OLYMPIA — The Legislature has passed a supplemental budget to direct additional money to expenses incurred from events last year’s wildfires and the deadly Oso landslide.
The House on Thursday concurred with changes made a day prior by the Senate and the budget now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature. The budget also addresses a lawsuit the state lost last year over the warehousing of mentally ill patients in emergency rooms. In addition to paying for expenses from responding to natural disasters, including the mudslide and multiple wildfires in the eastern half of the state last summer, the additional $143 million in state funds will cover other programs including foster care costs.
Lawmakers are still working on crafting a new two-year operating budget. The House will unveil a proposal first in the coming weeks, followed by the Senate.
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