WA lawmakers return with money to spend, differing goals

By CHRIS GRYGIEL
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Flush with cash, Washington state lawmakers return to Olympia next week with Democrats and Republicans disagreeing over how to spend the unexpected windfall. A revenue forecast released in November showed $898 million above what had been predicted for the 2021-2023 budget cycle. And projections for the next two-year budget cycle that ends in mid-2025 increased by more than $965 million. When the Legislature convenes Monday it will be tasked with adjusting the $59 billion budget passed last year. Republicans say it’s time to invest in Washington’s aging transportation infrastructure of dilapidated roadways and an unreliable state ferry system. Democrats, who have majority control, say they’d like to send the surplus helping those in need.