NOTE: This is an updated version of an earlier post that had incomplete information. -- Jonathan

Gov. Chris Gregoire missed Spokane's public forum on the state budget on Thusday to speak at a forum on global health public policy, her office said Friday.

Gregoire spoke in Seattle at the forum, which was sponsored by the Center for Strategic and Interactive Studies, said Gregoire spokeswoman Karina Shagren.

At last night's state budget hearing in Spokane, Gregoire apologized for not being in attendence, saying she “had a long standing commitment that has kept me away.”

Shagren said the commitment she was referring to was her speech that included information about life science companies in Washington.

Later in the evening Gregoire was scheduled to have a campaign fundraiser at a Seattle restaurant, according to Seattlepi.com. That event was advertised on invitations as "an intimate dinner and discussion" with donors who were asked to pay $1,000 a plate, seattlepi.com reported.