The $1.33 billion supplemental capital budget awaiting a signature by Gov. Jay Inslee will send more than $43 million in funds for projects in the 19th and 20th legislative districts, including nearly $2 million to fund the United Learning Center in Centralia.
Both chambers unanimously approved the final passage of the proposal on Wednesday, one of the last major actions of the session that ended Thursday. Roughly 10% of the budget is funded through capital bonds, which presents a unique opportunity for Republican input in a process where Democrats hold power in both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office.
"The high vote hurdle for borrowing money in the state's constitution encourages Democrats and Republicans to work together," Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, said. "When Republicans are actively engaged in the decision-making process, the outcome serves the best interests of the entire state."
The ranking member on the House Capital Budget Committee, Abbarno served as lead Republican negotiator and author of the proposal, which includes funding for K-12 school construction, mental health facilities, housing and early learning facilities.
Statewide, the budget includes more than $300 million for school construction and modernization and an additional $1 million for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to improve the formula that determines state assistance for school construction projects.
The plan also includes more than $100 million for behavioral health treatment, including $82.7 million in grants for community behavioral health projects. The budget includes more than $180 million for housing, nearly $100 million for the Department of Commerce community grant program and $51 million for natural resources.
"I appreciate the hard work and compromise from both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate," Abbarno said. "This community-up, not Olympia-down, budget will make smart investments in communities across Washington state on bipartisan priorities like behavioral healthcare, substance abuse treatment facilities, K-12 education, and home ownership."
A look at the 20th District
Abbarno, along with seatmates Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, and Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, secured funding for a variety of projects in the 20th District.
The budget includes $1.95 million for the Boys & Girls Club of Lewis County's United Learning Center, a project that has seen minimal progress since a groundbreaking in June 2021. When completed, the 12,800-square-foot United Learning Center will be built on the corner of West Maple and North Pearl streets in Centralia.
Other projects in the 20th District that received funding include $5.5 for Green Hill School to upgrade its heating and ventilation systems, $4.9 million for a Cowlitz County Public Utility District landfill methane capture project, $1.2 million for the Cascadia Tech Natural Resources Learning Center in Kalama, $250,000 for remodeling the La Center Wheel Club Community Center, $200,000 for the Southwest Washington Fair and Equestrian Center and $62,000 for a Kalama Community Building architectural survey.
A closer look at the 19th district
In the 19th District, Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, and Reps. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, and Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet, announced the budget includes more than $26.3 million for their district.
"It was an overwhelming success for the 19th Legislative District to receive such support in a supplemental budget year,” Wilson said in a statement. “We were able to fund a wide array of projects ranging from irrigation pumps for Lake Sacajawea in Longview to the Quinault Indian Nation Wellness Center, which serves both tribal and non-tribal members."
The Quinault Indian Reservation received the district’s largest investment, $7.8 million to fund the expansion of its wellness center. The Chehalis Wellness Center Renovation will receive $3 million, while the Raymond Manor Low-Income Senior Housing will receive $1.5 million.
"These projects are common-sense initiatives that enhance the quality of life in our district's neighborhoods,” Walsh said in a statement. “They represent the best use of state taxpayers' money. Olympia's capital budget is the most bipartisan and well-negotiated of the state's three budgets. It's built from the local level up. I just wish more things we do in Olympia were like that."
Additional projects receiving funds in the budget include:
• Coastal CAP Fire Remodel: $515,000
• Commercial platform lift: $17,000
• Kelso Rotary Park: $72,000
• Lake Sacajawea irrigation pump: $200,000
• Lincoln Creek Grange: $81,000
• Wahkiakum PUD — Puget Island Water Source Project: $309,000
• Lower Columbia College: Softball facilities: $700,00
• Julia Butler Hansen property analysis: $30,000
• Cowlitz County PUD landfill methane capture: $4.9 million
• Berwick Creek at Labree fish passage construction: $1.102 million
• Erick Creek Fish Passage Project: $1.748 million
• Scammon Creek at Graf Fish Passage Project: $908,000
• Middle Nemah River Phase 1 Restoration: $1.021 million
• Willapa Estuary juvenile habitat restoration: $1.8 million
"I am very pleased with the work that went into this year's budget, and the projects we were able to fund,” McEntire said in a statement. “These are projects which will make huge impacts all over the district for the hardworking taxpayers in our region."
