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It is budget season in Olympia!
As we enter the home stretch of the 2021 legislative session, lawmakers’ focus will turn to one thing – budgets. In odd numbered years, the legislature is required to create and pass three budgets: the Operating budget, Transportation budget, and the Capital budget.
Today I’m going share highlights of each budget. But first, let me give you a little background. The operating budget is very broad and is by far the largest of the three. It basically funds the daily operations of our state government. Some items this budget covers include human services, education, natural resources, and state employee salaries. The transportation budget is more obvious, and it funds construction and maintenance for roads, bridges and ferries. Finally, the capital budget, is a brick-and-mortar budget that invests in the construction and repair of buildings such as schools, state offices and historical sites.
Operating budget
Senate Republicans and Democrats both submitted unique proposals for the Operating budget. After much debate, the Senate Democrat budget was adopted on April 1 by a 27 to 22 vote. Here is a high-level snapshot of how the two compared and you can view the full budget bill at this link - if you are a glutton for punishment…
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 From here, Senate and House budget negotiators will begin reconciling the differences between the proposals of each chamber and form the final budget.
Transportation budget
Simply put, transportation revenues are down. This budget is literally being held together with duct tape and bubble gum. It is a barebones budget that has been hit hard by the COVID shutdowns and isn’t nearly as robust as the operating and capital budgets. Fortunately, we have been able to keep the Puget Sound Gateway project on schedule so far. As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, the Gateway project will extend SR 167 from where it dead ends in Puyallup all the way to the Port of Tacoma.
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Capital budget
Earlier this week, the Legislature passed the capital budget with a 49-0 vote. This budget includes $6.236 billion in new capital projects including about $2 million in new projects right here in the 25th District. Some of these projects include assistance to an organization that helps children in foster care, improving a local trail connecting Fife to Tacoma, and improving some buildings in downtown Puyallup.
This proposed Senate budget will still need to be reconciled with the proposed budget from the house. I’ll send a thorough update once the budget is finalized.
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to reach out to my office by phone at (253) 840-4523 or by email at Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov.
 Happy Easter and it is an honor serving you!
 Chris Gildon
Senator, 25th LD
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