Democratic Governor-elect Ferguson proposes bold spending cuts, echoing what Republicans have wanted; 4 things to expect from WA’s 2025 legislative session

Democratic Governor-elect Ferguson proposes bold spending cuts, echoing what Republicans have wanted

MyNorthwest — Ferguson’s cost-cutting proposals align with his campaign promise to reduce state spending, a stance that has resonated with Republican leaders who have long argued that Washington’s financial woes stem from excessive spending, not a revenue shortage. “Raising taxes is not the solution,” House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, a Republican, said minutes before Ferguson’s announcement. “We can definitely find the necessary savings without raising new taxes.”

4 things to expect from WA’s 2025 legislative session

The Seattle Times — As part of his budget proposal released Thursday, Ferguson, sticking to his campaign promises, is suggesting a $100 million investment over two years for the hiring and retention of law enforcement officers in the state, noting he believes it is not acceptable Washington ranks “dead last” with the numbers of law enforcement officers per capita. Republicans agreed Thursday. “We have a severe public safety crisis facing Washington, and the Legislature needs to do things about it,” said House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn. Stokesbary added that Republicans this session will have bills to provide funding for police officers in local municipalities in order to increase hiring around the state. $

CHILD CARE

• Childcare costs breaking the budget (KXLY TV)

COURTS (STATE)

• Judge rules in favor of plaintiff on key points of Lummi Island ferry lawsuit against county (The Bellingham Herald) $

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• The Spotlight: Using kids as accomplices in organized theft rings (FOX 13)
• King County Metro to pay tribute to slain bus driver with citywide memorial, procession (KING TV)
• OPINION: King County Metro will honor murdered driver for years to come (Michelle Allison, general manager of King County Metro./The Seattle Times)

DRUG CRISIS

• Empty cribs: Why is a WA nursery for drug-affected babies nearly empty during a fentanyl crisis? (KING TV)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Washington fire officials urge residents to prepare as California wildfires rage (KIRO TV)
• Pacific Northwest’s most active (undersea) volcano could erupt this year (The Seattle Times) $

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Biden banned Russian uranium. Richland hopes to land $3B nuclear fuel plant with 1,000 jobs (Tri-City Herald) $
• Do Puget Sound Energy “Flex events” really work? Yes, but not in the way you might think (The Olympian) $

ENVIRONMENT

• Where will all the waste go? King County’s only landfill expected to be completely full by 2040 (Snoqualmie Valley Record) $

FISH

• Northern Pikeminnow program pays anglers to protect young salmon and steelhead (KNDO/KNDU)

HANFORD

• Locked out guards at Hanford nuclear site reach contract deal on 23.5% pay increase (Tri-City Herald) $

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Health workers are still traumatized by the pandemic. Could magic mushrooms help? (KNKX Radio)
• 1st look inside Eastern WA’s new $125M hospital. It has more of everything (Tri-City Herald) $

HIGHER EDUCATION

• University of Washington student in conflict over enrollment innovation (KING TV)

HOMELESSNESS

• Washington among states with highest homeless population (Axios – Seattle)
• Spokane opening homeless facility downtown after delaying good neighbor agreements (The Center Square)
• Washougal joins cities around the US with anti-camping restrictions aimed at homeless (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

HOUSING

• Washington lawmakers revive plan for state cap on rent increases (Washington State Standard)
• Interest rates continue to drag down housing market in Washington (Columbia Basin Herald) $

IMMIGRATION

• Strong bipartisan support in U.S. Senate advances bill expanding immigration detention (States Newsroom/Washington State Standard)

INSURANCE

• As California faces insurance cancellations, WA homeowners wonder about coverage gaps (FOX 13)

INVASIVE SPECIES

• No hope of beetle eradication if property owners don’t get yards sprayed, state says (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Ferguson presses for $100M police hiring plan (Washington State Standard)
• WA cop shortage persists statewide as lawmakers gear up in Olympia (Cascade PBS)

LEGISLATURE

• WA leaders talk budget deficit, other priorities ahead of legislative session (FOX 13)
• Dent continues as lead Republican on House Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee (Daily Record) $
• Chapman to chair Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee (KONP Radio)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle is spending $5.3M to help women move away from commercial sex work (The Center Square)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• JBLM Army doctor admits he sexually abused dozens of soldiers (The Seattle Times) $

OPERATING BUDGET

• Governor-elect Ferguson proposes sweeping budget cuts to combat $12B shortfall (KING TV)
• Governor-elect Ferguson calls for $4 billion in state cuts to offset budget shortfall (KOMO TV)
• How does Governor-elect Bob Ferguson plan to balance WA’s massive budget? (KIRO TV)
• Ferguson pitches spending cuts, voices skepticism of ‘wealth tax’ (Washington State Standard)
• Ferguson ‘skeptical’ of wealth tax, pitches broad cuts to address WA budget gap (NW News Network)
• Ferguson opposes wealth tax, calls for spending cuts, but boost for K-12 (The Seattle Times) $
• Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson unveils $4 billion in cuts amid ‘very significant budget shortfall’ (The Spokesman-Review) $
• Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson proposes $4B in reduced spending to help narrow WA’s budget gap (The Olympian) $

OTHER STATES

• Gov. Tina Kotek extends Oregon’s homelessness emergency declaration once again (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Thousands of Providence workers begin largest health care strike in Oregon history (The Oregonian) $
• LA fires could drastically drive up insurance premiums — and test California’s new market rules (CalMatters/Washington State Standard)

PARKS

• Millions earmarked for downtown Seattle parks improvements ahead of 2026 World Cup (Puget Sound Business Journal) $

POLITICS

STATE

• The economy continues to rank among Washington’s top priorities, new poll shows (The Spokesman-Review) $

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Vancouver Public Schools superintendent reported alleged teacher sexual misconduct in early December (The Columbian) $
• Bainbridge Island School District facing two sexual abuse lawsuits (Kitsap Sun) $

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Who will helm WA’s health care agencies? Ferguson announces 2 temporary appointments (The News Tribune) $

TAXES

• Property tax relief bill proposed by WA lawmaker as majority considers increase (The Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION

• Feds kick in $108M to finally finish widening dangerous Highway 12 after 22 years (Tri-City Herald) $
• Governor-elect Ferguson visits Whidbey to talk about ferries, signals his commitment (Whidbey News-Times) $
• COLUMN: Seattle congestion increased 9% in 2024 as workers returned to office (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times)

TRANSPORTATION BUDGET

• Washington faces transportation funding crisis but road usage charge still iffy proposition (MyNorthwest)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• ‘A different standard’: Native Americans searched at far higher rates by WSP, data shows (InvestigateWest/The News Tribune) $

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Help is on the way: Snohomish County firefighters en route to LA fires (The Everett Herald) $
• Wildfire smoke increases dementia risk, study finds (Axios – Seattle)

WILDLIFE

• Fish and Wildlife proposes new grizzly bear protection rules (Capital Press) $

---

Stories that are behind a paywall are denoted with a $ symbol, allowing readers to identify content that requires a subscription to access in full.