House Appropriations Committee holds wide-ranging public hearing on proposed substitute HB 1198 operating budget

The House Appropriations Committee held a public hearing on the proposed substitute House Bill 1198, the operating‑budget proposal that lays out spending and savings across the 2025‑27 biennium. Mary Monroe, staff to the committee and the budget coordinator who opened the briefing, told members the package assumes the March 25 revenue forecast and that the bill leaves a near‑general fund outlook (NGFO) ending balance of about $1.2 billion at the end of the 2025‑27 biennium.

Why it matters: The briefing and more than 300 people who signed up to testify highlighted how the proposal’s cuts and restorations would affect courts, schools, behavioral‑health programs, homelessness services, long‑term care providers and local economic development. Witnesses repeatedly asked the committee to restore or adjust funding in targeted areas and flagged operational and implementation risks if changes are adopted as drafted.

Budget briefing and outlook: “The bill before you today is proposed substitute House Bill 11 98,” Mary Monroe said, adding the NGFO outlook rolls forward the March revenue forecast and reversion assumptions carried in the governor’s Book 2 proposal. She summarized the policy‑level net increase of roughly $5.1 billion in NGFO spending across a five‑year outlook and detailed projected reserve levels and reversion assumptions included in the package. Monroe and committee staff pointed members to the written PSHB 1198 summary for line‑by‑line items and to fiscal.wa.gov for full documents.

Requests from the judicial branch: Chief Justice Deborah Stevens, representing the judicial branch and the Administrative Office of the Courts, thanked the committee for funding a limited‑jurisdiction case management system but urged the House to restore money to move statewide court IT to the cloud. “The absence of that funding would be nothing short of devastating,” she said, adding that court education funding has been…