BUDGETS REPORT TO THE 5th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT

Dear friends and neighbors,

With the legislative session behind us, we’d like to give you an update in person on the evening of Tuesday, April 2, at Gibson Hall. We will take questions you may have on the issues we addressed and bills we passed this session.

Last year, we passed an unprecedented biennial budget to build on our investments made during the pandemic (here is the budgets e-newsletter we sent you in March 2023).

In this year’s supplemental budgets, we continue to prioritize strengthening Washington’s families so that we can all thrive and have the tools to succeed. Our budgets reflect the voices of communities across the state as well as our values.

In this report you will find some of the highlights in each budget.

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

While Washington state has one of the best economies in the country, not all families have that same sense of economic security.

This budget reflects the needs of those struggling the most and continues to equitably fund necessary supports in a sustainable way.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: $245 MILLION

Increased inpatient behavioral health capacity: $230 million.
Increased rates for long-term civil commitments in the community: $26 million.
Behavioral health personal care for those with exceptional needs: $34 million.
Diversion and outpatient care: $25 million.
New beds for youth with complex I/DD and BH needs: $15 million.

FENTANYL & OPIOID RESPONSE: $215 MILLION

Increased access to opioid use disorder treatment, programs, and supplies: $156 million.
Supporting families and children safety: $16 million.
Public health awareness, outreach & prevention, and data dashboards: $10 million.
Outreach and support for Tribes: $6 million.

CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES: $115 MILLION

Increased provider rates and reimbursements including basic foster care and ECEAP: $20 million.
Early support for infants & toddlers: $6 million.
Increasing childcare slots and expanding eligibility: $6 million.

K-12 EDUCATION: $335 MILLION

Special education, including increasing the cap to 16%: $26 million.
Prototypical school staffing: $72 million.
Materials, supplies, & operating costs: $44 million.
Increased participation for free student meals: $45 million.
Small school districts, charters, and tribal schools: $8 million.

HOMELESSNESS & HOUSING: $230 MILLION

Low and moderate-income clean energy assistance: $150 million (CCA).
Increased need for local homeless services: $34 million.
Housing vulnerable populations, supporting tenants’ rights & homeownership: $19 million.

HUMAN SERVICES AND POVERTY REDUCTION: $150 MILLION

Food assistance for seniors, summer EBT for kids, and food banks: $64 million.
Reducing wait times at economic services offices: $5 million.

CLIMATE, CLEAN ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES: $335 MILLION

Clean energy and climate programs: $68 million (CCA).
Payments to exempt agricultural fuel users: $30 million (CCA).
Forest health & wildfire protection: $94 million.
Water quality & availability: $21 million.
Salmon production, habitat & recovery: $21 million.

PUBLIC SAFETY, LEGAL AID AND CORRECTIONS: $70 MILLION

Criminal Justice training, including funding local portion of the Basic Law Enforcement Academy: $8 million.
Resentencing, reentry support & sentencing alternatives: $5 million.
Increase Crime Victims Compensation Benefits: $5 million.

OTHER INCREASES

Economic development & small business supports: $13 million.
Disaster response recovery & assistance: $728 million (nearly all federal funds).
Digital equity, literacy, and broadband access: $8 million.

OUR INVESTMENTS INCLUDE THESE BUDGET PROVISOS

Maple Valley Behavioral Health Coordinator: $200,000.
Echo Glen Security Enhancements: $967,000 for body scanners, one for Echo Glen Children’s Center, and two for Green Hill School, as well as $17.9 million for enhanced security, staffing, and programming at Echo Glen Children’s Center.
Trail Youth Coffee Home: $125,000.
Barnard Center (Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Workforce Development/Landscape): $250,000.
UW School Mental Health Assessment and Research Training Center K12 Screening Best Practices: $370,000.
Startup costs to re-establish youth Behavioral Health facility in Western WA: $6,000,000.
Expanding Mockingbird Network to youth/young adults in the foster care system at risk of or experiencing homelessness: $250,000 for hub home model.

BUILDING A BETTER TOMORROW

The $1.3 billion supplemental construction budget will fund vital projects and infrastructure in every corner of the state, including several projects in our 5^th Legislative District.

It invests heavily in solutions for two of our toughest challenges: affordable housing and the pressing need for behavioral health facilities.

PUBLIC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

Support for local schools: $79 million increase for local school construction. Construction Assistance Program increasing from $272 to $375 per square foot.
Skill centers and career/technical education: $69 million.
Small school district: $114m for the Small District & Tribal Compact School Modernization program.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Community beds: $82.7 million in behavioral health community capacity grants, to build behavioral health care facilities in communities across Washington.
Tribal centers: Expanded investment in tribal behavioral health centers, which are innovative new projects being developed in partnership with tribes and the federal government to provide behavioral health and substance abuse treatment.
A 45-bed youth behavioral health facility for residential substance use and co-occurring behavioral health services.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Housing Trust Fund: $127.5 million, building on the record-breaking investments in affordable housing made in 2023.

