The House Democratic Caucus released their supplemental capital budget Monday, part of a rollout that included the caucus’s supplemental operating budget and supplemental transportation budget, as well.
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“We had new revenue into the model toxic cleanup account and used those dollars to go down the list of stormwater and remedial action,” said Chair of the House Capital Budget Committee, Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-24th District).
“We did get a general fund transfer of $100 million into the capital budget to really focus on housing. When the session started, all the caucuses and the governor were concerned about housing and sheltering, and I think this is something that’s impacting all cities across all districts in the state.”
Approximately $60 million will go towards supportive housing, Tharinger said, which addresses the full spectrum of housing needs.
“We have people on the street under bridges and in tents,” he said. “What do we do to get them off the streets and get them into a shelter, but also, what’s the next step after the shelter? So we’ve created a category that we’re calling community housing and cottages, which is a more permanent arrangement and provides more privacy than what you would get in a shelter.”
In addition to funding shelters and community housing, rapid response services are getting an allocation, Tharinger said. Federal housing leases are expiring soon, meaning affordable housing paid for by federal dollars would go to the private market, and Democratic Caucus members prioritized holding on to that housing to the tune of $15 million. An additional $10 million will go towards the Housing Trust Fund portfolio, to be used for preservation and repairs.
“Our interest is in maintaining that housing and making sure that housing is available for low-income [people],” Tharinger said.
Schools, too, will get an allocation from the supplemental capital budget. School safety efforts and seismic upgrades, among other projects, will get $14 million, mostly going to schools deemed “high-risk” based on their susceptibility to seismic events like earthquakes. Early learning facilities will get $9 million to implement projects, while behavioral health investments in children’s mental health programs will get $14 million.
Additionally, $6.6 million will go to Fircrest Residential Habilitation Center in Shoreline, which Tharinger said was “way past its due.” An estimated 100 people live in that facility, he added.
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