Governor Inslee’s proposed budgets for 2023-25 are scheduled for hearings on January 10 in the Senate and January 11 in the House. The proposals address key city priorities around housing, behavioral health, infrastructure funding, and expanding police training.

The $70 billion operating budget proposal:

• Incorporates the state’s positive November revenue forecast.
• Includes revenues from a proposed voter referendum to fund $4 billion bonds for housing.
• Uses $2.1 billion from the Washington Rescue Plan Transition Account funded from federal pandemic assistance.

See the article and city budget impact summary for more details.

One of the items AWC requested that was not funded was continuation of the $20 million in public safety assistance funds to help offset the costs of implementing recent criminal justice changes and support cities in hiring and retaining law enforcement officers.

The Governor’s proposed budgets are required by statute and start the Legislature’s budget discussions for the 2023 session. The Legislature typically releases their budget proposals following the March state revenue forecast and must pass them before they adjourn in late April.

Dates to remember

The Senate Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to hear the budget proposals on Tuesday, January 10 at 4 pm. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear the budgets on Wednesday, January 11 at 4 pm.