The Washington state Legislature finished this week, delivering one big win for Lewis County: initial funding toward the effort to relocate the WDFW’s Bob Oke Game Farm in Centralia.
The 20th and 19th Legislative Districts won big in capital project funding this year, but like other Washington state counties, they lost out on funding for public defense.
The 2026 supplemental capital budget was one of the last bills to be passed Thursday evening and delivered $50,000 to start the process of relocating the game farm originally included in a bill that died earlier in the session.
At 8:23 p.m. Thursday evening, state Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, and Senate President Denny Heck struck the gavels of their respective chambers to adjourn the year's legislative session in an action often known by its Latin nickname, sine die. The final hours of the session had their fair share of obstacles, including a holdup on data center tax breaks that threatened to push the Legislature into a special session, and just as things got going again, a fire alarm.
The wait for the false alarm to be cleared didn't spoil the celebration for ruling Democrats, though.
After the final adjournment, Democrats shared optimism and satisfaction with the results of the 2026 session while admitting the work of navigating a narrowly balanced budget that relies heavily on reserves is far from over.
“We’re not out of the woods on that by any stretch of the imagination, full stop,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said during a press conference shortly after the final gavel.
Republicans have lamented policies passed by majority Democrats, including the “millionaire’s tax,” an income tax that will almost certainly be challenged in the courts.
Washington state counties specifically, and Lewis County among them, grieved the loss of a new revenue stream for public defense that was cut out of the high-earner income tax bill in the final days of the session.
In a press conference shortly after the final gavel, Democrats admitted public defense at the state and local levels would continue to be a prominent issue moving forward.
“It’s an issue that we're going to have to continue to grapple with. There's no doubt about it, but we just weren't able to fit that in the budget this year,” Chief Senate Budget Writer Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, said.
Sen. Manka Dhingrah, D-Redmond, took a more optimistic approach, pointing to a bill sponsored by state Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, that did not make it to the finish line this session as the first step to a solution. If passed, that bill would convene a state taskforce to study and consider indigent defense funding and report directly to the legislature.
In one of the final acts of business in the Washington state House of Representatives Thursday evening, the chamber unanimously passed the 2026 supplemental capital budget contained in Senate Bill 6003. The budget is often negotiated in a bipartisan manner and benefits districts across the state.
This year, the capital budget included one of Lewis County’s biggest wins: a start to relocating the Bob Oke Game Farm and addressing nitrate contamination in the groundwater near Centralia.
“It’s homes that are repaired and protected from flood, from rising sea levels, even nitrates in the soil getting into the groundwater,” said state Rep Lisa Callan, D-Issaquah, in her final remarks before asking members of the chamber to vote yes on the budget bill.
Legislation sponsored by state Reps Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, and Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, House Bill 2668, mandates the start of the farm's relocation. The bill was seemingly abandoned earlier in the session. However, it now lives on after being implemented directly into the state's capital budget. Orcutt and Abbarno serve on the House transportation and capital budget committees, respectively.
"I am quite pleased to be able to secure funding for so many projects throughout our district, even more than in preliminary versions,” Orcutt said. “The funding we secured will fund projects and protect critical infrastructure for numerous entities in our community."
Similar to the abandoned bill, the capital budget now sets a timeline for the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to identify a new suitable location for the Bob Oke Game Farm, first considering properties already owned by the department. The budget includes $50,000 for that relocation effort and requires WDFW to submit a list of possible new locations for the game farm to relevant lawmakers by Dec. 1, 2026.
Also like the abandoned bill, the capital budget requires that WDFW seek funding in the state's 2027-2029 capital budget for pre-design and other costs to evaluate potential new sites for the game farm. Finally, it stipulates the department submit a budget request for the 2029-2031 budget for final relocation of the game farm.
“It is the further intent of the Legislature that once a preferred location has been identified, the department shall submit a capital appropriations request for the 2029-2031 biennial capital appropriations act,” reads the budget, “and that the department shall continue to seek funding until the game farm has been relocated.”
For the 20th Legislative District, several projects were included in the final supplemental capital budget, including:
• $6 million for construction at Green Mountain School in Woodland
• $1.552 million for a Public Health Building renovation and upgrades in Chehalis
• $1.545 million for the Carlisle Lake Dam Safety Improvement project in Onalaska
• $772,000 for the Yacolt Community Center in Yacolt
• $150,000 for the detox/inpatient substance use disorder building in Chehalis
• $100,000 for the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds 4-H Barn roof replacement in Centralia
• $100,000 for the Port of Ridgefield Waterfront Park in Ridgefield
• $48,000 to support school modernization planning for the Napavine School District
• $45,000 for the Forest Grange Renovations and Revitalization Project in Chehalis
• $30,000 for the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds surface and drainage improvement project in Centralia
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on bills concerning the Bob Oke Game Farm, visit https://tinyurl.com/ym2j9ywt.
