The so-called “big, beautiful bill” is expected to blow a multibillion-dollar hole into the state’s budget, and kick hundreds of thousands of residents off their insurance if they don’t prove they meet new requirements.

The tax provided $850,000 in 2024, with roughly half of it going toward operation of the HAPO Center and Pasco Sporting Complex. 

The increase will push the state’s per-gallon tax rate on gas and other vehicle fuels from 49.4 cents to 55.4 cents. Starting July 1, 2026, it will rise each year by 2% – about a penny annually – to account for inflation. 

The decline in receipts will force the state to draw down savings, but Ferguson isn’t summoning the Legislature into a special session to respond. At least not yet.

The project will use $12 million in local taxes and economic development funds to double the seating capacity to 6,000 of the facility among other improvements. 

U.S. senators from both parties are voicing concerns about how the Trump administration’s “big, beautiful bill” could impact rural hospitals, including some in the region.

Washington’s payouts — known as tort liability — have skyrocketed from $72 million in fiscal year 2018 to more than $281 million last fiscal year.

A new state law introduces a tiered capital gains tax and increases the estate tax rates for high-value estates.

The warning from the Democratic governor comes amid an increasingly gloomy budget outlook and underscores that the state’s financial difficulties are not over.

The bill squeaked through the House by a single vote, with only Republicans in support. Washington state's two Republicans, U.S. Reps. Michael Baumgartner Dan Newhouse, of Sunnyside, both voted for it. Both their districts have the highest proportion of Medicaid enrollees in Washington.