New taxes, no furloughs in WA Legislature's $77.8B budget deal

Democrats in the Washington Legislature unveiled a budget deal Saturday that cuts spending and hikes taxes on thousands of businesses to maintain core public services and erase a projected multibillion-dollar shortfall.

The agreement hammered out by House and Senate budget writers does not tap the state’s emergency reserves or furlough state employees, as prior proposals this year suggested doing. It pays for new collective bargaining agreements for state workers and provides $100 million for law enforcement hiring sought by the governor.

Overall, it spends $77.8 billion in the two-year budget cycle that begins July 1, roughly 9% higher than the current biennium. When all the adding and subtracting is done, there’s $7.4 billion in new spending, officials said.

It will be teed up for votes in each chamber on Sunday, the last scheduled day of the 2025 session.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/04/26/new-taxes-no-furloughs-in-wa-legislatures-77-8b-budget-deal/