As Ferguson says he’s focused on cuts over tax hikes, some Democrats say cuts would be too deep

OLYMPIA – About five weeks before lawmakers return to Olympia for the 2026 session, the state’s budget deficit remains top of mind.

State Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, chair of the House Appropriations committee, said in an interview Friday that “it’s not immediately clear” how big of a gap legislators need to account for. While he anticipates getting a better picture of the state’s financial outlook as the session nears, Ormsby estimates the deficit is around $4 billion to keep the state at maintenance -level spending.

“And I think that’s a little bit on the low end,” Ormsby said. “And that’s to keep current programs and services.”

But while lawmakers agree work must be done, they differ when it comes to solutions.

Some Democrats have called on the Legislature to adopt new taxes on the wealthy and large corporations to avoid another round of budget cuts. Republicans, meanwhile, remain wary of new revenue streams and contend that the state should focus on only funding core services.

A year after lawmakers closed a roughly $16 billion deficit through a combination of cuts and new taxes, Gov. Bob Ferguson said this week he is focused on finding additional savings rather than more revenue.

“This is going to be a challenging budget with a multibillion-dollar shortfall,” Ferguson said Tuesday. “Keeping in mind that we cut about $8 billion from the budget earlier this year, so as you might imagine, the next billion that you’re cutting is a lot more challenging to cut than the first billion that you’re cutting.”

The governor’s approach to lead with cuts rather than new taxes, Ormsby said, “comes as no surprise.”

“What is going to be more telling than the narrative that happened on Tuesday is the actual proposal that will be released sometime later this month,” Ormsby said. “That will be the most telling of what policy decisions the governor has decided in order to reconcile the budget problem. That is much more valuable to me than what someone says in a press event.”

State Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, a ranking member on the Ways and Means committee, said in an interview Friday that while he didn’t want to overreact to the governor’s comments, he wants to “give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“But the reality of it is that, many times, a no-tax budget comes out to scare the heck out of granny and others, of what’s going to happen if we don’t have new taxes,” Schoelser said. “So, I hope it’s not that. I want to believe that he’s going to make a sincere effort to look for savings and efficiencies.”

While Ferguson’s inaugural address earlier this year drew broad praise from Republicans for his stated desire to work across the aisle, Schoelser said some became frustrated as the session went on.

“We started on a positive note. ‘Hey, I’m working to work with people like Rep. Dent, Sen. Braun, and others,’ and we all applauded him. And he was going to work at it, and that gave us the highest tax increase in state history,” Schoesler said, referencing Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, and Senate Minority Leader John Braun. “So, we want to remain optimistic, but all of the great comments and very commonsense comments kind of evaporated at the end of the day.”

Schoesler said he believes the state can balance its budget without new taxes, and pointed to a proposal put forward last session by Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, budget leader for Senate Republicans, which he said proves it can be done.

“Let’s look at it as savings and efficiencies. Cuts are when you’re accused of kicking granny’s wheelchair over the cliff,” Schoesler said. “We can find savings, we can find efficiencies, we just have to make a concerted effort to do it.”

However, some Democrats continue to push for the state to adopt new taxes to close the deficit.

State Rep. Shaun Scott, D-Seattle, unveiled a proposal Tuesday to tax large corporations with employees that earn more than $125,000 a year. He said his plan could bring in $2 billion a year. As he made his pitch, Scott said the additional money would help fund public schools, health care, child care and other services.

“Washington is one of the wealthiest states in the wealthiest nation in human history,” Scott said in a statement. “The idea that we ‘can’t afford’ childcare, transit, or housing is absurd. We can afford all of it – when the corporations and ultra-wealthy who have benefited the most contribute what they owe.”

State Rep. Natasha Hill, D-Spokane said she hopes Ferguson would “reconsider” the all-cuts approach.

“Taking that approach reflects a lack of care and concern for poor people in Eastern Washington, and I would say, particularly communities of color,” Hill said in a Friday interview.

Hill said while she had “fully looked at” Scott’s proposal, she remains supportive of new revenue streams. One idea, she said, would be to adopt a state income tax, a proposal that has been floated ahead of the session but has been repeatedly rejected by voters. In 2024 the Legislature voted overwhelmingly to ban income taxes for state and local governments.

“I think, just that big picture of ‘what could an income tax look like and what could it do?’ That’s the great part of the fact that we don’t have one yet,” Hill said. “We get to figure that out and decide for Washington, and Washingtonians across our state.”

Broadly speaking, Ormsby said he “shudders at the thought” of the Legislature not exploring options to increase revenue to fund state programs, “particularly ones that the Legislature has prioritized over the years and has reaffirmed support for.”

“You have to make discrete, individual decisions on each item as it appears, as opposed to blanket statements about protecting the Department of Children, Youth and Families or the Department of Social and Health Services or Ecology or Department of Fish and Wildlife,” Ormsby said. “We cannot dismantle structures to the point where they cannot be rebuilt.”

With his first budget proposals expected to be released in the coming weeks, Ferguson said the current options are more painful than what he considered soon after taking office.

“There is a noticeable difference in what the team’s bringing to me for potential cuts,” Ferguson said.