Dear friends and neighbors,
We’re in the homestretch of our 60-day legislative session. With just a few days left, both the House and the Senate have been busy going through the concurrence process to finalize bills and get them to the Governor’s desk for signature.
Fix our Ferries Town Halls
Please join us at an upcoming Fix our Ferries townhall in your neck of the woods:
I’ll share highlights from the State’s Transportation Budget along with a progress report on our roadmap to fix our ferries… I’m also eager to hear your questions and suggestions.
Please join us – and share with your friends and family as it will take all of us working together to fix our ferries.
Concurrence, Dispute, and Conference
When either chamber amends a bill from the opposite chamber, the amendment must be approved by the chamber of origin. Here’s what that process looks like:
- The House or Senate can choose to concur with the changes and move the bill forward
- The House or Senate can dispute the changes and ask the other chamber to recede from their amendments and move the bill forward in same form it was in when it was voted out of the House
- The House or Senate can request a conference. If differences can’t be resolved, a committee with members from both chambers meet to try and reach agreement. If they can’t, the bill does not move forward.
2024 Supplemental Budget
In Washington the legislature passes biennial budgets in odd-numbered years. In 2023 we passed the budget that covers 2024 and 2025. In even-numbered years like this one, we have a chance to revisit the biennial budget to make sure the numbers still compute. It also gives the legislature the opportunity to add funding for needs we may not have foreseen.
My top priority has been working to fix our ferries. I’m proud of the bipartisan coalition we’ve built that voted to fully fund our ferries by passing the House Transportation Budget on a 93-2 vote.
The proposed transportation budget includes more than $80M of new funding to help Fix our Ferries. Here’s a few highlights:
Investing in ferries and local infrastructure
- $1.3B for reliable ferry service including $80M in new funding for vessel maintenance and preservation, and staff recruitment and training
- $5M for Kitsap Transit Bremerton-Seattle fast ferry
- $51M for Kitsap highways and $14M for Kitsap infrastructure upgrades
Investing in children, youth, and families
This supplemental budget includes investments in K-12 and higher education, including $150M for children, youth & families.
Combatting the fentanyl and opioid crisis
We also proposed making significant investments in the fentanyl and opioid response. This includes HB 2112 that I sponsored to make sure students and staff at higher education institutions in WA get awareness and prevention training and have access to lifesaving overdose reversal drugs.
If you have any questions about the budget, bills, or anything else please email me at Greg.Nance@leg.wa.gov or reach out to my office any time. I’m proud to serve Kitsap.
Take care,
