Ybarra expects ‘twists and turns’ in 2025 WA session

QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, said the Washington Legislature has some big decisions to make, which he expects will result in a turbulent legislative session. 

“I think it’s going to be a big fight over there. I think there are going to be a lot of twists and turns,” Ybarra said. “But it’s going to be really, really interesting.” 

Ybarra was reelected to his 13th District seat in November. He said legislators face a challenge with the 2025-27 biennial budget, with a projected deficit estimated at $12 billion. 

Along with a likely battle over the budget, Ybarra said he will be focusing on addressing energy and postsecondary education. He’s the ranking Republican member on the postsecondary education and workforce committee, and the assistant ranking Republican member on the environment and energy commission. 

Outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee released a budget proposal earlier this week; he asked for an increase in state spending from about $72 billion currently to about $79 billion in the next biennium. Inslee proposed new taxes on businesses and individuals making more than certain income thresholds to pay for the increases.  

Inslee leaves office Jan. 15, and Ybarra said he’s unsure what incoming governor Bob Ferguson will do with Inslee’s proposal. 

“I think he’s going to do the middle-of-the-road thing,” Ybarra said. 

Ferguson might propose some tax increases, but not as much as Inslee’s proposal, he said, and he might be willing to make some cuts. The new governor might be more flexible than Inslee has been, Ybarra said.

The Republican position is that the legislature needs to focus on spending, Ybarra said. 

“I think they’ve overspent,” he said. “They’ve created too many projects and programs that are not doing what they need to be doing. I don’t think we have to spend all that money.” 

The Republican argument will be that the state should stay within its means, although Ybarra said that as the minority party their impact is limited.  

“I think that’s the message we’re going to send — spend what you have, and not any more, and put money in the bank,” Ybarra said.  

Overspending has been a persistent challenge in the legislature during his time there, he said. That has led to programs and projects that were started but can’t be maintained without additional spending, he added. 

Washington has a “rainy day” fund, which sets aside money for those times when the state is having financial challenges. Ybarra said legislators allocated money from the rainy day fund by what he called a “legal maneuver,” which left the state facing even more budget challenges. 

Whatever happens with the budget debate, Ybarra said he’s got some issues he wants to focus on. As an engineer and a 17-year veteran of the Grant County Public Utility District, Ybarra said the debate over energy and transitioning to new sources has been marred by unrealistic expectations and assumptions. 

The existing electricity distribution system is not built to handle the demands that will be placed on it, he said. With that in mind he plans to introduce a bill to require an analysis of the existing system, what will be needed to upgrade it — and how long that will take. Ybarra said some legislators don’t have a clear idea how the legislation they support will affect the state’s energy generation capacity and the transmission system. 

“I tell them, ‘Guys, you can’t build transmission in two or three years.’ And they say, ‘Oh yeah, we can, we’ve got a new bill.’ And I said, ‘I don’t care how many bills you (pass), you can’t build transmission in less than about 10 years.’” he said.  

Increasing electrical demand without adequate generation sources or distribution system will lead to blackouts, Ybarra said, with the potential to last for days. Some of his colleagues didn’t understand the implications of that, he said, but the experience of a recent storm in Western Washington may have changed some minds. 

“What happened when that storm hit is that people didn’t have electricity for five days. All the people who had (all-electric) homes, they went to their neighbors who had natural gas,” Ybarra said. “They figured out, ‘Without electricity, I can’t heat my house, I can’t do anything.’ I think that was a real eye-opener for a lot of people."

Ybarra said he’s working on a lot of energy issues and may introduce multiple legislative proposals, although he’s not sure how many yet. 

As a member of the postsecondary education committee, Ybarra said he wants to work on ways to increase options for people looking for additional training. 

“We support apprenticeship (programs). We’re trying to make it more streamlined so more folks can get into that world,” he said. “We’re trying to make the pathway quicker.”