Washington lawmakers finalize spending plans for the year
Lawmakers are turning their attention in the final hours of the 2024 session to money.
More specifically, exactly how they want to spend lots of additional dollars in the second half of the state’s two-year budgeting cycle. Agreements for the supplemental operating and transportation budgets are awaiting action before Sine Die on Thursday. Lawmakers approved the capital budget on Wednesday.
The deals finalized this week reflect compromises between the House and Senate who each released their own budget proposals last month.
The big one
A year ago the Legislature approved a $69.8 billion operating budget to fund education, mental health services, health care, public safety and much more through June 2025. On Wednesday, House and Senate budget writers revealed their deal to spend another $2.1 billion in the next 16 months.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/03/06/washington-lawmakers-finalize-spending-plans-for-the-year/