With budget deal in hand, state lawmakers expected to vote Friday

Budget negotiators in the House and Senate reached a handshake agreement on an operating budget Thursday morning, and Gov. Jay Inslee said the pending deal can avert the shutdown of many state services that would have begun Monday.

The Senate was poised to start voting on the $33.5 billion budget as early as Friday morning. Inslee and leaders in the Senate and House all said they intend to wrap up the budget before state workers leave at 5 p.m. for the weekend.