The Senate passed the House bill calling for a Constitutional amendment to lower the threshold (from 60 percent to a simple majority) to pass local school levies.

Now, the measure goes to voters where it only needs a simple majority to pass. To send a Constitutional amendment to voters the bill had to pass both houses with a two-thirds vote.

The House did so last month, easily clearing the two-thirds requirement with a 79-19 vote.

And the Senate just passed it this morning. Although, they just made it, with 3 Republicans voting yea, for a 33-16 vote. (Specifically, the bill needed 33 to pass.) Two Dems voted against it, including “Democratic” Sen. Tim Sheldon (“D”-35, Potlatch).

One of the Rs who voted for the Democratic priority bill was Sen. Cheryl Pflug (R-5, Maple Valley), who I had criticized earlier this session for her allegiance to the pharmaceutical lobby.

I was only able to watch some of the hearing on TVW leading up to the vote, and the part that I actually caught was Pflug’s speech. To my surprise, indeed, she was hammering away at how poorly our public schools are funded, recounting how her local HS footaball team had to play 20 miles away in a rented field.

She also credited Seattle for suing the state for failing to fund education. She concluded by dissing her fellow GOPers for pontificating about high property taxes, saying: “Enough pretty speeches. Let’s do our job.”