WA State Legislature passes $78 B budget; rent cap; gun permits
Ferguson levy $9B new taxes to fund state budget
Seattle Times, 5/21/2025
 |
Governor Bob Ferguson
photo Seattle Times |
Statement from Governor Bob Ferguson on 2025 legislative sessionKey priorities laid out by Governor Ferguson adopted in budget
OLYMPIA — Governor Bob Ferguson offered the following statement on the conclusion of the 2025 legislative session:
“I want to thank our legislators, staff and my team, for all their hard work this session as we faced a $16 billion budget shortfall. I look forward to carefully reviewing the budgets line by line over the next few weeks. When that review is complete, I will share my thoughts with the public in greater detail.
“Beginning with my inaugural address, I’ve emphasized that we must use realistic revenue projections, preserve our Rainy Day Fund reserves, find billions of dollars in savings and efficiencies, include a $100 million grant program for more law enforcement officers, increase investment in affordable housing, and increase the percentage of our budget devoted to K-12 education. The budgets adopted by the Legislature accomplish those goals.
“Throughout this budget process, I have also insisted that the Legislature take a balanced approach to solving the $16 billion shortfall. That is why I rejected an initial proposal to raise $21 billion in taxes. I then rejected a subsequent $12 billion tax proposal as unsustainable. I appreciate that the Legislature heard my concerns and dramatically reduced the revenue assumed in the final budget. That said, I intend to carefully review all revenue increases.
Preparing for the Trump Administration by protecting reserves
“I appreciate that the budget, at my insistence, protects our Rainy Day Fund. Federal funding makes up 28 percent of our state budget. The Trump Administration is weaponizing funding to punish those it disagrees with to force them into compromising their values.
“Throughout the session, I emphasized the need to budget in a way that prepares for this. This session, we made real progress to ensure we are in a strong position to protect our progressive values against this assault.
“We will continue to work to ensure that we are protecting the most vulnerable in our state as the Trump Administration will doubtless continue its cuts and harmful economic policies. Maintaining our Rainy Day Fund reserves will help us weather this storm. I am not going to allow the state that I love to be at the financial mercy of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Billions of dollars in savings, and changing the way we budget
“The Legislature adopted most of the $4 billion in savings my team identified 43 days into my administration.
“I insisted on a spending plan based on the actual projections provided by our Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, rather than spending based on the 4.5% revenue growth allowed in state law. The Legislature adopted this approach.
Upholding our paramount duty by increasing investment in K-12 education
“When I campaigned for governor, I promised to increase the percent of our general fund devoted to our K-12 system. This operating budget meets that goal. Additionally, it improves special education funding and helps school districts meet their most critical needs.
Priority legislation crossed the finish line
“Several of the bipartisan proposals I highlighted in my inaugural address made it to the finish line this session. Rep. Tom Dent’s bill to get Washington farmers the fuel exemptions they were promised under the Climate Commitment Act, Rep. Lisa Callan’s proposal to improve youth mental health, and Rep. Sharlett Mena’s legislation to keep other states’ National Guard units from entering our state without our permission, will all become law.
“I’m especially proud of the bipartisan work that went into House Bill 2015, which will provide $100 million in grants to local law enforcement agencies. In my inaugural address, I made it clear that I would not sign a budget that did not include this funding. We rank 50th — last — per capita, in number of law enforcement officers. Getting $100 million grants in the hands of local law enforcement agencies to help them hire well-trained officers was a key piece of my campaign for governor. The final bill represents an important step forward in our work to improve public safety for all Washingtonians.
“Thank you to Rep. Debra Entenman for sponsoring this proposal, and to Sen. Jeff Holy for sponsoring the original version. A special thank you to Sen. Manka Dhingra and Rep. Kristine Reeves for their leadership and advocacy as the bill moved forward.
Bipartisan capital budget invests in housing
“In my inaugural address, I also emphasized the need to improve housing supply and affordability. Our bipartisan capital budget makes the largest investment in state history in the Housing Trust Fund, which provides the money needed to build homes for those most in need. We made new laws to speed up the permitting process for housing, removed barriers to rehabilitating existing structures, helped manufactured housing residents become homeowners, and opened up opportunities for Public Housing Authorities to partner with private entities to create more affordable housing.
Bipartisan transportation budget
“I appreciate the Legislature’s work on a bipartisan transportation budget. This budget shows restraint by temporarily delaying some projects, while making responsible investments in overdue maintenance and preservation, supporting transit and mobility, and critical projects like the I-5 Bridge Replacement in Vancouver and the Spokane North-South Freeway.
“I’m pleased the Legislature maintained $1.3 billion in funding for construction of new ferry vessels and continued to invest in our ferry workforce to ensure our vessels are on the water and on time.
“The transportation budget also invests $1 billion in replacing our state’s culverts. There is still more to do. This demonstrates our ongoing commitment to this important work.
“This has been a hard session for many reasons, especially with the loss of Sen. Bill Ramos, Sen. Chris Gildon’s wife Autumn, and former longtime Speaker Frank Chopp. I am grateful for the hard work and sacrifice of all who contributed to the timely completion of this legislative session.”
4/27/2025
.jpg)
