Here’s some year-end statistics on the “what” and “how much” of TVW programming:

Total programming hours produced: 1,684

Legislative coverage: 907 hours, or 54% of total

Supreme Court: 106 hours, 6%

State agencies/boards/commissions: 268 hours, 16%

Produced programs–Inside Olympia, The Impact, Author’s Hour, Legislative Review: 131 hours, 8%

General interest/public policy/other: 272 hours, 16%

OK. After caucusing, the Senate is back. And they’re reconsidering the teacher pay raise bill.

Sen. Rodney Tom said he’s in support of the bill, although he voted against the amendment. He said teachers are the most valuable part of the classroom.

But Sen. Joe Zarelli said this bill only creates the promise of a lot more money in the future — and now’s not the time for that.

That was the only testimony.

The bill passed 28 to 20.

Tags: COLAs

And … we’re back. The House is scheduled for caucus/session at 10 and the Senate for 10:30.

Right now, you can catch up on what’s going on by watching TVW live – either on your TV set or here.

As for last night, the House and Senate were around late into the night: The Senate turned out the lights around 1 a.m. after passing both the operating and transportation budgets.

Tags: Budget

That and many other questions will be answered (and/or addressed) in tonight’s edition of The Impact. Here’s what host Jennifer Huntley has to say about it:

It’s down to the last couple of days for the 2009 Legislative session. A deal may be imminent on the budget. Will lawmakers get out on time? We’ll talk with members of the media and get their thoughts on what will happen as session winds down.

Also – should felons be allowed to vote if they haven’t paid their legal fees? That and some other voting measures are making their way through the Legislature. We’ll detail how the voting rules would change and talk with lawmakers on both sides of this issue.

And a sales tax proposal is getting a lot of attention this last week. It would buy back some of the cuts to healthcare in the budget. But does it have the votes to pass in the House and Senate and go to voters? We’ll talk with Representative Eric Pettigrew, who is sponsoring the legislation in the House and Senator Cheryl Pflug in the Senate.

The Impact will air during a break in floor session this evening and anytime online at www.tvw.org And I’ll post it here as soon as it’s available!

Tags: Budget, healthcare, The Impact, voting

Here’s what Jennifer Huntley has to say about tonight’s edition of The Impact (airs at 7 and 10 p.m., anytime at TVW.org):

- A new ad campaign highlights the proposed budget cuts to healthcare in Washington State. Is it the first step toward gaining support for a tax increase? We’ll talk with lawmakers from both sides with experience in the healthcare field.

- Also we’ll have more details on a measure to unionize childcare workers and find out exactly where the bill stands now.

- And, the legislative session is starting to wind down – we’ll bring questions on the end of session to key lawmakers in the House. House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler and House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt will join us. We’ll get their thoughts on whether the Legislature will wrap up on time — Sunday, April 26.

Tags: Budget, health care, taxes, The Impact

Here’s what Jennifer Huntley has on the show tonight:

• Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown reveals new details about her ideas for an income tax for high earners in Washington state. Find out at what income level she wants to tax and how much tax she would support.

• A bond measure could go to voters in November and some lawmakers are considering a tax on alcohol and cigarettes to help pay for it. We’ll have more information on what’s being proposed.

• And lawmakers answer your questions on the impact of the proposed budget cuts on state services.

Those stories and more…tonight on The Impact. (7pm & 10pm on TVW and anytime online: www.tvw.org)

Tags: Budget, tax, The Impact

Now that the Senate and House have each released their versions of the operating budgets, they have about 25 days (session is scheduled to adjourn Sun., April 26) to reconcile the two.

Get a sneak peek at how they intend to do that tonight on The Impact. Host Jennifer Huntley will interview Rep. Kelli Linville and Sen. Margarita Prentice — the budget chairwomen — to find out what changes they’re already looking at and how they’ll move forward.

Also on the show, find out how the University of Washington is reacting to the budget proposals. Huntley will talk with UW President Mark Emmert.

She’ll also interview Department of Social and Health Services Asst. Secretary Doug Porter and Administrator of the state’s Health Care Authority and director of the Department of Retirement Systems Steve Hill to find out the effects the budget could have in those departments.

Also at noon: Don’t miss the Senate Capital Budget roll-out. It’s live on TVW at noon and tvw.org.

Tags: Budget, The Impact

The Senate’s proposed operating budget comes out in a mere two hours. It’s the beginning of a very budget-centric week. Here’s a look at our programming:

LIVE this morning at 10:30 with the Senate Democrats’ budget roll-out, and at noon with the House transportation budget unveiling.

LIVE Tuesday morning 10 a.m., when House Democrats roll out their version of the budget.

Monday and Tuesday afternoons we’ll be LIVE with House and Senate committee public hearings on the budgets.

Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Impact with Jennifer Huntley will focus exclusively on detailing the House and Senate budgets.

Thursday at 7 p.m. on Inside Olympia host Austin Jenkins interviews House Speaker Frank Chopp.

Watch all of this on TVW or at tvw.org.

In addition to live coverage, I’ll also be blogging here and posting the shows here, too. As for live-blogging, standard conditions apply: I’ll be at the press conferences posting as much of what they say as I can.

Here’s the rundown from Jennifer Huntley about what’s to come on The Impact tonight. The show airs at 7 and 10 p.m. on TVW — or anytime online (as soon as it’s available, of course).

• The Department of Corrections is facing millions in cuts to its health care system. We’ll go inside Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen to see how officials are managing the cuts. We’ll also talk with the Secretary for the Department of Corrections Eldon Vail to get his thoughts on a number of cost-saving measures that are making their way through the legislature this session.

• Expanding benefits to domestic partners is taking center stage this session. We’ll talk to both sides of the aisle and hear testimony on the bill.

• And an early childhood preschool program could be cut in half in the House budget proposal. Find out what other education programs facing funding shortfalls from education leaders in the House.

Tags: Budget, House, Senate, The Impact, TVW

Tomorrow at 10 a.m., TVW will have the revenue forecast live. Watch it on TV or at tvw.org.

What to expect? Today at the Republican media availability, featuring Sen. Mike Hewitt and Rep. Richard DeBolt, among others, they guessed it would be between $400 and $500 million less than the figure reported a month ago.

Until then, here’s tonight’s edition of The Impact — a full hour early. What you can expect to hear: The Senate Majority Leader talking about cuts to higher education, state health care and more.

Tags: Budget, Revenue forecast