The House has passed the budget bill for the state Department of Environmental Quality for next year on a 42-23 vote, sending it to the governor's desk. Under the bill, SB 1359, DEQ will get a 3.5 percent increase in state general funds next year, but just a 0.8 percent increase in total funds; with deep budget cuts in recent years going unrestored, the department will be funded next year at a level below its state funding in 2001. The budget is very close to the governor's recommendation, but adds $50,000 each to restore funding for the Pend Oreille Lakes Commission and the Bear Lake Regional Commission. Both were zero-funded last year amid budget cuts.