Gov. Bob Ferguson reveals plan to save $4 billion amid multibillion-dollar budget gap

Seven billion dollars down, $8 billion more to go.

At a Feb. 27 press conference, Gov. Bob Ferguson unveiled ideas aimed at addressing the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit. The current projected shortfall? About $15 billion over the next four years.

Ferguson said his proposals would save nearly $4 billion — $3,926,404,000 to be exact. That, he said, is on top of the roughly $3 billion in reductions that his predecessor previously suggested in December.

Ferguson’s approach would maintain all K-12 education investments, adopt all of former Gov. Jay Inslee’s suggested investments and boost the percentage of the state budget dedicated to K-12. It would also maintain all of the current biennium’s public safety investments.

Cash-benefit assistance programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families will stay. Washingtonians on Medicaid won’t lose their state health care coverage either.

Collective bargaining agreements with public servants would be honored, Ferguson said. However, some $300 million in savings would be realized by mandating that, over the next two years, most state workers take one furlough day per month. That furlough would exclude some employees, such as state troopers and prison staff.

K.D. Chapman-See, director of the Office of Financial Management, said the proposal includes a reduction of more than 1,000 full-time equivalent state-government positions over two years. Not all of those equate to layoffs, however, because some would be eliminated due to attrition and others already are vacant.

The governor’s office noted via email that Washington counts more than 75,000 state employees.

In addition, Ferguson proposes a 50% reduction in out-of-state travel for agencies, as well as a 25% decline in in-state travel. There is also a suggested 10% reduction in state-agency spending on equipment and other services and goods.

Ferguson said staff worked to create a plan “centering the needs of the people of our state, including those who are facing challenging times during this economy.”

“That does not mean, of course, that all these decisions were easy,” he said. “Our work was certainly complicated by the chaos and the threats from the Trump administration to our federal funding, which we talked about here in the past.”

While Ferguson referenced a projected $15 billion hole, Democratic lawmakers have been putting it at $12 billion and Republicans contend it’s more like $6.7 billion. The governor said he’s also seen varying numbers, but that $15 billion is what his team has advised.

Ferguson kept mum when it comes to possible new taxes.

Democratic state lawmakers for the past several weeks have mulled proposals to raise revenue while Republicans have insisted that the multibillion-dollar hole can be filled by slashing spending.

But Ferguson said it’s too soon to say whether he’ll sign on for more taxes. His focus has been on first finding ways to achieve savings.

Ferguson said his team examined areas where one-time federal funding was given to state programs during the pandemic. That stream has since largely dried up.

One example: The state’s agriculture department provides aid to food banks, and the program in 2019 received $12 million per biennium in general-fund support. During the pandemic, that program benefited from an influx of federal dollars, receiving $128 million in one-time federal funds in the 2021-23 biennium. That federal money has since sharply declined, leading the Legislature to help backfill the difference.

Today Ferguson suggests limiting the state general-fund investment to $82 million for the upcoming biennium, which he noted is still far higher than 2019 levels.

“If there wasn’t a budget shortfall, of course I wouldn’t do that, right?” Ferguson said. “But look, we’re not going to tax our way out of this thing. It’s not going to happen; $15 billion is a lot of money.”

At Thursday’s press conference, Ferguson said many of the proposed reductions should be made — even if the state weren’t facing a budget deficit.

Another suggestion that Ferguson highlighted on social media earlier in the week: nixing a $70,000 order, placed last year, to install fresh carpet in the Governor’s Office.

Others potential reductions and efficiencies detailed Thursday include:

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Saving $4.4 million over four years by ending a lease for a Department of Health warehouse that stored supplies throughout the pandemic.

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Saving $2.4 million over four years by having the state parks and ecology departments consolidate and share office space.

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Saving nearly $4 million by recommending the Department of Social and Health Services close a 24-bed unit due to declining population at the Special Commitment Center, and consolidating the remaining residents into existing units.

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Moving $1.1 million allocated to the Forest Practices Board for rulemaking back to the general fund. The board doesn’t expect rulemaking over the next four years, the governor’s office said.

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Saving nearly $90 million by shuttering unused Western State Hospital wards. Described as “warm closures,” such wards could later be reopened if necessary.

Other savings would be achieved by phasing in or pausing new programs or proposed expansions to programs that haven’t been implemented yet.

We just saved $70,000 by canceling an order placed last year to replace the carpet in the Governor’s Office.

That’s just one example of how thorough my team has been in scouring state spending. This work is critical in the face of the biggest budget deficit in state history. pic.twitter.com/h4R8CftdLG

— Governor Bob Ferguson (@GovBobFerguson) February 25, 2025

Lawmakers respond

Senate Ways and Means Chair June Robinson, an Everett Democrat, said lawmakers know that budget reductions are necessary. They plan to consider all options carefully.

“But we have also reached the conclusion that reductions alone will not allow us to sustain the services Washingtonians rely on,” Robinson said in a statement. “People expect a government that remains functional and responsive, especially in times of federal instability.”

House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon welcomed the governor’s budget recommendations in an emailed statement.

“Many of those recommendations overlap with reductions we are considering, and many of them are new reductions that we will consider as we continue our work to balance the budget while minimizing harm to Washingtonians,” the West Seattle Democrat said. “Earlier this week, House Democrats underscored the devastating impacts an all-cuts budget would have for our state’s people and families.”

State Sen. Chris Gildon, a Puyallup Republican and Senate Republican budget leader, applauded the governor for coming up with spending cut ideas in a timely manner. He said it allows budget writers room for consideration while there’s still time left in the session.

Gildon said in an emailed statement that if Republicans were charged with coming up with a new operating budget, they’d likely include many of Ferguson’s suggestions. Other cost-saving plans are “concerning,” he added, such as the furlough proposal.

“This plan sends a message to taxpayers: public servants will receive higher pay using $4 billion more of your tax dollars, and in return, you will receive 12 fewer days of service from them each year for two years,” Gildon said. “I doubt the people of our state will see this as a fair deal.”

Ferguson remained adamant that the aim is to approve a budget before the close of the regular legislative session. Sine die is April 27.