Gov. Jay Inslee greets lawmakers as he enters the State House chamber for his State of the State Address. (Images courtesy of TVW)
Governor Jay Inslee laid out his plans to work with state lawmakers in the 2023 long session.
The theme of Governor Jay Inslee’s State of the State is “Bold Actions for Building a Stronger Washington”, which include his proposal for $4 billion to build new housing paid for by bonds, which requires your vote. Inslee says the plan is to increase the housing stock to lower prices but also to build more rapid supportive housing, with drug, mental health, job and other services available on site, “because we know,” Inslee says, “that substance use treatment and mental health support can work when you combine it with secure, stable housing.”
On mental health and the shortage of available beds and professionals to provide care, Governor Inslee says communities need to help by building smaller facilities, which can provide care targeted to the needs of those communities. He also says there’s a sharp rise in mental health referrals and calls for competency evaluations and care from Washington courts – a rise he says is not sustainable from a criminal justice system he says shouldn’t be the primary place from which people are referred for mental health care, adding that competency treatment is only meant to be enough to prepare people to be prosecuted.
The Governor also renewed his call for more climate action, including easier permitting to build more clean energy projects and a program to help land owners restore shoreline habitat to help salmon thrive. Inslee says, “Let’s boldly continue our fight against climate change and salmon extinction this session.”
Inslee says he’ll increase education spending by $3 billion, and he touted the plan to expand police training to get more cops on the streets.
It was a highly critical Republican response to the Governor’s State of the State Address.
“A decade of the governor’s speeches and continued reckless spending have not produced the results we all deserve,” says Republican Representative, Peter Abbarno of Centralia. Abbarno says the state not only needs more investment into education at all levels but that we fall woefully short when it comes to affordable child care for working parents. “Parents are forgoing educational and employment opportunities because child care is just not accessible or affordable,” Abbarno says, “Unfortunately, the Governor and his party have neither provided meaningful economic relief nor created opportunities for families to succeed and, as a result, many families are stuck in what feels like a hopeless cycle of struggle.”
It’s a common theme for Republicans, but they again called for tax cuts, starting with the sales tax, which they say is regressive and hurts poorer families more as well as a property tax cut.
Abbarno also called for more police on the streets but also returning their power to pursue criminals when they run and stricter courts to keep repeat criminals in lock up.
You can watch the Governor’s State of the State Address on TVW here.
You can watch Rep. Abbarno’s Republican Response here.
You can also watch Republican lawmakers’ media availability after the speech here.
