Letter from the Governor

My Fellow Washingtonians,

This is a challenging moment for our state. Especially the past two weeks, in which we have faced a historic natural disaster. Washingtonians have shown their resilience as we dig out from that crisis.

Unfortunately, we are also facing challenges from the federal government. A litany of harmful and unnecessary federal actions are driving up costs in Washington and cutting important services to the people of our state. For example, the President and Congress chose to make steep cuts to SNAP, strip Apple Health coverage from tens of thousands of Washingtonians, decrease housing assistance, and impose new rules that force states to waste money on costly new systems.

My proposed supplemental budgets total approximately $79 billion — a $1.2 billion (1.5%) increase from the prior budgets. Of that change, $885 million reflects unavoidable cost pressures such as inflation and caseload growth. At the same time, the proposal includes $800 million in reductions to help close a projected $2.3 billion shortfall.

In building this budget, my team and I focused on maintaining critical services. We continued newer initiatives only where the cost of turning back or halting progress would be greater than the savings achieved on paper.

Within those constraints, we made thoughtful choices about where we must still move forward. This budget proposal protects progress where we can and directs our limited new investments to priorities essential to Washington’s long-term fiscal health.

In my Capital Budget, I propose the largest-ever investment in housing in a supplemental budget.

In my Transportation Budget, I propose $2 billion in investments in preservation and maintenance of our existing infrastructure. For decades, our state has not been doing enough to maintain our roads and bridges. It’s time to start turning the tide. If we do not, we risk allowing deferred maintenance to become damage that shuts down critical transit corridors. Such closures impact our economy, our commutes, and frankly, cost taxpayers vastly more money than simply taking care of what we have.

I propose another $1 billion to replace three more of our aging ferries. We have made significant strides over the past year to improve our ferry service, but our fleet is aging. We must take action now to replace these vessels.

We are able to achieve a responsible budget that moves our state forward without raising taxes. As we do this, we are also moving forward toward my vision for a more affordable, equitable Washington.

Respectfully,