WA lawmakers’ capital budgets boost housing, school & environment
March 31, 2025
In their proposals to fund statewide construction and upgrades over the next two years, Washington lawmakers are prioritizing projects focused on housing, education and the environment. The capital budget proposals released Monday by the House and Senate each allocate about $7 billion in funding.
The capital budget is one of three state funding plans the Legislature must pass this year, along with the operating and transportation budgets. Democrats released those proposals last week. Lawmakers must pass a compromised version of each budget by April 27 if they want to end their session on time.
Both chambers’ proposals for capital projects are similar and have bipartisan support.
“I wanted this budget to meet the basic needs of Washingtonians in all parts of our great state and to be responsive to our state’s most essential infrastructure needs,” said lead Senate capital budget writer Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma. “I think this budget accomplishes that mission.”
The Senate’s plan sets aside $600 million over the next two years for the Housing Trust Fund, the state’s largest pot for affordable housing grants. Similarly, the House would allocate $598 million for this fund, with specific earmarks for mobile home restoration, homeownership projects, housing for people with developmental disabilities, farmworker housing, tribal housing and local projects across the state.
In total, both proposals set aside more than $700 million over the next two years for housing and homelessness programs. That includes money for youth shelters, improvements to transitional housing for veterans and housing around transit.
“At a time when other state budgets are facing pressure and shortfalls, the capital budget stands out as a bright spot,” said Rep. Mike Steele, R-Chelan, top Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee.
Both budgets would make significant investments in the state’s natural resources through fish hatcheries, state park renovations and clean water supply projects. The proposals each set aside $2.2 billion in this area.
The Senate plan would change how the state pays to remove barriers like culverts that impede fish migration, specifically salmon and steelhead. Culverts carry streams under state highways but can block fish passages.
State officials are currently in mediation with western Washington tribes after delays and rising costs pushed back the state’s plan to remove these barriers across the state. The Department of Transportation says it likely needs another $5 billion to complete work to meet the state’s legal obligation to remove fish barriers.
Currently, the state pays for these projects through the transportation budget, but that funding faces a deficit over the next two years. To ensure the state can pay, capital budget writers in the Senate propose a $5 billion bond to be repaid over time from a share of taxes on public utilities.
The House, on the other hand, proposes continuing to fund this work in the transportation budget.
Both proposals invest heavily in schools, with the Senate and the House each setting aside more than $1 billion to support school construction, modernizing small district and tribal schools, classroom air-quality projects and seismic safety grants.
The capital budget would also fund expansions for behavioral health facilities, grants for early learning centers, stadium improvements ahead of the World Cup and restoration of historic buildings and museums.