Forum: Creation of this new joint committee is welcome and overdue

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 31, 2026

We are finally coming to understand that our state’s challenge isn’t a lack of income – it’s the pace of spending.

Spending in our state has been a growing concern, and leaders have increasingly pointed to this important issue. Former Governors Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire warned that Washington’s long-term fiscal pressures stem more from spending growth than from revenue capacity. Seattle Kraken CEO Todd Leiweke echoed that message, noting that revenue is leaving the state – and it’s not enough to simply say “bye.”

So, it is welcome news that the state has established the new Joint Legislative-Executive Committee on Budget Transparency and Fiscal Sustainability.

The title is weighty, but the mission is overdue.

It starts with budget – the most basic tool of responsible finance. Every family and every business relies on a budget. A budget tells you how much money you expect to earn and how much you can responsibly spend. It sets limits. It forces choices. It protects you from surprises.

But here, “budget” doesn’t stand alone. It’s paired with transparency – and that pairing matters. Budget transparency means people can clearly see how money is planned, allocated, and spent. The fact that transparency must be spelled out is itself a warning sign.

And then comes the phrase Washington most needs right now: fiscal sustainability. This is the ability to meet long-term commitments without harmful debt, sudden cuts, or financial crises.

The reality is that Washington is in trouble. Two of the three major credit rating agencies – Moody’s and Fitch – have issued Negative outlooks for the state. Only two states in the entire country currently hold negative outlooks. Washington is at risk of becoming the third.

This committee has two years to diagnose the structural problems in Washington’s budget and recommend reforms that strengthen transparency, sustainability, accountability, and equity.

One of the committee’s three co-chairs (yes, three) is Everett’s own Senator June Robinson. As Chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee since 2023, she has deep experience with the state’s fiscal sphere. The Ways & Means Committee is the Senate’s central fiscal committee, responsible for nearly every major money-related decision the Legislature makes. That’s not my interpretation – it comes directly from the official description. Senator Robinson knows the system, and she knows the stakes.

Washington is facing real headwinds: high tax burdens, companies relocating to places like South Carolina and Tennessee, and friends moving to Idaho and Texas. These trends are not abstract – they are lived experiences for many of us.

Over the next two years, we should expect serious, disciplined work from the Joint Legislative-Executive Committee. Washington needs clarity. Washington needs honesty. Washington needs a plan.

May this committee help us balance our budgets – and banish this bane.

Mason Rutledge lives in Everett.