Governor's office signs capital budget with $960 million for affordable housing
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Summary
The Governor's Office signed Senate Bill 6003, the capital budget that includes historic investments in affordable housing—bringing the biennium total to $960 million—and funds for school construction, tribal clean energy and flood recovery.
The Presenter signed the capital budget, Senate Bill 6003, in Olympia, celebrating what they called "the largest state funded housing investment in any supplemental budget in Washington state history." The Presenter said the package "invests more than $200,000,000 in affordable housing" and "brings Washington's total affordable housing investment for this biennium to $960,000,000."
Why it matters: the Presenter framed the budget as a response to a statewide housing shortage, saying "We literally need 1000000 new homes by 2044, and half of those need to be affordable housing," and highlighted that nearly half of renters spend more than a third of their income on rent. The capital budget directs funds to build and preserve units and support communities hit by recent extreme weather.
Key details: the Presenter listed specific allocations in the capital budget, including $123,000,000 in additional funding to the Housing Trust Fund (which the Presenter said helps build or preserve approximately 3,000 units), $45,000,000 to preserve and repair affordable housing, roughly $9,000,000 for farmworker housing, $1,000,000 to replace damaged trailers in Monitor Park (Chelan County), $63,000,000 to develop about 1,600 new affordable rental units, and another $63,000,000 to build roughly 600 units for first-time homebuyers. The budget also includes investments in school construction (including $71,000,000 for small school districts and tribal compact schools), $30,000,000 for tribal clean energy and climate resilience, and $46,000,000 for flood response and prevention.
Process and acknowledgments: the Presenter repeatedly thanked legislators, sponsors and the budget team, naming Senator Yasmin Trudeau, Representative Steve Tharinger and Representative Lisa Kallen as prime sponsors and expressing appreciation for public testimony and stakeholder engagement. The signing was ceremonial and included photos with sponsors and staff.
What happens next: the project-specific allocations will move to implementation through state agencies and local grantees; the Presenter and sponsors said they expect continued work during the interim to finalize administrative steps and project details.
