WA House, Senate advance capital budget proposals leaving little bond capacity

(The Center Square) – Committees in the state House and Senate advanced their respective chambers’ supplemental capital budget proposals on Thursday, setting them up for floor votes in the coming days.

The proposals are in addition to the $7.6 billion enacted 2025-27 capital budget, not a brand new one.

The Senate has proposed an additional $723.5 million in total budgeted funds, taking the total capital budget to about $8.3 billion. The House proposal adds $914.2 million, raising the total to $8.5 billion.

Both plans rely on a mix of funding from the Climate Commitment Act — a controversial cap-and-trade program — and debt-limit bonds, leaving only $4.4 million to $5.4 million in bond capacity. That means the Legislature can’t spend much el...