Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson unveils $4 billion in cuts amid ‘very significant budget shortfall’

Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson unveiled a plan Thursday he says could save Washington $4.4 billion over the next four years as lawmakers prepare to address an estimated budget shortfall of about $12 billion over the same period.

The plan also includes an extra $800 million in new spending that would be used to hire additional law enforcement and adopt universal free lunch for all students, among other proposals.

“I intend to spend some time making sure I understand how we got to this level of a shortfall,” Ferguson said during a pre-legislative session media briefing Thursday. “And to make sure that I, as governor, do everything I can to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. Sometimes, there’s things that go on in an economy that are beyond your control. But I believe we need to take a hard look at how we got here.”

As he prepares to enter office next week, Ferguson’s proposal calls on most state agencies to identify 6% budget reductions across the board, and for four-year higher education institutions to propose 3% in cuts. Under the plan, K-12 education, community and technical colleges, public safety agencies and entitlement benefits delivered by state agencies would not be affected.

“I think people expect that, you know, when you’re facing a budget shortfall,” Ferguson said. “It’s no different than a family budget. You’ve got to make your priorities, you’ve got to decide what’s the most important, you’ve got to cut things you can cut. And that’s what we’ll be doing as a state.”

Some of the cuts, Ferguson said, will require legislative action. Ferguson added that he sought to identify cuts he thought were “achievable and realistic.”

While the plan does not constitute a formal budget proposal, Ferguson said it “outlines, in some respects, some very detailed proposals on the budget savings side.” Ferguson said his proposal is a separate plan from budget savings outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee suggested last month.

“We’re obviously facing a very significant budget shortfall,” Ferguson said. “And my approach has been very focused since getting elected on making sure that we are scrubbing our budget, in detail, to find efficiencies and savings that will help address that budget shortfall.”

According to the budget plan, Ferguson will call on the heads of state agencies to consolidate management positions, reduce in-state and out-of-state travel, cut administrative and executive positions, and restrict equipment purchases.

Raising taxes , Ferguson said, would be a last resort. That’s a different stance than Inslee, who last month proposed an annual tax on personal wealth above $100 million. As he introduced the pitch, Inslee said his proposed new tax would apply to roughly 3,400 Washingtonians and bring in $10.3 billion over four years.

“Regarding revenue, I am focused on identifying opportunities for savings first and will only focus on revenue after we have scrubbed the budget for savings and reductions,” Ferguson said in a statement. “I am deeply skeptical that we can rely on balancing the budget through an untested wealth tax.”

During the media event Thursday, Ferguson said “we are not going to tax our way out of this thing, not going to happen.”

Ferguson’s budget priorities highlight several areas of spending, including:

• A $100 million biennial grant program to hire more law enforcement officers and $5 million to clear a roughly 15,000-case backlog in the Washington State toxicology laboratory.
• $600 million in the capital budget to build additional housing.
• $480 million in biennial funding for universal school lunches, which would ensure free meals for all of Washington’s 1.1 million public school students.

Though Ferguson directed each state agency to tighten their budgets, Ferguson hailed public schooling and safety as two “sacred cows” in his budget priority. He plans to increase the proportion of the budget earmarked toward public schools, he said in a news release Thursday. In the two-year spending plan approved in 2023, K-12 schools received around 44% of the state operating budget. Inslee’s proposal for 2025-27 spending would funnel schools just under 42% of the budget, but Ferguson said that’s not a big enough proportion related to other areas of funding.

The 2025 legislative session will begin Monday and is scheduled to run 105 days. Ferguson will be sworn in as governor on Wednesday.

Reporter Elena Perry contributed to this article.