Gov. Bob Ferguson to discuss budget proposals to address WA’s multibillion-dollar deficit
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is scheduled to discuss budget proposals — including roughly $4 billion in savings and government efficiencies — at a press conference Thursday, Feb. 27.
Ferguson is slated to speak at 11 a.m. in the Governor’s Conference Room at the state Capitol. The news event will be livestreamed on TVW.
The press conference comes as Washington state lawmakers are brainstorming ways to address a multibillion-dollar deficit in the two-year budget. Some projections put the gap at $12 billion.
In December, then-Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled a balanced budget proposal that included creating a wealth tax and increasing business and occupation taxes for certain companies.
Last month Ferguson announced his budget priorities, such as slashing state agency spending by at least $4 billion and pursuing other savings methods. That’s separate from the approximately $3 billion in delayed investments and one-time savings that Inslee identified in his proposed 2025-27 operating budget, as noted in a statement on the governor’s website.
“Washingtonians expect that we will increase revenue as a last resort,” Ferguson said at the time. “I will not start contemplating additional revenue options until we have exhausted efforts to improve efficiency.”
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