Gov. Inslee’s proposed 2025-27 budgets

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Highlights of Gov. Inslee’s Proposed 2025–27 Budget

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Governor Jay Inslee’s 2025–27 budget protects the state’s progress in four key areas: behavioral health, affordable housing, climate change, and tax reform.

Explore budget priorities

What is the state budget?

The state budget outlines how Washington will spend money for services and programs. This financial plan helps the state direct funds where they’re needed most. Learn more about the Washington state budget process.

The state budget affects us all. It provides funding for public schools, building and maintaining roads, expanding health care services, supporting public safety, and more. The budget helps us make decisions about how to spend public funds to meet the needs of our communities and plan for the future. Below are the key highlights and statistics of the governor’s budget proposal priorities.

Budget highlights

Behavioral health: $719 million

In 2018, Governor Jay Inslee committed to investing in proven strategies and community-based care for behavioral health. His 2025–27 budget builds on this work, focusing on expanding access to services, especially for underserved communities.

Key priorities include supporting approaches that connect people with services and growing the network of behavioral health care facilities and community-based providers.

Need

5-8%

Of patients who visit the Emergency Department (ED) for nonfatal overdose, 5-8% die in the following year.

Proposal

$1M

More than 24,000 Washington ED visits were for nonfatal overdoses in 2022. Investment of $1 million will provide EDs with real-time clinical guidance on prescribing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and 24/7 follow-up appointment scheduling to connect these patients to treatment.

Need

58%

Demand for Community Behavioral Health Supports (CBHS) is estimated to increase by 58% in the current fiscal year.

Proposal

$106M

Funding of $106 million for Community Behavioral Health Supports will provide services for individuals transitioning from inpatient psychiatric care to community settings.

Need

8%

Demand for competency evaluation and restoration services is estimated to grow by 8% each year. Growth has spiked in the past, leading to 60% overall growth since 2018.

Proposal

350+

The new 350-bed Forensic Center of Excellence at Western State Hospital broke ground this year, and Washington continues to build capacity at other state and community facilities. In addition, legislation is proposed that will reduce demand for state services.

Learn more about the behavioral health budget

Affordable housing and homelessness: $905 million

Washington is addressing the housing shortage by keeping and creating as many affordable units as possible, investing in wrap-around services, and improving access to transitional and permanent housing for unhoused individuals and families.

Marginalized communities in Washington face barriers to housing due to decades of biased policies, with Black and Native American residents experiencing higher rates of homelessness.

Revenue from document recording fees have gone down, but the state remains committed to maintaining effective housing programs and advancing equity in access to stable housing.

Need

1.1M

Homes needed by 2044

Proposal

80,000

Total affordable units created by investments in the Housing Trust Fund between 1986-2027

Need

50%

Average rental cost increase statewide in the last decade

Proposal

$4.2M

For foreclosure prevention services

Need

198,000+

People in Washington facing homelessness or housing instability

Proposal

5,000+

Additional affordable units created in the governor’s 2025-27 capital budget

Learn more about the housing and homelessness budget

Climate and energy: $2 billion

Revenue proposal

Washington’s tax system, built nearly a century ago, is struggling to keep up with our state’s rapid population growth and rising costs for essential services like education, housing, and health care. Washington state collects taxes to pay for state run programs and agencies. Today, our system takes six times more tax from low and middle-income families than it does from the ultra-rich. Washington’s current system is not collecting enough money to address this gap.

Governor Inslee proposes two reforms that protects the programs and services that all Washingtonians benefit from:

Wealth tax: a modest 1% wealth tax on worldwide wealth over $100 million
Business & Occupation (B&O) tax: 20% increase to be paid by large, high-revenue companies

Currently

6x

Low-income families shoulder 6x as much in tax burden than the wealthy Washingtonians

Proposal

Raised from the wealth tax in two years post implementation

Currently

1%

Ultra-rich individuals will pay a modest 1% on wealth over $100 million

Proposal

2 years

Timeframe to stabilize funding for just essential services

Currently

3,400

Ultra-rich individuals who benefit the most from our economy while contributing the least

Proposal

$4B

Total raised from new revenue proposals

Learn more about the revenue proposal

ASL videos

Budget documents and downloads

Budget summary table

The budget summary table is a list of all proposed policy-level changes to the budget, listed by functional areas and by agency.

Download the table

2025-27 Biennial Budget Balance Sheet

Rates charged by agencies to provide services to other government entities in the proposed budget.

Download the balance sheet

Proposed 2025–27 Budget and Policy Highlights

Download the full PDF of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Budget Highlights, outlining his proposal, strategic priorities, and budget summaries.

Download the highlights

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Gov. Inslee’s proposed 2025-27 budgets

Highlights of Gov. Inslee’s Proposed 2025–27 Budget

What is the state budget?

Budget highlights

5-8%

$1M

58%

$106M

8%

350+

1.1M

80,000

50%

$4.2M

198,000+

5,000+

2.4 years

40%

$300

7,000

x2

$120M

6x

Proposal

1%

2 years

3,400

$4B

Budget documents and downloads