Inlsee pushes for state Capital Construction Budget “NOW!”
Just hours before the first scheduled committee vote on the long-stalled state Capital Construction Budget, Gov. Jay Inlsee used his annual “State of the State” address to a joint session of the Legislature to light a fire for action.
“It’s absolutely crucial that we pass a Capital Budget as one of the first orders of business,” the governor said.
The construction budget was blocked last spring by the old majority in the state Senate over an unrelated water-rights issue. That froze 19,000 jobs in construction and jeopardized initiatives for affordable housing and expanded capacity in Mental Health. That plan can languish no more, he said.
“Send the Capital Budget to my desk NOW!” Inslee declared.
The first committee vote to fast track the Capital Construction Budget, SHB 1075, was scheduled late Tuesday afternoon in the House Capital Budget Committee.
The governor also used his speech to condemn sexual harassment wherever it occurs, to urge passage of a package of voting-expansion bills, to support a carbon tax for new revenue and to address the specter of global warming.
“Let’s get to work together,” Inslee said.
He also took note of our state’s leading role in resisting forces outside our state that don’t have our interests at heart.
“The people of our state have stood proudly together for civility, tolerance and liberty,” Inslee said.
