Today House Appropriations chair Ross Hunter released a new 2015-17 operating budget proposal. The budget bill (2P2SHB 1106) is accompanied by PSHB 2269, which makes revenue changes and additional appropriations.

2P2SHB 1106 would appropriate $37.854 billion, which is significantly less than the House’s June 1 proposal ($38.512 billion) and slightly less than the Senate’s May 28 proposal ($37.879 billion). However, PSHB 2269 would appropriate a total of $340.8 million for 2015-17. That brings the total for the new House proposal up to $38.195 billion ($316 million more than the Senate).

Some highlights of today’s spending proposal (summaries of the two bills are here and here):

• It continues to freeze tuition.
• The June 1 proposal would have increased state need grant funding by $53 million; this proposal does not do so.
• The earlier proposal would have provided an additional cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for teachers over and above the I-732 COLA. In today’s proposal, this provision is removed from 2P2sHB 1106 but is funded in PSHB 2269.

PSHB 2269 does not include a capital gains tax, but it would increase revenues by $356.3 million in 2015-17. The bill would:

• Apply the real estate excise tax to certain foreclosures ($73.9 million)
• Apply the sales tax to purchases by non-residents (but allow them to apply for a refund) ($49.3 million)
• Extend economic nexus to wholesaling ($45.4 million)
• Apply sales and use taxes to bottled water ($40.5 million)
• Increase the B&O tax rate for resellers of prescription drugs ($33.2 million)
• Increase the B&O tax rate for royalty income ($31.3 million)
• Apply the use tax to extracted fuel except for “biomass fuel” ($29.0 million)
• Establish a nexus standard for out-of-state sellers ($28.3 million)
• Increase excise tax late payment penalties ($17.2 million)
• Require local governments to provide information on subcontractors to the Dept. of Revenue ($8.2 million)