Friends,
It was honor to represent you in the State Legislature. I served on the Transportation, the College & Workforce Development, and the Education committees this session.
I’m proud to say we made serious progress on building our district’s transportation and community infrastructure, tackling the student debt crisis, addressing climate change, expanding resources for behavioral and mental health, and funding special education PreK-12 schools.
Over the next few weeks, I will be providing you with updates steps the legislature took to address some of these priorities.
End-of-Session Video Update (Click on the picture).
I recorded this video during the last week of the legislative session.
Housing and Mental Health
The Legislature addressed affordable housing and behavioral health needs through the state’s Capital and Operating Budgets.
To help with housing, our state Capital Budget allocates:
- $175 million state wide for affordable housing development through the affordable trust fund.
- $154 million for projects at state mental health facilities like the $1 million investment for the Oak Harbor Tri-County Behavioral Health Center.
The Operating Budget allocates over $450 million in behavioral health services like residential bed expansion, community long-term inpatient beds, state hospital operations, and money to bring us into full compliance with the Trueblood settlement.
Transportation
Our part of the state relies on our ferry system, roads, and bridges. We would also greatly benefit from a strong trail system. Because of these unique transportation challenges, we need strong investment from the State Transportation Budget. It would be difficult to maintain our quality of life without that support.
Fortunately, final budget compromise includes more than $524 million over the next 14 years for local transportation projects in the 10th District. This includes new and previously allocated funding.
- $188 million for a new hybrid electric ferry to travel the Clinton-to-Mukilteo route.
- $860,000 for development of the Clinton-to-Ken’s Corner trail system.
This budget makes investments that will help our communities thrive, our economies hum, and our commutes safer. I am glad to have helped shape this budget as a member of the House Transportation Committee.
If you want other ways to get updates, you can go to my Facebook page at facebook.com/repdavepaul or stop by my official website at housedemocrats.wa.gov/paul. You can contact me at dave.paul@leg.wa.gov or (360) 786-7914.
Thank you,
Rep. Dave Paul