Debate over police hiring grant continues as Washington legislative session nears close

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Legislators on Wednesday took a step toward meeting one of the governor’s top priorities, but the step may not be big enough.

Immediately after being sworn in earlier this year, Gov. Bob Ferguson made it clear he wanted to get $100 million for a police hiring grant program.

“That idea was a cornerstone of my campaign for governor,” he said in his inaugural address on January 15. “Any budget I sign must include this funding.”

The legislature made progress toward that goal with the Senate passing House Bill 2015 on Wednesday afternoon.

The bill establishes a grant program to financially support local law enforcement agencies in hiring and retaining officers, but goes a step further by supporting mental health co-response, community outreach and other public safety efforts.

“Because it takes everyone to make sure that each and every one of us remains safe. And that is what this bill does,” said Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, during the Senate floor debate.

Among the requirements for grant eligibility, agencies must receive funding from existing local criminal justice or public safety sales taxes, or from a new sales tax created by the bill.

The new 0.1% sales tax would have to be approved by a local government, but only if the community has not rejected a criminal justice or public safety sales tax within the last year. Revenue from the tax would also be able to fund domestic violence services, diversion programs, public defenders and other activities.

Lawmakers previously expressed a desire for increased funding beyond police, arguing more officers would mean more need for lawyers, court staff and other criminal justice system elements.

Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, spearheaded an earlier attempt at a police officer hiring grant. He said the bill that passed out of the Senate is a good compromise that helps address a growing challenge in hiring police officers.

We’ve got something that we can’t just turn back the clock and fix one thing that’s gonna fix everything. But this bill’s a start,” Holy said during Wednesday’s debate.

The bill passed on a 30-19 vote, with bipartisan support and opposition.

While they want more police, some Republicans had concerns about opening the door to a new tax at a time of unaffordability.

“We need this infusion of public safety. We’re so far behind, we need to do this–or allow this to be done, I would say, in order for citizens to be able to get the public safety that they deserve.” said Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn. “Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to vote no, because I believe that we should be doing this without the tax increase.

The program relies on funding from the state operating budget. The House proposal released last month set aside $25 million over the next two years, while the Senate proposal offered no funding.

At a press conference earlier this month, Ferguson repeated his call for $100 million over two years, and said he would veto the budget if it falls short. The governor cited his prior experience as the state’s attorney general in explaining his rationale.

“At some point I would just believe in saying to the other side, ‘this is our bottom line,’” he explained. “Anyone who ever worked with me, any entities we had a lawsuit against knows, I did not deviate from those bottom lines.”

The governor’s office did not reply to a request for updated comment Thursday afternoon.

The funding amount for the grant program could change as the House and Senate negotiate the final budget. The bill is back in the House after the Senate made some amendments. Both the bill and the budget will have to pass out of the legislature by April 27.

Albert James is a television reporter covering state government as part of the Murrow News Fellowship program – a collaborative effort between news outlets statewide and Washington State University.