Lekanoff’s Latest | Budget week & Billy Frank Jr. statue meeting scheduled

||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. DEBRA LEKANOFF |||

Happy Fantastic Friday! 

It’s budget week in Olympia! With only a few weeks left in the 2022 legislative session, my colleagues and I are hard at work finalizing the details of supplemental state budgets to best meet the needs of our communities. While some of the specifics may change as these budgets make their way through the legislative process, I wanted to give you an update on some of the proposed investments that I’m most excited about.

House Democrats release supplemental budget proposal to move Washington past the pandemic 

On Monday, the House Democratic budget team offered up a proposal that is all about moving past the pandemic and getting back to normal, but still prioritizing recovery for families that are struggling. When COVID-19 struck our state, we worked on a budget that was equitable, inclusive, and tried to help everyone recover. That included business and rental assistance, food and utility support, and major funding investments in health care, public health, and housing. It was clear that some communities were hit harder than others and this uneven recovery isn’t working for all of us. A year later, we’re still seeing some communities struggling to get back on their feet, and problems that existed prior to 2020 still exist today. Some are even worse than before. 

Even with these challenges, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Masks are coming off, vaccines and boosters are available to everyone, and people are going back out into their communities and workplaces. With that sense of normalcy returning, everyone deserves to come out of this pandemic better than they went into it. It’s time for smart, strategic investments in what families and workers in Washington need. If we invest now, every family benefits from the better future we’ll be building for Washington. That’s what you deserve.

Here are just a few of the major highlights from the House budget proposal:

• K-12 Education: $808M
  Stabilizes school enrollment & transportation funding, provides additional school nurses & counselors, improves student nutrition, and increases the cap on WA’s Running Start program.
• Children, Youth, and Families: $282M
  Expands access to Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), increases reimbursements for family child care providers, and provides additional resources to support young people in and out of foster care.
• Homelessness & Housing: $364M
  Provides additional resources for utility & rent assistance, homeless provider stipends, and landlord mitigation.
• Economic Development & Human Services: $628M
  Offers funding to support hospitality businesses hit hardest by the pandemic, allocates resources for small business disaster relief and recovery, creates a Labor Day Weekend sales tax holiday, provides additional food assistance, and expands Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) including diaper subsidies for new families.
• Behavioral Health: $333M
  Allocates additional funding to support behavioral health providers impacted by the pandemic; as well as increasing available resources for non-Medicaid behavioral health services; opioid response programs; housing & employment for those struggling with behavioral health challenges; and crisis, outreach, and diversion programs.

Our progress prior to the pandemic wasn’t good enough, and now we have a chance to make better, smarter choices. Things won’t change overnight, and problems won’t go away without hard work. But we made it through two years of lockdowns, restrictions, masks, remote learning, remote work, crowded hospitals, and missed holidays. We’ve proven that by working together, we move forward together. We deserve a better Washington. So, let’s build it together. I’m excited to vote for this budget and I hope you’ll join me in supporting the House Democratic Supplemental Budget as we move toward a final budget in our negotiations with the Senate. 

Get more information on the House Democrat’s 2022 Supplemental Operating Budget proposal. 

Watch the recent public hearing on the budget proposal in the Appropriations Committee.

Capital budget means jobs and progress 

Washington’s capital budget generally provides funding support for buildings and physical infrastructure projects throughout the state. Those can include investments in affordable housing and shelter for families, broadband and water system upgrades, K-12 school improvements, and more. This year’s $1.26 billion construction budget proposed by House Democrats would make massive new investments in affordable housing, access to broadband, early learning, and other vital infrastructure. 

This is a highly unusual supplemental capital budget, as most years there is perhaps a few hundred million dollars in new projects in spending. This year is different due to one-time infusions from the state general fund ($737 million) and aid from the federal government ($264 million). The remainder is funded via state bonds ($290 million).  

Find more details about the budget.

Major investments are broken down into the following areas:  

Affordable housing and behavioral health  

Move Ahead Washington 

Earlier this week, the House Transportation Committee passed the bills (HB 2119 and HB 2118) that determine funding and investments for the proposed transportation package, Move Ahead Washington. 

This transformative proposal focuses on meeting the needs we heard from people across the state. We’re committed to funding that puts our environment and working families first, as well as projects that prioritize underinvested neighborhoods and infrastructure. 

I look forward to voting for Move Ahead Washington on the House floor! 

Billy Frank Jr. National Statuary Hall Selection Committee

Last session, the Legislature passed HB 1372, my bill to authorize putting a statue of Billy Frank Jr. — who was a dedicated advocate for equality, justice, and environmental protections — in the National Statuary Hall collection in Washington D.C. and created a committee to oversee the replacement process. 

I am pleased to invite you to the first meeting of the Billy Frank Jr. National Statuary Hall Selection Committee, which will be held virtually on Wednesday, March 15 from 9am to 10:30am. The meeting is open to the public, so please feel free to share the meeting link with others!

Link to attend: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85419559819.

Thank you all for taking to the time to read this week’s Fantastic Friday, and for taking an interest in our progress at the House of Representatives. I will be sending out a Fantastic Friday letter each week throughout the legislative session. 

Please feel free to reach out to me using the information below, with any questions, inquiries, or concerns you may have.

I am here for you!