With little to show after one special session, legislators in Olympia have started the second by at least making their latest budget proposals public. And House Democrats and Senate Republicans have shown an understanding of compromise, with the Republicans coming up a bit in spending and Democrats cutting back from the earlier proposals.

It also helps that, under the direction of Gov. Jay Inslee, House and Senate leaders are meeting daily with the governor to further negotiations.

What separates them now are about $500 million in spending and whether to include a new tax in the revenue mix.

House Democrats, in their budget proposal released June 1, came down several hundred million in spending and have also whacked back their tax package from $1.47 billion to $570 million, dropping all but a capital gains tax on investment income.

The capital gains tax proposal, which is unchanged from the Democrats’ earlier budget, would levy a 5 percent tax on the capital gains from investment income above $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for couples filing jointly. The tax, which would apply to about 32,000 state residents, would exempt profits from retirement accounts and the sales of primary residences and would exempt agricultural and timber producers.

The tax often is criticized as being prone to fluctuations of the economy and markets, but the Democrats say they have planned for that volatility by putting the tax’s first $400 million of anticipated revenue toward K-12 education, leaving the remaining revenue for a dedicated higher education fund that can better absorb fluctuations.

Senate Republicans have maintained from the start that the budget could be balanced without new tax revenue or increases, even in the face of the mandate to fully fund K-12 education. Their position was only galvanized when the latest revenue report in May showed a $415