Thurston County hears legislative debrief; staff warn of continued budget pressure, outline state funding wins and shortfalls

Olympia — Thurston County commissioners on June 18 received a briefing on the 2025 Washington State legislative session that county lobbyists said was marked by deep budget shortfalls, difficult policy choices and a handful of specific investments the county could pursue.

Devin Gia, a lobbyist with Capital Consulting, told the Board of County Commissioners the session lasted 105 days and that legislators faced a multi‑billion dollar shortfall that forced significant cuts and new revenue discussions. “It was a long session. It was 105 days,” Gia said. He summarized the fiscal picture as a roughly $16 billion deficit in the operating budget and about a $1 billion shortfall in the transportation budget for the upcoming biennium.

Gia said the legislature made more than $7 billion in cuts to the four‑year operating budget and that revenue bills passed but contained limits and tradeoffs for local governments. He highlighted three revenue measures discussed by staff: a change to the business & occupation tax affecting only the state portion (listed as “2081” in the briefing), an expansion of the capital‑gains tax (listed as “5813” in the briefing) that raises rates above the first $1 million of gains, and other excise and fee changes. Gia said the operating budget reductions left some state shared revenue streams relatively intact for counties this biennium, but cautioned that the…