$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.
Crisis intervention training and other areas, like emergency management planning and community assistance programs, are among the additional spending options.
The local sales tax revenue could go toward costs such as public defenders, domestic violence services, and programs to help connect formerly incarcerated people with jobs.
'I think that this is a compromise for me, because when I came to this Legislature, I was concerned about the number of police officers that we had in the community and the increased call for more law enforcement officers in their community,' said Rep. Debra Entenman, D-Kent.
'For me, there wasn't enough community support, community resources and a different way of thinking about policing,' added Entenman, the bill's lead sponsor.
Passage of the House legislation could signal an approaching conflict with the Senate.
A bill awaiting a floor vote on the other side of the rotunda proposed the $100 million for state grants, but not the 0.1% sales tax. However, amendments made to the House bill do align it closer to the competing proposal, Senate Bill 5060.
Most bills face a Wednesday deadline to pass out of their chamber of origin.
In floor action Tuesday, House lawmakers nixed a requirement in their bill that local governments implement the new sales tax to qualify for a piece of the $100 million in grants from the state Criminal Justice Training Commission. Instead, cities and counties can access the money if they've already imposed either of two existing public safety sales taxes.
Lawmakers also decided governments can't impose the new tax if voters have rejected a similar tax proposal in the past two years.
The bill sets other criteria for qualifying for grant dollars.
For example, 25% of officers would have to complete a 40-hour crisis intervention training. The bill originally set this benchmark at 80%.
Other hurdles departments must clear to access the money include implementing model policies on use-of-force and other issues, completing trauma-informed training for all officers and complying with a law that restricts police from helping with federal immigration enforcement.
The latest bill also strips out language that would have allowed for grant funding to be used for bonuses to newly recruited officers.
Democrats turned down Republican amendments to require voter approval of the new local tax and to focus the revenue from the tax specifically on hiring police officers.
Republicans uniformly opposed Entenman's bill, arguing the sales tax would fall disproportionately on lower earners and provide little money to fund new officers in smaller communities.
The bill passed on a 54-42 vote. Five Democrats joined Republicans against it.
'I don't doubt that we have other aspects of the criminal justice system that could benefit from some additional funding, but to do that is to not put new officers on the street,' said Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama.
Orcutt also argued that the bill leaves open the possibility for local governments to tap the new funds and then shift existing dollars out of police budgets.
If lawmakers don't include $100 million for the state grants in the next two-year budget, the entire bill will be null and void.
Also on Tuesday, legislators in the state Senate gave the go-ahead on a measure dealing with existing sales taxes for public safety and criminal justice. Senate Bill 5775 expands how the tax dollars can be spent, including for diversion programs to keep people out of jail and prison and mental health and addiction services.
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Doggett unleashed First elected to Congress in 1994, Doggett has already survived a handful of GOP redistricting rounds that forced him to move districts — including in the last mid-decade redraw of 2003, when Republicans carved up Austin and pushed Doggett to run for a newly drawn seat that ran from southern Travis County to the U.S.-Mexico border. The latest map would mark the fourth time the GOP-controlled Legislature has revamped district lines in a way that jeopardized Doggett's tenure in office, perhaps explaining his willingness to speak out while most other Austin Democrats refuse to publicly acknowledge that the maps are likely bound to pass. 'Our odds are not as good as I would like them to be,' Doggett said of the effort to derail the GOP map. 'It doesn't mean we don't fight to the finish, but I need to be prepared if we don't achieve the outcome that we want.' But it's precisely that attitude — laid bare in his email missive to donors — that has upset some Austin Democrats. 'Right now, what Texas Democrats should be talking about is how to support our Texas House Democrats who have broken quorum and fight like hell to keep these maps from passing,' former Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis said. 'That's what I think left a bad taste in people's perception [Tuesday] when they received this email from Congressman Doggett. It was as though he'd already moved on to accepting that these new maps were reality.' A Democratic operative in Austin said the episode is emblematic of voters' broader frustrations with the Democratic Party. 'I wish both of them — and I wish Lloyd in particular — would use this sort of energy in fighting the Trump administration and fighting these maps,' the operative said. 'It just seems to me like he is rolling over and accepting it.' Most elected officials in Austin are keeping their powder dry, saying they are focused on supporting the quorum break and building public momentum against the proposed map. But Austin Democrats' silence is not ignorance. 'People really want the Democrats to stay focused and not make this into a fight before it even needs to happen,' said Monique Alcala, former executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. 'A lot of folks, and particularly the leaders of color that I've talked to, they're just completely frustrated with the fact that Lloyd is just trying to get out in front on this.' Some Austin Democrats said they understood where Doggett was coming from. 'I think what's being shown is a frustration that Austin's being sliced and diced in these maps,' said Austin state Rep. John Bucy. 'They're trying to silence our voices. We have two effective congressmen.' 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'I hate to see there being some sort of split or division, but Doggett belongs to Austin and Austin belongs to Doggett,' Lopez said, adding that he agreed with Doggett's case that Casar could win the newly drawn San Antonio seat. Mike Siegel, a progressive Austin City Council member, said he respects both Casar and Doggett and does not relish having to make a decision. But he said Texas Democrats are in a decades-long struggle for political change — and if Austin can only have one Democratic voice in Congress, it should belong to Casar, who has the career runway and vision to offer progressive leadership, in Texas and beyond, for decades to come. 