Senate GOP plan adds $1.8 billion for education

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Senate Republicans have released a $43 billion, two-year budget that puts an additional $1.8 billion toward education in Washington state, paid for by a mix of increased revenue from a statewide property tax that ultimately would replace local district levies, a series of fund transfers from other accounts and spending cuts in some state programs.

The budget plan - which spends about $5 billion more than the current two-year budget - was released Tuesday, and it was to move quickly to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The full chamber could vote on it as early as Thursday.

House Democrats are set to release their budget plan next week.

Lawmakers are in the midst of a 105-day legislative session that is scheduled to end April 23. They need to write a new two-year operating budget that satisfies a state Supreme Court order requiring them to fully fund the state's basic education system.