The 2022 Legislative Session adjourned earlier this month. Even though it was a short, 60-day session, I’m proud to say that we made big investments in our state, from education and housing to transportation, economic development and more. In this newsletter, I’ll be recapping some of those investments to help communities recover from this pandemic.
But first, I want to share that the governor signed into law two bills I introduced this session to help address the school staffing shortage and make retirement benefits more secure for firefighters and law enforcement officers, HB 1699 and HB 1701.
Retired state employees and teachers are limited in how many hours they can work in public service while still receiving their retirement benefits. Many retirees work in schools as substitute teachers, bus drivers and nutrition staff, but are typically limited to 867 hours per year of work. I introduced HB 1699 to increase the cap on retiree employment in schools to 1,040 hours until 2025. Meanwhile, HB 1701 provides options for an increase in retirement benefits for Law Enforcement Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ Retirement System Plan 2 (LEOFF 2) members.
1. Operating Budget
This year’s operating budget continues our work in last year’s budget to support those hurt most during the pandemic, while helping families through better access to child care, fully funded schools ready for kids in the fall, a better paid health care workforce and strategic investments in small businesses and entrepreneurs. This budget provides:
- Schools that are safe, staffed and prepared for students to return in September with inflation-adjusted salaries to keep teachers from leaving the profession and $91 million to hire more school counselors, nurses, psychologists and social workers
- Investments in kids’ dental health, community health systems and the health care workforce, so our frontline health care professionals are compensated fairly
- Support for communities and small businesses by offering $100 million in assistance for the hardest hit restaurants and other hospitality businesses, a business tax credit for 70% of our small business and $39 million in grants to local chambers of commerce, main streets and other organizations to help with local economic needs
- More child care funding and availability, including more Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program slots and investments in our foster care program
The budget also includes funding for before and after school programs for low-income students in the Tukwila School District and a pilot program at Renton Technical College to increase outreach and participation in running start and adult education programs.
2. Transportation Budget
We passed a transportation budget that invests in a reliable, accessible and modern transportation system, and includes funding for local projects to:
- Widen I-405/SR 181 to SR 167 to help reduce congestion
- Continue widening the I-405 corridor between Renton and Bellevue
- Earthquake retrofit work and painting of the Bronson Way Bridge
- Build stations, shelters, lighting and other amenities along the upcoming rapid bus service line connecting Renton, Kent and Auburn
- Replace five diesel-electric hybrid buses with new battery electric buses
3. Construction Budget
The $1.5 billion state construction budget makes significant investments in housing, economic development, early learning and broadband internet, with funding for:
–Behavioral health: $26 million for community behavioral health capacity grants and $13 million for capital investments at state-run behavioral health facilities
–Early learning and education: $48 million for early learning facilities, $30 million for public universities and $24 million for public community and technical colleges
–Infrastructure: $108 million for clean water grants and loans, $40 million for the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB), which is focused on economic development, $24 million for infrastructure projects and $16 million for infrastructure at ports
–Broadband: $50 million for the State Broadband Office and $50 million for broadband projects in unserved and underserved areas through the Public Works Board and CERB
–Local projects: $258,000 for a Tukwila teen and senior center, $250,000 for facilities for homeless youth in Tukwila and $46,000 for repairs at Renton Technical College
Thanks for reading! If you’d like to share your thoughts with me on these three budgets, please visit this link to fill out my latest survey. And for results from the last survey on the initial operating budget proposal, visit this link. Thank you for your time!
Steve Bergquist