Gov. Inslee proposes 12% spending hike

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is proposing a nearly $7.5 billion, 12% increase in state spending during the next biennium, including $4 billion to combat homelessness.

Inslee discussed his 2023-25 budget recommendations during a news conference in Olympia on Wednesday.

“This is a budget I believe addresses the needs of the state of Washington, that acts with urgency, audacity and at a scale we need to address our challenges,” he said.

Homelessness was the first challenge he highlighted.

Despite using billions of state and federal dollars to combat homelessness over the past few years, Inslee said, the problem has only gotten bigger.

“We know the things we’ve been doing are working, but we’re not doing enough,” he said. “We need to up our game. We need to increase our efforts dramatically, not just incrementally.”

Inslee wants to issue $4 billion in bonds over the next six years to fund a variety of housing initiatives, including adding nearly 18,000 multifamily units, as well as 7,500 affordable housing units, preserving another 2,700 units, and preserving about 2,000 emergency shelter beds.

The Legislature would first have to accept the proposal, after which it would go to voters as a ballot referendum.

“This will allow us to take big steps now, rather than a lot of tiny steps over the next several decades,” Inslee said. “Washingtonians will not accept this continued scourge. They don’t believe the Evergreen State is a place for chronic, rampant homelessness, and they’re asking us to take bold action. In my budget, we intend to do just that.”

The Washington Legislature will consider the governor’s budget recommendations during the 2023 legislative session, which begins Jan. 9.

Compensation for state employees is another priority for Inslee. He’s proposing $1.3 billion in salary and benefit increases, including a 7% wage hike for union workers over the next two years.

Another $1.87 billion would go toward various climate change projects, including $100 million in new Riparian Conservation Grants to help landowners implement restoration projects along salmon streams.

“Our salmon are on the ropes,” Inslee said. “We’ve made enormous investments, but we haven’t done enough, particularly in terms of providing cold water to help them survive. They need shade now, and a lot more in the future. So we have a proposal for an incentive program, a voluntary program, to help landowners provide a shade canopy next to rivers and streams.”

The governor’s capital budget includes almost $900 million for a new, 350-bed psychiatric hospital at Western State Hospital, as well as $613 million for a number of public school projects and $872 million for various higher education construction projects.

The latter includes $7.7 million for a new Institute for Northwest Energy Futures at Washington State University’s Tri-Cities campus, as well as $40 million (plus another $38 million in donated funds) for a new facility for the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture in Pullman.

Inslee isn’t proposing any new taxes, but his budget would draw down state reserve accounts by about $4 billion over the next two years. State revenues are also projected to increase by about $2.2 billion during that time period.

A detailed summary of Inslee’s 2023-25 budget proposal can be found online, at ofm.wa.gov.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.