OLYMPIA, WA – When Washington’s 147 legislators kicked off the 2025 session three months ago, solving the problem of an ever-growing shortfall in the state’s next operating budget topped their to-do list.

They haven’t done it yet. They’ve got 13 days, or roughly 300 hours, left to find a solution in order to finish on time and avoid a special session. And the latest barometer of the state’s economy shows the situation is worsening.

This isn’t the only uncompleted task on the legislative checklist.

Huge differences on a rent cap bill need reconciling. There’s a transportation budget to finish writing and the amount of a gas tax hike to settle on. And public school students may wind up with their own bill of rights, as their parents did last year, or maybe not.

Start the clock. Set it for 11:59:59 on April 27. That’s the final scheduled moment of the regular session. The last time lawmakers went into extended overtime was 2017 when it took three special sessions to get a budget deal.

Tax and spend

Democrats in the House and Senate drew up spending plans for the two-year budget cycle that starts July 1. Then they used their majorities to pass them over the objections of Republicans.

GOP members opposed them because each counts on historically large tax increase proposals to overcome the shortfall, pegged by the governor to be $16 billion spread over the next four fiscal years. And none of those taxes had been voted on in either chamber.

Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson upended the process when he put the kibosh on Democrats relying on billions from an untested tax on the assets of really wealthy people to balance the ledger sheet.

Now, the status is unclear for other major pieces of their revenue-raising plan. This includes a payroll tax on large employers, higher business taxes on corporate and banking giants and lifting the cap on what cities, counties and the state can collect in property taxes each year. There’s formidable opposition to each.

Democratic lawmakers and Ferguson agree any solution will involve some taxes. The conversation is focused now on which ones. There could be more clarity later this week.

Meanwhile, budget negotiators need to settle on where to shave spending. There are many tough decisions in that arena.

For example, Ferguson and Senate Democrats are interested in furloughing state workers; hundreds of employees loudly dissented last week. And, with public schools, the Senate pumps about $800 million more into special education than the House. Getting more dollars into the operation of public schools was the topic of a February rally of students, parents and educators.

The differences fill a spreadsheet. Until they know what taxes they can pass, Democrats will be hard-pressed to make final decisions on where to trim.

Politics at the pump

Washington lawmakers must also adopt a new two-year budget for the state’sits transportation system before calling it quits. That’s not simple.

The Senate-passed proposal spends about $1 billion more than the House. It also shifts future spending obligations tied to removing barriers to fish passage over to the capital budget while the House pencils in more money to deal with these culverts.

There’s another problem. Incoming revenues, primarily from the gas tax and vehicle fees, aren’t enough to carry out long-promised projects. So the House and Senate each assembled a package of new and higher fees plus a bump up of the state’s nearly highest-in-the-nation gas tax.

There’s disagreement here too. The Senate’s plan is anchored by a 6-cent per gallon increase in the state’s current 49.4-cent gas tax, with 2% increases each year after to account for inflation. The House wants to raise the state tax 9 cents, and then index it to inflation. Senators approved a much longer list of new and higher fees than House members.

Ferguson has not publicly signaled which lane he’s in. He’s not even said if he’ll sign a gas tax increase.

Rent cap clash

House Democrats want a statewide cap on residential rent increases. It’s a top policy priority. They had high hopes the Senate, which blocked it last year, had shifted far enough to the left to make it happen.

Twenty-nine of the 30 Democratic senators did vote to pass House Bill 1217. Not before making substantive changes, like hiking the limit on rent increases to 10% plus inflation in a single year, up from the 7% cap the House backed. The Senate also exempted single-family homes and set the law to expire in 15 years.

A conference committee of four Democrats and two Republicans will likely be deployed to wordsmith a version that the majority party in each chamber can stomach enough to approve. Republicans have been and will be a hard no.

Schoolhouse rocks

There’s been much gnashing of teeth among Democratic lawmakers since they enacted the parental “bill of rights” initiative last session. They intend this session on, in their words, fixing language in that 2024 law to clear up confusion and conform its provisions with existing statutes.

Senate Bill 5181 is the vehicle. It reached the House floor Monday. At each stop, Republicans and those who helped get Initiative 2081 to lawmakers last spring say it rolls back the rights granted to parents.

In the meantime, House Democrats drew up House Bill 1296, which they describe as a “bill of rights” for students. Opponents decry it as an attempt to further weaken the initiative and undermine the authority of school districts.

The two bills were united at one point this session. Now they’re not. Both could get to the governor’s desk. Both may not. And, as is often the case this session, the new governor has yet to voice an opinion publicly.

Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.