washington business
Editorial Scorecard
Unexpectedly swimming in revenue , lawmakers spent almost all of it . The size of the two-year budget now is 24 % larger than the last one .
This is a trend for Democrats . Since they seized total control of the Legislature five years ago after , and largely because of , Donald Trump taking over the Republican Party , Democrats have pushed spending for the general state budget up a meteoric 50 %, from $ 42.7 billion in 2017 to $ 64.1 billion today .
The state ’ s population increased about 6 % in that same time span .
It ’ s an unprecedented surge of spending , and it ’ s the new baseline . Democrats defend it as addressing myriad needs and new programs . My only point here is it ’ s a lot more government than we ’ ve paid for in the past , to a degree that it ’ s almost certainly unsustainable under our current tax structure .
— Danny Westneat , The Seattle Times , March 12
Hey , big spender .
Legislative talk of putting those surpluses back into taxpayers ’ pockets even in small ways , such as tax exemptions for diapers and free access to state parks , went nowhere and deserved more serious consideration . The absence of taxpayer relief in a year of a $ 15 billion budget surplus — and inflation at 40-year highs — strongly indicates that the current power players simply don ’ t care to cut . Ever .
— The Seattle Times editorial , March 23
Lawmakers approved a two-year , $ 59.1 billion operating budget last April . The supplemental plan adds $ 6.2 billion in new spending . Among the big adds are a $ 2 billion transfer to the transportation package , $ 350 million to shore up the paid family leave program , $ 232 million for raises and one-time retention payments for state workers and $ 236 million for a cost-of-living adjustment for public school teachers .
— Jerry Cornfield , The Herald , March 10
Majority Democrats were ambitious walking into this short session , the core goal of which is to adopt a supplemental budget . And boy , did they craft a supplemental budget .
In fact , as KUOW ’ s Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins explains , they effectively rewrote the state budget approved during the 2021 session ; they beefed up the $ 64.1 billion budget by about $ 5 billion more in state spending . That ’ s an unprecedented increase for a supplemental budget year . — KUOW , March 15
The recently completed legislative session will be remembered for missed opportunities for tax relief that could have benefited businesses and working families .
While the supplemental budget approved during the 2022 legislative session contains no across-the-board tax increases , that ’ s not much for lawmakers to brag about , considering the staggering $ 14 billion revenue surplus the Legislature had to work with .
Instead of providing broad tax relief , as other states have done for businesses and residents , lawmakers went on a spending spree , adding $ 5 billion to the current biennial budget , bringing it to $ 64.1 billion . — Journal of Business , Spokane , March 24 special edition 2022 5