$100M plan for police hiring gets greenlight from Washington House
Democrats in the Washington state House on Tuesday approved a revamped plan to provide $100 million in grants to local police departments to hire more officers.
The vote on House Bill 2015 gets lawmakers one step closer to accomplishing a core wish of Gov. Bob Ferguson, who has said he would veto a budget that doesn’t include the money for new cops. Washington ranks last in the country in police staffing per capita, a statistic Ferguson and others have pointed to in making the case for the funding.
In addition to creating the state grant program, the bill offers a new path for local governments to adopt a 0.1% sales tax without voter approval to pay for criminal justice expenses.
The measure aims to strike a balance by allowing for spending on more than just police hiring. Some Democrats are skeptical that adding cops is the best path to improve public safety.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/03/11/100m-plan-for-police-hiring-gets-greenlight-from-washington-house/