Next year, businesses making less than $125,000 a year will not pay state business taxes. In addition, those making up to $250,000 a year will have their business taxes cut in half. The supplemental operating budget spends state or federal money on increasing rates to vendors providing services to people with developmental disabilities or long-term care needs and shoring up the state’s paid family leave program. It also adds more social supports like nurses and counselors for students.
Governor Inslee also signed a $1.5 billion state construction budget that spends on areas ranging from housing, homelessness, behavioral health facilities, and seismic upgrades at public schools. The $64.1 billion supplemental state budget, however, spends on statewide programs ranging from homelessness, behavioral health and the COVID-19 response.
The supplemental plan is a carry on from the $59 billion plan adopted by the Legislature in 2021. That plan benefited from revenues the state has seen over the past year. More than $1 billion in remaining pandemic-related federal relief funds were used in the budget. State workers were also placed in the budget.
Roughly 63,800 general government employees will get a 3.25% general wage increase. Close to 7,000 state corrections workers will get a 4% general wage increase and close to 1,200 state patrol officers will get a 10% general wage increase.
The breakdown of the funds has $800 million allocated for homelessness and housing as well as $50 million to transition unhoused people from unsanctioned camps to housing. There are no general tax increases in the plan. An important goodie was the small business tax credit that was included for over 125,000 small businesses.
