H-0391.2
HOUSE BILL 1225
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Couture, Connors, Low, Jacobsen, Rude, McClintock, Keaton, Walsh, Ley, Dufault, Barnard, and Caldier
Prefiled 01/09/25. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
AN ACT Relating to reforming the Washington state budgeting process through requiring prioritized spending on essential state functions, placing limitations on state spending and revenue proposals, and requiring accountability for every dollar spent within the state budget; amending RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.055 ; adding new sections to chapter 43.88 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that the exponential growth of state operating budgets is imprudent, unsustainable, and threatens the ability of the state to provide essential services to Washington citizens. While caseloads for essential programs have fallen and revenue collections have reached record levels, the pernicious trend of vastly growing budgets focused on nonessential luxury spending has led to one of the largest budget deficits in state history.
These exponential increases in state budgets have come with little benefit to the citizens of Washington state. Over the past decade, Washington state has experienced declining student test scores, fewer students attending postsecondary education, significant spikes in the number of unsheltered homeless individuals in our communities, stagnant carbon emissions, skyrocketing violent crime rates, a worsening housing shortage, severe increases in the cost of housing, steep drops in business climate, and has become one of the least affordable states for working families in the nation. Despite the multitude of promises made about increased state spending to fix these crises, this legislature has unequivocally failed to deliver on these commitments.