(The Center Square) – Senate Republicans unveiled a budget proposal Tuesday that they contend closes the state’s shortfall without raising the tax burden on Washingtonians or dipping into the state’s rainy-day fund.
“It is a budget that lives within our means but also delivers the services our folks need around the state,” Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, said in a Tuesday morning press conference in Olympia.
Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, who is operating-budget leader for Senate Republicans, put up several slides detailing his chamber’s plan for a $75.6 billion budget, which represents a 5% increase in spending from the two-year budget that will expire June 30.
“Tax increases are not inevitable,” wrote Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, in a news release emailed to The Center Square. “Republicans have completely transformed the budget conversation here in Olympia…… It’s the plan no one else thought was possible – but anyone who takes the time to look will see this is a serious and viable proposal.”
Just how large the budget deficit – or shortfall – really is, is still a matter of debate in Olympia, but Republicans contend it is nowhere near the $12 billion to $15 billion that majority Democrats have stated.
“I went to non-partisan staff back in December and I asked them,” said Gildon, who stated he was told it was $6.7 billion. “They’ve recently done an update and revised it down to $6.6 billion.”
During the press conference, Gildon put up slides with details of the budget proposal offered by former Gov. Jay Inslee.
“It includes about $13 billion in new taxes [over four years] and that is huge,” said Gildon.
Gildon said Inslee’s budget includes about 500 new spending policies and would add more than 2,200 new employees.
Inslee also released a second budget scenario that does not include any additional revenue, a proposal Republicans call “unserious”.
“If I were to write a budget that would scare people to death and make them beg for more taxes, that’s probably the budget I would have written,” he said.
One of the big-ticket items Inslee did not touch in his “all cuts” proposal, was the $4 billion in raises for state employees that he negotiated before leaving office. Republicans say those raises are not sustainable, and their proposal replaces the raises with a $5,000 bonuses for every state employee.
Another $4 billion would be saved by prioritizing and repurposing surplus money from a state pension fund and a variety of smaller accounts and would redirect some proceeds of the Climate Commitment Act to the Working Families Tax Credit.
“We think there’s precedent for this because last year, the largest expenditure from the operating budget of the Climate Commitment Act account was $200 rebate checks to people all across our state,” said Gildon.
Some highlights of the budget related to education per the news release:
• For the first time in six years, K-12 would receive a larger share of the budget
• Hundreds of millions more for special education and classroom materials
• Invests in effort to reduce chronic absenteeism
• Keeps college affordable by respecting historic tuition cap set in 2015
A few more highlights:
The proposal would freeze rates and eligibility thresholds for state-subsidized childcare, while reducing regulations on providers to help them save costs.
It includes $100 million for grants to hire law enforcement officers.
The proposal exempts public safety agencies and K-12 from across-the-board reductions.
“We are going to take the lead in the House and Senate and take 6% cuts for ourselves, but then we’re going to be a little more nuanced in our approach to state agencies,” he said.
Agencies that provide direct services to the public must find 1.5% in savings; other agencies must achieve 3%.
Gov. Bob Ferguson asked state agencies to cut 6% across the board. His complete budget proposal has not yet been released.
Majority Democrats have not unveiled their budget proposal either, but introduced a number of tax proposals on everything from storage units to ammunition.
Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair June Robinson, D-Everett, issued a statement in response to the GOP proposal.
“This budget relies on unsustainable choices. It treats the voter-upheld Climate Commitment Act as a piggy bank for unrelated programs, diverting resources from their intended purpose and undermining critical climate investments, which Washingtonians made very clear they want. It also fails to fund collective bargaining agreements, denying salary increases for state employees — the people who keep Washington running,” stated Robinson.
Tuesday marked day 58 of the 2025 legislative session which is scheduled to adjourn Apr. 27.
