Washington Governor Jay Inslee told lawmakers that passage of $4 billion two-year capital budget was a crucial first order of business this session.
In his annual State of the State address on Tuesday, Inslee also told legislators that while they’ve passed a plan that satisfies a state Supreme Court mandate on education funding, they need to expedite the timeline for putting about another $1 billion to fully pay for the teacher and staff salary portion of the plan. Inslee touted his supplemental budget proposal that calls for using the state reserves to do so.
Meanwhile, Inslee is making a forceful push for a carbon tax. He has previously said he wants to use state reserves to help pay for education improvements and backfill that reserve withdrawal with about $1 billion in carbon tax revenues.
The governor also pushed for bills to increase voter participation and equitable representation, and called on lawmakers to protect net neutrality for Washington residents. Inslee also says there is work to do on fighting the opioid crisis, as well as addressing gun violence. He called on the Legislature to ban bump stocks, close the loophole on semi-automatic rifles, and require the safe storage of firearms.
While there is currently a moratorium on the death penalty, Inslee also called for an official end to the death penalty in the state. (AP, Spokesman-Review)
