Appropriations from funds subject to the outlook (NGFO) in Gov. Inslee’s supplemental operating budget would be 18.2% over 2019–21. At the same time, his operating budget proposal would increase appropriations of federal COVID relief. Together, NGFO and federal relief appropriations in the operating budget proposal would be 16.1% over 2019–21 (after increasing by 35.2% in 2019–21).

Over the past few years, the state has allocated or appropriated some $17 billion of federal COVID relief money. That includes $9.3 billion appropriated in the enacted 2021–23 operating, transportation, and capital budgets. (The rest was allocated for 2019–21.)

Gov. Inslee’s 2022 supplemental proposals would increase federal relief appropriations by $303.7 million in the operating budget, $568.0 million in the capital budget, and $500.0 million in the transportation budget. If enacted, revised 2021–23 appropriated federal relief would total $10.7 billion (across the three budgets).

Those figures include the state’s share of the coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund (CSFRF), the coronavirus relief fund (CRF), the coronavirus capital projects fund, the elementary and secondary school emergency relief (ESSER) fund, other relief under the American Rescue Plan Act, and other relief under the coronavirus response and relief supplemental appropriations act.

The first chart below shows how the federal relief would be distributed among budgets and the second chart shows the operating budget federal relief by agency.

Some major proposals from the governor on how to use remaining federal dollars include:

• $500.0 million for two transportation budget accounts,
• $338.7 million in the capital budget for rapid capital housing acquisition,
• $233.0 million in the capital budget for affordable housing,
• $100.0 million for utility assistance (“grants to public and privately-owned utilities to reduce or eliminate customer arrearages on unpaid electric, gas, water, and sewer utility bills”), and
• $92.5 million for food assistance.

Most of the federal relief appropriations proposed by the governor would come from the CSFRF. This is fairly flexible funding that states may use generally in response to the pandemic. The state of Washington received $4.428 billion from the CSFRF. Of that, $102.6 million was appropriated for 2019–21. The enacted budgets appropriated $3.052 billion from the CSFRF for 2021–23. Gov. Inslee proposes appropriating another $1.275 billion, which would effectively spend down the account (it must be used by the end of calendar year 2024).