The proposed supplemental capital budget would increase 2023–25 appropriations from all funds by $1.336 billion (15.4%). That’s $33.9 million more than was in the version that passed the Senate on Feb. 22 and $61.4 million more than was in the version that was approved by the House Capital Budget Committee on Feb. 23 (the full House did not pass a capital budget). Revised 2023–25 capital budget appropriations would be $9.997 billion.

Like the earlier versions, the compromise would limit its appropriations of capital gains tax revenues to the amount that has already been collected. Capital gains tax collections over $500 million a year are directed to the common schools construction account (CSCA). Actual capital gains revenues deposited in the CSCA for FY 2023 were $347.5 million, but the biennial capital budget had assumed zero. The compromise proposal would increase CSCA appropriations for the biennium by $309.0 million.

However, the proposal would only increase appropriations for public schools by $40.8 million. The increase in CSCA spending would be offset by a $303.4 million reduction in K–12 spending from the state building construction account. The bulk of that is due to a reduction in demand for the school construction assistance program (SCAP). As the House summary of the compromise notes, “This decline reflects the relatively low number of capital bonds approved by school district voters over the past several years. The reduced SCAP demand allows the use of bonds that were previously appropriated for this program to be used for other capital budget purposes.” Additionally, $65.9 million in enacted appropriations for K–12 would be shifted from the state building construction account to the CSCA.

The compromise would increase appropriations from climate commitment act (CCA) accounts by $688.4 million. That’s in line with what was proposed in earlier versions of the capital budget. The Senate summary of the compromise notes,

Due to the uncertainty of these funds beyond November 2024, the proposed compromise capital budget assumes a lower revenue collection in calendar year 2024 based on the secondary trading market price compared to the Department of Ecology’s baseline forecast. The proposed compromise capital budget proposal also delays the start dates of many new programs until January 2025. In the event I-2117 passes, those appropriations taking effect in January 2025 will lapse.

I wrote about how the earlier operating, capital, and transportation budget proposals dealt with the uncertainty around the CCA funds in this post, including a tally of how much of the proposals were to be effective in January. I’ll update that after all the final budgets are available.

Some of the major appropriations in the compromise include:

• $114.8 million for small district and tribal compact schools modernization.
• $79.2 million to increase the SCAP construction cost allocation to $375 per square foot in FY 2025. (The bill notes that the Legislature intends to increase the allocation by inflation going forward.)
• $68.2 million for career and technical education projects.
• $127.5 million for the housing trust fund.
• $82.7 million for behavioral health community capacity grants.
• $105.0 million for community electric vehicle charging.
• $69.3 million for local and community projects.
• $55.0 million for multifamily building efficiency grants.