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Inslee proposal would use about $5 billion in bond authority and $9.2 billion total for capital projects
Summary
Jen Masterson, senior budget adviser for the capital budget at the Office of Financial Management, told the House Capital Budget Committee that Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed capital budget includes about $5 billion in bond authority and totals roughly $9.2 billion when all funds are included.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed capital budget would rely on roughly $5 billion in bond authority and total about $9.2 billion when all funds are included, a senior budget adviser told the House Capital Budget Committee at its Jan. 16 meeting.
For the record, Jen Masterson, senior budget adviser for the capital budget at the Office of Financial Management, said the governor’s plan follows the state treasurer’s bond model with adjustments tied to Inslee’s proposed revenue package and that those adjustments increased estimated bond capacity by $374,000,000. Masterson said proposed appropriations in the 2025 supplemental and the 2025–27 biennial capital budgets total just over $4.9 billion, leaving about $64,500,000 in bond authority available for a 2026 supplemental.
Masterson said the governor’s proposal includes $621,000,000 for housing programs and nearly $490,000,000 in climate-related investments. She described the largest climate category as building decarbonization and said about $200,000,000 of climate investments would come from the Climate Commitment Accounts. The budget also includes large local infrastructure proposals such as broadband funding—about $1.2 billion in combined federal and state sources—and a proposed $350,000,000 for the Public Works Assistance account.
Masterson outlined other priorities in the governor’s draft document: roughly $500,000,000 for behavioral health community capacity and state hospital support, funds for salmon recovery projects including hatcheries and riparian buffers with $94,000,000 from climate accounts, and a proposed $120,000,000 for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program and $85,000,000 for state parks improvements.
Masterson closed by noting the proposal includes appropriations across the supplemental and biennial budgets and that budget writers would use this package as a working draft while incorporating input from the incoming governor’s office.
Ending: The Capital Budget Committee opened HB 1216 (the capital budget) and HB 1202 (the bond bill) for public testimony after Masterson’s briefing; committee members and witnesses indicated the governor’s proposal will serve as the baseline for the budget-writers’ work this session.