'Greg Casar represents hope in the long-term struggle and projecting our voice outwards,' Siegel said. 'Not just representing our district, but fighting to win other districts, and setting an example for the type of leadership we need.' Davis agreed, saying she would hate to see Casar's bright future cut short. Best known nationally for being the first Democrat to call on Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race last summer, Doggett said he thinks his own seniority is an asset to Austin. In his call for Biden to step down, Doggett said the then-president should 'encourage a new generation of leaders' — an irony some Austin Democrats have noted. Doggett has said his thinking on Biden was related to ability, not age. Tenure is the coin of the realm in Congress, where the most powerful committee posts go to members who have been there the longest. Doggett is the second-most senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee — the influential tax-writing panel — and the ranking member on its Health subcommittee. If Democrats win the House in 2026, Doggett would likely chair the subcommittee, which oversees policy dealing with health insurance and health care costs. 'When I talk about the importance of that seniority, it is in terms of being able to have a say on the vast majority of decisions that affect folks here in Austin, in their pocketbooks particularly,' Doggett said. The longtime Austin Democrat also said his push for Casar to run in the 35th District is about Democrats holding onto as many seats as possible. He noted that his email to supporters did not contain "the slightest criticism of Greg." 'I'm just hoping that [Casar] will ultimately decide that the fight against Trump is the most important fight, and that he will help us win that district,' Doggett said. 'I will join with enthusiasm, supporting him in that effort.' Democrats agree that they want strong candidates in each seat, but disagree about who should run in each. One Austin Democrat, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Austinites remain enthusiastic about Doggett's long record and agreed that Casar would have the best chance to win the San Antonio seat. But another local Democrat suggested Doggett should be the one to run in the 35th District. Republicans may have drawn the battlefield, but it would be advantageous for Doggett, a well-funded Democrat with high name recognition, to close his career battling a Republican and making way for a younger member like Casar, the Democrat said. What Doggett is asking of Casar could be career-ending for a young progressive with a national profile. The newly drawn 35th Congressional District not only voted for Trump; even in the strong Democratic year of 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz would have narrowly carried it had it existed then. 'Greg leaving Austin to run in this new south Texas seat would deprive Austin of Greg's voice and growing influence as new chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and it would undercut Democrats' chance to win in the new south Texas seat by running a candidate with deep ties to that community,' Trinh, Casar's chief of staff, wrote in her email to supporters. Unpacking the race If it comes to a primary, Doggett's model of decades-long retail politicking could be pitted against Casar's background in labor organizing and city government. In interviews with more than a dozen politicos in Austin, Democrats said that both Doggett and Casar have attentively maintained relationships across local politics. Doggett has not faced a competitive race in years. But he has a large war chest and a long history of delivering constituent services. '[Doggett's] got a bit of Jake Pickle in him,' said Bill Aleshire, a former Democratic Travis County judge who now considers himself an independent. 'I think he kind of likes campaigning. You make him campaign, shit, he'll just go campaign.' Multiple Democratic operatives said Casar, given his national profile, should be able to raise significant funds if needed. He would start the race at a financial disadvantage to Doggett, with just over $450,000 in his campaign account at last count. Numerous Democrats lamented that such a battle was happening at all. Doggett, one statewide Democratic operative noted, is still 'razor sharp' and has been a fixture on the Travis County ballot for decades, while Casar is 'one of the most talented, capable voices' in the state. 'I think a lot of hearts will be with Casar and a lot of money would be on Doggett,' the operative said. For the local elected officials and Democratic groups who have relationships with both, it could get awkward quickly — and detract from their decades-long mission of electing a Democrat statewide, particularly in next year's U.S. Senate race. But four Democrats active in Austin politics pointed out that attention may be the deciding factor. Turnout in Casar's old north-central Austin City Council district was typically lower than that of other districts — meaning he would need to turn out lower-propensity voters to win. 'I do think Lloyd has to want low turnout,' the Democratic operative said. 'And Greg's going to have to push his younger, more diverse voters out at a higher rate. That's going to be difficult.' A primary between the two could also be a microcosm of divides between whiter, wealthier West Austin and younger, working-class East Austin. Those cleavages were laid bare in the city's 2022 mayoral race. Younger voters, especially the large population of transplants, could determine the outcome. Austin experienced rapid growth during the pandemic; many newer Austinites are younger and less familiar with Doggett's longstanding presence. 'The largest electorate we have [in Travis County] is between the ages of 18 to 35,' one Democratic activist said. 'That could make or break a race, depending on how outreach is done, but I think Greg is in a better position to reach out to younger voters.' But Doggett thinks he can capture young voters as well. Though it has been a long time since he has faced a competitive campaign, numerous Austin Democrats said he has a proven model of retail politicking and previously represented some East Austin voters who would be folded into the new 37th District. And Doggett noted he has knocked doors for Democrats around the city over the years — including a familiar one. 'I believe in engaging young people,' he said. 'That's one of the reasons I went out and campaigned in the rain, block-to-block, for a young Greg Casar when he first ran for the City Council.' More all-star speakers confirmed for The Texas Tribune Festival, Nov. 13–15! This year's lineup just got even more exciting with the addition of State Rep. Caroline Fairly, R-Amarillo; former United States Attorney General Eric Holder; Abby Phillip, anchor of 'CNN NewsNight'; Aaron Reitz, 2026 Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General; and State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
