Our policy brief on the enacted operating budget provides an overarching look at the budget’s sustainability problems, and it lists the major new spending items. But many smaller-ticket items are included in the budget as well. Here are some interesting ones (in terms of funds subject to the outlook and for 2021–23, unless otherwise noted):

Tax and Regulatory:

• $2.3 million for the tax structure work group (Sec. 137(2)).
• $500,000 for a study on “city and county implementation of the multifamily housing property tax exemption” (Sec. 129(111)).
• $450,000 for a task force to make recommendation on reforms to the state’s growth policy framework, including the growth management act and state environmental policy act (Sec. 129(101)).
• $300,000 for the construction industry regulatory roadmap program and additional regulatory roadmap tools (Sec. 129(11)).

Business and Economic Development:

• $300,000 for a business competitiveness analysis of the state’s economy (Sec. 119).
• $2.9 million for the Department of Commerce “to identify and invest in strategic growth areas, support key sectors, and align existing economic development programs and priorities” (Sec. 129(28)).
• $683,000 for a Washington state creative economy work group, which will develop a strategic plan to ensure that Washington’s creative economy is competitive (Sec. 129(107)).
• $2.1 million for the small business export assistance program (Sec. 129(19)).
• $600,000 for Commerce “to establish representation in key international markets that will provide the greatest opportunities for increased trade and investment for small businesses” (Sec. 129(38)).
• $450,000 for an aviation and aerospace advisory committee to advise the departments of Commerce and Transportation (Sec. 129(99)).

Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Workers’ Compensation:

• $250,000 “for a work group to investigate how to make Washington’s industrial insurance system easier to access for employers and hiring entities to provide industrial insurance coverage for domestic workers” (Sec. 220(12)).
• $35,000 in FY 2021 and $80,000 in 2021–23 from the employment services administrative account for a report “on the feasibility of replicating the existing unemployment insurance program to serve individuals not eligible for unemployment insurance due to immigration status” (Sec. 225(11) and Sec. 1223(12)).
• The Employment Security Department must report to the Legislature by Sept. 2, 2021 on the number of employees in the UI program, a projection of staffing needs, a spending plan for federal unemployment revenues, and a budget for the UI program (Sec. 225(14)).

Housing and Social Services:

• $4.0 million in FY 2021 and $6.0 million in 2021–23 to reimburse local governments for the costs of non-congregate sheltering (e.g., hotel rooms) during the COVID-19 emergency (Sec. 129(88) and Sec. 1121(112)).
• $300,000 for “an analysis of the property operations and maintenance costs and tenant supportive services costs for affordable housing projects that receive funding from the Washington housing trust fund” (Sec. 129(114)).
• $200,000 for Commerce “to contract with a nonprofit entity located in Seattle that focuses on poverty reduction and racial equity to convene and staff a poverty reduction workgroup steering committee comprised of individuals that have lived experience with poverty” (Sec. 129(49)).
• $77,000 for DSHS and the poverty reduction work group to study “the feasibility of implementing a universal basic income pilot program” (Sec. 205(11)).
• $250,000 for “programs to increase the financial stability of low-income Washingtonians adversely affected economically by COVID-19 through increasing participation in earned income tax credit refunds, the Washington retirement marketplace, and programs that build personal savings” (Sec. 129(109)).
• $50,000 in FY 2021 “to develop an implementation plan to incorporate medical and psychiatric respite care as statewide medicaid benefits” (Sec. 1210(75)).

Education and Workforce:

• $950,000 for a grant “to develop a pre-apprenticeship program that, through the construction of units, integrates housing and workforce development” (Sec. 129(62)).
• $4.0 million for “grants to promote workforce development in aerospace and aerospace related supply chain industries” (Sec. 220(4)).
• OSPI must convene a K–12 basic education compensation advisory committee to make recommendations for the salary review and rebase scheduled for the 2023 legislative session (RCW 28A.150.412) (Sec. 951).

Other:

• $150,000 for the Office of Financial Management to make recommendations “on the procedure for providing an equity impact statement for legislative proposals” (Sec. 131(12)).
• $200,000 for the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) to study legal financial obligations (Sec. 610(4)(f)).
• $150,000 for a WSIPP cost-benefit analysis of an American steel requirement for future capital budget contracts (Sec. 610(4)(k).
• $2.4 million to implement a YES tip line program “for receiving and responding to tips from the public regarding risks or potential risks to the safety or well-being of youth” (Sec. 127(17)).