The House and Senate have each passed supplemental transportation budgets. The House-passed budget would increase 2023–25 appropriations from all funds by $846.5 million, bringing revised 2023–25 appropriations to $14.462 billion. The Senate-passed supplemental would increase appropriations from all funds by $1.074 billion, bringing revised 2023–25 appropriations to $14.690 billion.

The two proposals do not quite agree on the maintenance level. In the transportation budget, which includes both operating and capital spending, part of the maintenance level increase is the cost of continuing current services (adjusted for inflation and other costs) and the other part is reappropriations of funding for capital projects that was not spent in the prior biennium. The two budgets would both increase capital reappropriations by $903.4 million. Other maintenance level changes reduce appropriations by $36.0 million in the Senate budget and by $32.0 million in the House budget. New policies would increase appropriations by $206.8 million in the Senate budget and decrease appropriations by $24.8 million in the House budget.

The main differences between the two proposals and the enacted budget are in capital projects. Many of these projects have experienced cost increases. To address the cost increases for the SR 520 West End project, the Senate would increase the total appropriations over the life of the project by $629.6 million, including an increase of $210.8 million in 2023–25. The increases would come from a sales tax deferral and future SR 520 tolling (SB 6316). The House would not change lifetime appropriations, but it would shift spending out to 2027–29 and later. This would save $132.9 million in 2023–25. Additionally, the House would direct WSDOT to reject any bids exceeding engineer estimates by more than 10%. The House also specifies that the southern bridge and Roanoke lid portion of the project would be completed “at a future time.”

Other capital project changes include:

• Fish passage barrier removal: Both the Senate and House would increase appropriations by $150.0 million in 2023–25.
• I-405/SR 522 to I-5 capacity improvements: Both the Senate and House would increase lifetime appropriations by $218.8 million, beginning in 2025–27.
• Highway preservation: The Senate would add $50.0 million in 2023–25 from the carbon emissions reduction account for the complete streets and active transportation components of preservation projects. Of preservation funding in the Move Ahead Washington package, the Senate would move $100.0 million and the House would move $40.0 million up to 2023–25.
• Hybrid electric ferry vessel construction: Both the Senate and House would increase total funding, but the appropriations would be reduced in 2023–25 and 2025–27 and then increased in 2027–29.

The Senate-passed operating budget would transfer $14.0 million from the general fund–state to the motor vehicle account. According to the transportation summary document, that would “cover some cost increases for budget items in transportation agencies that are split between the operating and transportation budgets.”

We’ve written extensively about the state’s transportation revenue and cost challenges. The enacted transportation budget balanced over six years. According to the Senate summary documents, the Senate supplemental budget only balances over four. (The House did not publish a financial plan for its budget.)