Capitol Courier: Everything You Need to Know About the Legislative Budget Proposals

Updates as a Glance:

• Current versions of legislative budgets include cuts to to the Holding Hope Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation program and Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care, as well as other early learning programs.
• BrightSpark is in support of progressive revenue policies to reduce the deficit while maintaining funding for crucial early learning programs.
• You can get involved! Check out our email templates and talking points below.

Mobilize to Make a Difference!

Let’s make sure lawmakers know how important these early learning investments are! 

We’ve put together an email template and talking points to make it easy for you to speak up. The time is NOW to share your story, insight, and lived experience with legislators to educate them on the importance of each of these early learning supports!

What to do:

• Find your legislator’s contact information using: https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder 
• Use our email template and talking points to write an email to your legislators.
• Share what you did and what your experience was like with Team Advocacy.

Get involved and urged lawmakers to “Invest in Washington Now”!

Looking for an in-person rally to meet like minded advocates?  Consider joining the Invest in Washington Now rally, taking place throughout this next week to show legislators your support for progressive revenue in Washington State! 

Click here to find the next available rally near you!

Read more below for a detailed breakdown of the legislative budget proposals!

Legislative Session Status Update

Today is Day 89 in the 2025 Legislative Session meaning there are just 17 days left until the end. Now is the time when our state legislators are “on the floor” to take votes on final passage of the remaining bills. In addition to that work, legislators will also be working to negotiate a final budget that will guide the state’s work for the next two years.

Read on to see a full breakdown of the various budget proposals that will be used for negotiations along with a section that shares ways that you can get involved and use your voice to guide your state legislators to make decisions over these final days.

Operating Budget Updates + Impacts

About two weeks ago, both the House and Senate shared their versions of the state’s operating budget. This budget covers day-to-day operations of the state, including most early learning programs. After quick votes, lawmakers are now in the negotiation phase to combine the two versions into one final budget.

Governor Ferguson held a press conference where he said he doesn’t support the proposed “wealth tax” and thinks both budget proposals depend too much on new taxes. Maintaining funding levels like we see in current budget proposals will depend on the inclusion of new, progressive revenue. Lawmakers now have to find a compromise that works for both chambers and that the Governor will approve. Much of this process happens behind closed doors, but we will keep you all up-to-date as we learn more about this process!

We are very appreciative that both budget proposals keep Early Achievers funding whole and fund provider rates at the 85th percentile. We hope this will remain in the final budget. Additionally, the BrightSpark Advocacy and Executive teams are focused on three main areas in the budget, and we’re asking lawmakers to fund these options in the final version:

• Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation – We support the House’s plan.
• Coordinated Recruitment and Enrollment – We support the Senate’s plan.
• Family, Friend, and Neighbor Play and Learn groups – We support the House’s plan.

To see more details and information about where things stand currently around the entire early learning budget, see the full budget comparison here from our friends at Start Early Washington.

Capital Budget Updates + Impacts

Last week, the House and Senate released their respective capital budget proposals for the session. The capital budget funds major infrastructure projects like buildings, parks, and public lands in Washington; and early learning facilities are funded here. Similar to the path of the operating budget proposals above, these budget proposals are now primed for negotiations too.

It’s important to note that because the capital budget does not rely on revenue in the same way that the operating budget does, we are not seeing extreme revenue issues in this area. As such, we are seeing amazing levels of funding provided for early learning facilities. See below for details.

BrightSpark’s Advocacy team has been tirelessly monitoring the constant changes, mobilizing community members to contact their lawmakers, and meeting one-on-one with legislators urging them to retain funding for this and other necessary early learning programs. But we need your support to continue this fight and protect early learning.