Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview
OLYMPIA – A special $1 million appropriation to ensure smooth sailing for the Wahkiakum County Ferry is among the highlights of budget measures passed by the Washington Senate last week as lawmakers enter the final phase of their 2026 legislative session.
The special ferry appropriation was contained in the supplemental transportation budget approved in the Senate Friday. Also winning passage Friday was an operating budget that will take the state over $80 billion for the first time, as well as a capital construction budget that will finance projects across the state.
The Legislature’s three main budget bills now advance to the House for further consideration. Lawmakers have less than two weeks to come to a final agreement before their scheduled adjournment on March 12.
Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, said the transportation bill will restore a $150,000 cut to ferry funding made by last year’s legislature. Since 1992 the state has covered 85 percent of ferry’s operating deficit. The ferry, which crosses the Columbia between Cathlamet, Wash. and Westport, Ore., is the only river crossing between the bridges at Longview and Astoria. Wilson said it provides a vital link for Southwest Washington, especially when the Lewis and Clark Bridge at Longview is closed for repair or when road closures force major detours.
“That ferry has saved the day for us so many times, I am glad we can return the favor,” Wilson said. “This might not sound like much, but in a small county like Wahkiakum, it has a big impact.”
Wilson obtained an appropriation in the Senate Transportation Committee that would restore the cut and provide a total $986,000 to cover the state’s share of the ferry deficit. The transportation budget passed the full Senate 49-0.
Also passing the Senate unanimously Friday was the supplemental capital budget, which finances brick-and-mortar construction and other public works projects using a combination of bonds and other sources of revenue. Appropriations included in the Senate version of the budget for the 19th Legislative District include:
- $6 million to modernize the historic Evaline School in Lewis County, one of the last operating two-room schools in Washington, which serves students from Kindergarten to sixth grade. Money will pay for HVAC upgrades and foundation and structural repairs,
- $3 million for improvements to David Story Field at Lower Columbia Community College,
- $250,000 to upgrade water mains on South Forest Street in Westport, WA, and
- $50,000 for restoration of the Skamokawa Grange Hall in Wahkiakum County, defraying the cost of siding replacement and foundation repairs.
Wilson noted that the House version of the budget includes additional projects for the district, including a remodel of the 38th Avenue fire station in Longview and roof repairs for the Eagles Apartments in Raymond and the Eagle Pointe Village Apartments in Cathlamet. Wilson said he hopes all will be accommodated in the final capital budget bill.
Meanwhile, the operating budget remains the focus of partisan debate as the signature bill of this and any legislative session. Proposals from Democratic budget-writers would add about $2.3 billion in new spending, bringing total spending for 2025-27 to $80.1 billion. The proposal passed on a strict party-line vote, 30-19.
Republicans complained that the plan continues the mistakes of the past, using one-time money to launch new obligations, while failing to make needed course corrections to bring spending in line with tax collections. Wilson said the lack of fiscal restraint will continue the Legislature’s cycle of fiscal crises and tax increases.
“Our colleagues appear to be creating a problem for an income tax to solve,” Wilson said. “Even if they pass their high-earners income tax this year, they’re spending money so fast they won’t be able to keep up. If you wonder why we say their income tax would be expanded to all of us in short order, it’s because they keep passing irresponsible budgets like this one.”