High court finds Gov. Inslee's veto to be unconstitutional

OLYMPIA — The state Supreme Court found Gov. Jay Inslee’s partial vetoes of the 2019 transportation budget unconstitutional by a 7-2 ruling on Nov. 10.

The decision came after the governor vetoed a sentence in the budget bill regarding fuel type allowed in vehicles.

“Governor Inslee exceeded his Article III, Section 12 veto power by striking the fuel type condition, which formed only one part of each appropriation item in which it appeared,” the ruling reads.” Further, the fuel type condition does not constitute substantive law smuggled into a budget bill in violation of Article II, Section 19; it is a valid legislative limit on an executive agency’s expenditure of appropriated funds.”

The high court found the Legislature correctly complied with the law when setting a fuel type condition.

The court’s decision upholds a previous summary judgment against the Legislature.