Dear friends and neighbors,
We’re wrapping up week six of this year’s legislative session, and tomorrow marks our first big deadline for this year, policy cutoff. On Monday though we took advantage of the state holiday to celebrate Children’s Day in Olympia. This is a biennial tradition – during long session years (like this one) we invite legislators to bring their kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids or other chosen family to work with them. This job can require you to spend a lot of time away from home, and Children’s Day is a fun opportunity to show them what we do and why it’s important.
Part of Children’s Day is voting a bill off the floor. This year we passed HB 1759, which will officially recognize December 12th as “Day of the 12s,” recognizing Seahawks fans across the state. Sports can build community in really important ways. It bridges cultural divides, and – if the floor debate was any indication – it bridges age divides as well. I was grateful to have some help at the podium for a very spirited discussion and overwhelmingly supportive final vote.
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| I also wanted to let you know about a short, weekly podcast I’ve been doing this session! It’s a behind-the-scenes look at my work as Speaker of the House, recorded from my office in the Legislative Building. I’ve talked about opening ceremonies, my work with Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, the “Book 1” budget (more on this below), and more. The episodes are five minutes or less, and it’s my hope that they’ll help demystify some of our work down in Olympia. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and my website. |  |
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You may have read or heard about former Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed budgets last fall, but there’s only one budget that the Governor is required to create, and that’s the “Book 1” budget, which doesn’t make any changes to current law or assume any new revenue.
If you’re wondering why we’re still referencing the former Governor’s budget, it’s because the budget development process happens largely in fall of the previous year. Governor Ferguson was not sworn in until January, after the governor’s budget is supposed to be released.
But why am I talking about the “Book 1” budget at all? Because it’s what an all-cuts budget looks like, and it’s truly devastating for people across the state. It cuts $12 billion from our state budget, including $3.5 billion in cuts to healthcare, over $1 billion in cuts to higher education, and $1.3 billion in cuts to human services and early learning.
What are some specific cuts behind those dollar amounts?
- The elimination of things like adult dental care, kidney dialysis, and family planning or abortion services for people on Medicaid.
- Catastrophic cuts to our state colleges and universities that hurt our ability to educate the workforce we need to keep Washington’s economy strong.
- Massive reductions to services for seniors and people with developmental disabilities.
- Deep cuts to human services and early learning programs, including elimination of some programs and significantly reduced services.
- Significant cuts to behavioral health and corrections.
It’s important for everyone to understand what an all-cuts budget looks like. Once we understand how Washingtonians will be affected by cuts, our conversations about cuts vs. new revenue will be more grounded in reality. As for me, I’ll prioritize protecting the most vulnerable. And I expect the House Democrats budget team will be taking a balanced approach when we release our budget proposal next month. It won’t be easy, but we’re working to minimize the harm and ensure we don’t go backwards on the progress we’ve made.