The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

The construction, supplemental and transportation proposals were part of a thick stack of budget documents the Democratic governor sent to the Democratic-controlled Legislature on Monday.

Gregoire's main operating budget proposal calls for spending $25.8 billion during the next two years, financed in part with a $203 million tax increase on cigarettes and a new state tax on estates of more than $2 million.

The separate construction budget, meanwhile, would provide money for public school and college projects, prisons, parks, wildlife habitat and recreation, drought preparedness and several local projects.

About $1.5 billion of that amount would come from the sale of state bonds. The state operating budget pays the debt service -- $1.25 billion in the upcoming budget to pay for the interest on previous bond sales.

Gregoire said the construction budget would generate nearly 20,000 direct and spinoff jobs.

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, House Capital Budget Chairman Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, and Senate construction subcommittee Chairwoman Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, said Tuesday that Gregoire's plan was well received by legislative Democrats.

Highlights

- Schools: Gregoire proposes $436 million for state matching funds for local voter-approved school construction. She said this level would fully erase a backlog of projects.

- Higher education: The governor requests $323 million at the four-year universities and $383 million for 64 community college projects.

The University of Washington would get $46 million for assorted projects and its new Tacoma campus would receive $13 million. Washington State University is in line for $48 million for its main campus, including a new biotechnology-life sciences building. The WSU Tri-Cities campus would get $13 million, Eastern Washington University $1.7 million, Evergreen $22 million, Central $2.2 million, and Western $51 million.

Among the community college projects are ones at Green River, Bates, Walla Walla, Everett, South Puget Sound, Yakima Valley, Columbia Basin and Grays Harbor.

- Prisons: The biggest plan is for a 2,000-inmate prison at Coyote Ridge in Connell, Franklin County, to be built by a private investor for an estimated $267 million. The state would lease back the facility and operate it with state employees.

Gregoire provides $21 million to complete the final phase of the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island to house and treat dangerous sex offenders.

The Shelton prison would get $11 million and $4 million is provided for completion of the state crime lab in Vancouver.

- Natural resources: Gregoire provides money for fish and wildlife habitat, cleanup of Hood Canal, water storage projects water-supply projects, parks and drought preparedness.

- Housing: The plan includes $82 million for housing and farmworker housing.

- Community grants: Gregoire provides $119 million for a variety of projects, including Olympia's Heritage Park, the West Barracks project in Vancouver, planning for redevelopment of the Port of Bellingham, Seattle's McCaw Hall, Spokane's Fox Theatre renovation, Yakima redevelopment, an Asian counseling center in Seattle and an upgrade of TVW, the state's version of C-SPAN public television.

Online Extras

Gov. Gregoire's budget proposal for the 2005-2007 biennium

Trancript of Gov. Gregoire's Capitol Chat and her answers for readers' questions

Numbers from the latest revenue review (.pdf)