House budget proposal seeks $3 billion in new revenue
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — House Democrats on Monday released a two-year state budget plan that proposes $3 billion in additional revenue — including a tax increase on some businesses and a new capital gains tax — to address a court mandate on education funding.
At a news conference announcing the plan, Democrats lauded the investments in not only education, but in mental health and other social services.
Democratic Rep. June Robinson said that the budget proposal "reflects the values of our caucus and the people of Washington state."
"We know that we need new revenue to fully fund education and still provide the critical services that Washingtonians expect," she said.
However, Democrats said while they plan to pass their spending plan on the House floor Friday, they won't likely take a vote in that chamber on any of the tax bills that pay for it before completing negotiations with Senate Republicans, who passed their own budget plan last week.
Republican Sen. John Braun, the key budget write in the chamber, said that until Democrats can show that they have the votes in their own chamber for the revenue, negotiations will be stymied.
"You can have no real negotiations until they show everything they want to do is more than just a spending list," he said.
The House proposal was to receive a public hearing on Monday afternoon, and was expected to be voted out of committee Tuesday. A floor vote is expected on Friday. The tax bills will have public hearings next Monday, and be passed out committee the following day, lawmakers said, but would go no further unless they are part of a final negotiated plan.