{"id":2984,"date":"2025-03-25T11:10:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T18:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/bateman\/?p=2984"},"modified":"2025-03-25T11:10:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T18:10:15","slug":"important-update-on-the-state-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/bateman\/2025\/03\/25\/important-update-on-the-state-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Important update on the state budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear friends and neighbors,<\/p>\n

The two subjects I\u2019ve received the most emails about from you this session are the chaos in the federal government and the plan for our state budget, especially when it comes to the many state employees living in our district. While we can\u2019t solve the former in the near term, today we have major news about our state budget and state employees.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, both the House and the Senate laid out our budget proposals. While different, the core ideas reflect our Democratic values. We approve the state employee collective bargaining agreements, increase funding for K-12 education and our public schools, and make dramatic new tax reforms to ensure the wealthiest few and the biggest corporations pay their fair share. There\u2019s more information online<\/a>, with the full fiscal details here<\/a>, but I want to share some specifics I know are important to our district.<\/p>\n

More information for state employees<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard from so many state employees about your opposition to furloughs. I won\u2019t sugarcoat it \u2014 the Senate budget proposes 13 furlough days, in the form of 8.67 hours of unpaid leave per month from July 2025 through June 2026. That\u2019s less than the 24 days over two years proposed by Gov. Bob Ferguson, but I know it\u2019s not news you want to hear. I want to make a few things clear about this.<\/p>\n

First, the Senate proposal is just half of the story. In the House\u2019s budget proposal, they don\u2019t have furloughs. As budget writers spend the next five weeks negotiating and reconciling these two proposals, I\u2019m going to be advocating with my colleagues that we adopt the House\u2019s approach and that we don\u2019t include furloughs in the final budget plan.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want furloughs to happen. The 22nd<\/sup> District has the highest concentration of public sector labor workforce in the state, and I am acutely aware of the work our state employees do and the value they bring to our communities. I was a state employee the last time they instituted furloughs, and I understand firsthand how difficult these pay cuts can be.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also been asked why furloughs are still being considered with the significant tax reforms we\u2019re proposing that ask the wealthiest among us to pay more in taxes. This is a great question. We don\u2019t want to double-down on our current unfair and antiquated tax code \u2014 we want new, better, more progressive options. But those new tax options won\u2019t generate revenue right away, and we won\u2019t see funds from our proposals until 2027. We need to balance the budget in the short term too, and that\u2019s why furloughs are still being discussed.<\/p>\n

The rest of the budget<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the progressive revenue bills we\u2019re proposing, we are able to preserve funding for vital services and programs Washingtonians depend on. While I know many of you are not happy about the proposed furloughs, there are many positive elements in the budget.<\/p>\n