OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The State Supreme Court says Gov. Inslee overstepped his veto authority when he cut a single sentence that appeared seven times in the 2019 transportation budget.
That sentence would have prevented the DOT from considering vehicle fuel type when it decided how to hand out grants for transit services.
The Legislature sued over the veto, and in a 7-2 decision Wednesday, the court said that while the governor has the authority to veto whole appropriation items, he cannot excise parts of an appropriation item.