(The Center Square) – Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson has released his office’s budget priorities, which call for $4 billion in reduced spending by Washington state agencies while describing new taxes as a “last resort.”
The call for reduced spending is in response to a multi-billion shortfall for the upcoming 2025-2027 biennium, though the deficit for the next four years could be as high as $16 billion, according to Gov. Jay Inslee. As previously reported by The Center Square, the budget deficit is driven by an enormous increase in state spending since 2014, as state revenue is currently at record-highs due in part to the Legislature enacting dozens of new taxes over the past decade.
Ferguson’s rhetoric is at odds to an extent with the philosophy of Inslee’s budget proposal; though Inslee called for reduced
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