

Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, caused outrage among Republicans when he said that lawmakers should vote for the proposal if they had any humanity in their soul.

He later apologized, but not before bringing Rep. Linda Kochmar, R-Federal Way, to tears and prompting a sardonic response from House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt about needlessly extending a floor debate that had already continued past 9:30 p.m. …

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Washington state legislators got a friendly visit Wednesday from two top members of their congressional delegation – U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Murray met with Democrats in the House and Senate, while McMorris Rodgers met with her kindred Republicans in the two chambers. Neither sounded alarms that the spending-cuts situation – dubbed “sequestration” – is dire. At least not yet.

“I’m telling them that next week I have legislation that will be on the Senate floor to replace sequestration in a smart way – that moves …

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House Speaker Frank Chopp told reporters this afternoon that a possible $6 billion transportation package, including a phased-in 10-cent increase in the state gas tax over five years, is a conversation starter for the Legislature. He said it is too early to know if the 2-cents a year proposal should go to a vote of the public in November, or if the Legislature could get it done in Olympia.

Full details of the plan are due during the lunch hour when Democratic Rep. Judy Clibborn of Mercer Island lays out details of the plan. She has been working with a coalition of interest …

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Whether it’s new bills seeking reforms to K-12 schools or the worker compensation system, Senate Democrats complained today [Friday] that the Republican-dominated Senate majority is getting ahead of itself. Democratic Leader Ed Murray of Seattle and other members of his caucus met with reporters, suggesting that school reform bills recently heard in committee were based on legislation from other states like Florida and Louisiana, and they even tried to draw links the Tea Party and conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.

Sen. Nick Harper of Everett posted a diatribe about the bills, including a proposal to hold back 8-year-olds …

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House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt said this week that his minority caucus wants to change session rules to make it harder to raise taxes.  His worry is that the state Supreme Court might toss out Tim Eyman’s two-thirds vote requirement for tax increases. The GOP apparently wants the rules to require a two-thirds vote before a tax bill can move to final reading – in effect giving the minority veto power over tax bills.

Except for possible technical changes, the Democratic majority wants to keep rules pretty much intact from past sessions. So the Eyman amendment, if you will, isn’t …

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