LOCAL CAPITAL PROJECTS

$5 million for Echo Glen facility security improvements.
$2 million for Eastside Fire & Rescue pilot PFAS cleanup.
$1 million for Fall City septic system.
$750,000 Trust Land Transfer Revitalization West Tiger Mountain Forest Conservation.
$314,000 for the Black Diamond History Museum fire station restoration.
$206,000 for the Cougar Mountain Zoo indoor educational learning space for schools and community.
$200,000 for Maple Valley permanent message boards.
$100,000 for Snoqualmie Tribe Behavioral Health facility planning.

A BUDGET THAT KEEPS US MOVING

The changes we made boosted spending by $1 billion, for a new total of $14.6 billion over the two-year transportation budget.

This budget maintains promises to major transportation projects throughout the state in the Connecting Washington and Move Ahead Washington packages.

HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS AND PRESERVATION

$275 million for I-405/SR 167 Corridor Program.
$150 million for fish passage barrier removal.
$100 million for highway preservation.

FERRIES

$196 million for hybrid electric vessel construction and terminal electrification.
$73 million in 2023-25 to cover cost increases for hybrid vessel construction.
$22.9 million For increased staffing, workforce development, and increased service.

CLIMATE COMMITMENT ACT

$40 million for public/private initiatives to switch to zero-emissions technology through commercial vehicle vouchers, alternative fuel charging infrastructure, car share programs and more.
$35.5 million for rail/port electrification.
$30 million for public transportation electrification.
$33 million for Local Programs, including pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure and local electrification initiatives.
$4 million for electric school buses.
$12 million for zero emissions vehicle supply equipment.

TRAFFIC SAFETY

$8.5 million for public education and enforcement efforts and to increase grants to local jurisdictions and community-based organizations for projects such as improving bike, pedestrian, and school zone safety.
$4.2 million to reduce accidents and improve road safety programs.
$1 million to develop a highway speed safety camera pilot program.

WASHINGTON STATE PATROL

$6.2 million to restore vacancy savings.
$5.9 million for additional trooper training.
$691,000 for WSP to retain seasoned troopers.

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

This year, there were discussions about putting some projects on hold. Fortunately, budget writers were able to avoid that and these important ongoing projects in our area are still on track:

$665.8 million for Phase 1 of the SR 18 widening – Issaquah/Hobart Rd to Raging River: Improvements from the Tiger Mountain summit to the east down to Deep Creek, from milepost 23 to milepost 25, and roundabouts at the Issaquah Hobart Road interchange ramp intersections.

$210.5 million for I-90/SR18 interchange improvements: This interchange experiences severe congestion during peak traffic periods at the existing ramp terminal locations. This project constructs improvements to the I-90 interchange and widens SR 18 to Deep Creek to improve safety and alleviate congestion. If you’ve been in the area you’ve probably seen crews working.

$5 million for the Maple Valley Pedestrian Bridge over SR 169: Design and construction of a pedestrian bridge on SR 169 at SE 258th Street, connecting Rock Creek Elementary School to the city’s public recreational property and future downtown on the west side.

$565.9 million for the I-90/Snoqualmie Pass East – Hyak to Keechelus Dam – Corridor Improvement: The section of I-90 between Hyak and Lake Keechelus Dam experiences congestion due to increasing traffic volumes and closures for avalanche control. By adding lanes to this section and realigning the roadway, the project will decrease congestion, minimize closures due to avalanche control, and increase safety.
$71 million for I-90/Eastgate to SR 900 – Corridor Improvements: This segment of I-90 corridor between Eastgate and SR 900 interchanges experiences severe congestion during peak traffic hours. Reconstructing the existing shoulders to full depth pavement; re-striping of the eastbound and westbound mainline I-90 to create an additional auxiliary lane on each direction between Eastgate and Westlake Sammamish Parkway (WLSP) interchanges; and modifying westbound I-90 off-ramp to WLSP will increase the freeway capacity and improve mobility.

If you want more details on any of the budgets, please visit our state’s fiscal information website:

THANK YOU!

As always, we appreciate your taking the time to read our e-newsletters and we hope you find them informative.

We are working on a print mailer that will focus on the bills we passed this session. It should reach households in early May, if you don’t receive it, you’ll find it posted on our websites.

During election years, there are certain restrictions on our communications to prevent the use of state resources for campaign purposes. They include a halt to newsletters and a freeze to our websites and social media. This means that from May 6, until after the general elections have been certified in the Fall, you will not receive legislative updates from us, and no new content will be uploaded on the web.

However, if you have ideas, questions, or comments about legislative issues, please don’t hesitate to give our offices a call, or send us an email with your concerns.

Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday at our town hall event!

Sincerely,