Top senator’s wife selected as his fill-in. She might vote on important legislation in his absence.

The state Senate got a temporary new member Tuesday as the chief Republican budget writer was replaced by his wife while he completes military duty.

Marlo Braun, a nurse in Centralia, was sworn in at the Capitol to take the spot of Sen. John Braun, who is on brief, scheduled leave this week for required service with the Navy Reserve.

Marlo Braun will be in office until roughly Sunday and might be asked to vote on a $4 billion capital budget plan and divisive legislation involving rural water rights.

After being sworn in, Marlo Braun, a Republican, told reporters that becoming a lawmaker was “never in my game plan.”

“But I’m happy to fill in for (John Braun) while he’s serving our country,” she said, adding she would essentially be his “proxy” and rely on guidance from other lawmakers while in office.

Earlier this week, commissioners in four counties represented by the 20th Legislative District — Thurston, Lewis, Cowlitz and Clark — approved her for the temporary Senate role under a law regarding leave for active service or required training.

Typically lawmakers wouldn’t be still working on legislation at this point in the year. But the Legislature is in its third special session and still negotiating the capital budget, and more, after completing a marathon quest to pass the state’s two-year operating budget last month.

Marlo Braun said her husband typically schedules his military leave “so that it doesn’t interfere with anything.”

This year: “It just kind of happened to overlap a little,” she said.

Because of that overlap, it was important to the couple to have someone present in Olympia on behalf of their district while the Legislature is in session.

Lawmakers grappled this year with a court-order to fix how the state pays for K-12 schools, and they poured billions into the public school system an attempt to comply with the ruling.

Since then, Republicans who control the state Senate with the help of one conservative Democrat have been holding up the capital budget — which pays for construction projects around the state — in the the hopes of reversing key portions of a state Supreme Court order they say leaves some rural property owners without water at their homes.

The ruling, known as the Hirst decision, found counties weren’t adequately scrutinizing the effects of small wells on water supplies used for farming, fishing and more.

Most counties had been using the state Department of Ecology to determine if enough water was available to allow a building permit where a small well would be used.

But the court said counties can’t rely only on the state.

As a result, some counties have temporarily stopped some rural development, throwing property owners into limbo.

Democrats who control the state House have so far opposed the GOP plan to change Hirst. Some have concerns the Republican plan would allow development without enough review of water availability and might violate treaty rights with local tribes.

While the debate goes on, some construction projects paid for by the capital budget have been halted midstream or are being delayed.

Lawmakers have been pushing to resolve both issues by Thursday, when the third special session ends.

Any legislation that gets passed is likely to have wide bipartisan support — meaning Marlo Braun probably wouldn’t be a deciding vote on major legislation.

Yet with a possible vote coming on the capital budget and a Hirst-related bill, Marlo Braun said her husband “knows what’s going on and will guide me.”

“Everybody else here is willing, I think, to help me,” she added.

This isn’t the first time a spouse has filled in for a lawmaker on military leave. Lela Kreidler served much of the 1991 legislative session in place of Mike Kreidler, then a state Senator, who was on active duty with the U.S. Army.

Mike Kreidler is now the state’s Insurance Commissioner.

Former Spokane Sen. Brad Benson also took a short leave in 2005 for military training.

Asked whether her stint in the senate would spur a future run for office, Marlo Braun quickly said “no” and laughed.

“It’s a lot of time taken out of your schedule and it involves every part of your life,” she said.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Top senator’s wife selected as his fill-in. She might vote on important legislation in his absence.."