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Health & Fitness

House's new budget proposal approaches Senate budget

Yesterday afternoon, House budget writers, led by Rep. Ross Hunter, (D-Bellevue), released a new budget proposal, significantly narrowing the distance between its budget and the Senate’s. 

The new House proposal would spend $33.7 billion, yet still depends upon passage of a new tax. The Senate budget would spend $33.3 billion without increasing taxes.

Here is a comparison of education spending in these budgets:

House: $14.97 billion for K-12 Public Schools, $2.99 billion for Higher Ed.

Senate: $15.165 billion for K-12 Public Schools, $3.04 for Higher Ed.

The House budget shows an increase of $1.3 billion for K-12 public schools over the last biennium. The Senate budget proposes a $1.5 billion increase for K-12 public schools over the last biennium.

These significant increases in school spending are the Legislature’s response to the McCleary court case last year.

The day before yesterday, leaders of the Senate, Senator Schoesler (R-Ritzville), Senator Tom (D-Bellevue), and Senator Bailey (R-Oak Harbor) discussed the budget with members of the press. The senators are holding firm on reforms needed to secure sustainable budgets for Washington's future, including reforms to improve the business climate, so Washington doesn’t lose more Boeing jobs to South Carolina, passing genuine education reforms to truly strengthen the schools, not just "education lite," and prioritizing transportation spending on repairing bridges.

House and Senate budget writers are getting significantly closer to an agreement. That is good news on a sunny afternoon.

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