Tag Archives: 2016 Budget

Braun lauds approval of bipartisan budget

Tuesday evening the Legislature approved a supplemental budget, concluding the legislative session. Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, voted in favor of the bipartisan proposal that makes minor adjustments to the state’s two-year operating budget approved last year.

“This is a good supplemental,” lead budget negotiator Braun said. “It meets the requirements of Washington’s 4-year balanced budget law, preserves the rainy day fund, and refuses to go back to the irresponsible budgets of years past.”

This is in contrast to the original proposal from House Democrats that drained the state’s rainy day fund, cut nearly $500 million from K-3 class-size reductions and proposed news taxes to pay for new state programs.

“The final budget continues our investments in class-size reduction, fully funds historic tuition cuts, and improves treatment for our state’s most vulnerable including the disabled and mentally ill,” Braun said. “We said no to higher taxes and insisted on a sustainable budget with no gimmicks.”

The budget passed in the House of Representatives 78-17 and 27-17 in the Senate.

Budget documents are available online, here.