State House unanimously OKs using $100 million in rainy day money to fight coronavirus

House Speaker Laurie Jinkins said Tuesday she’s not concerned about the increasing amount of state funds needed to respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

“We had the first death in the U.S. ... It’s not something you shortchange,” the Tacoma Democrat told reporters after the House on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill to transfer $100 million from the state’s “rainy-day fund” to the state disaster response account.

The funding also will enable the state Department of Social and Health Services to increase payments to nursing facilities, freeing up more beds for coronavirus patients in acute care centers.

The House approved HB 2965 a day after state Secretary of Health John Wiesman requested $100 million. Before the first death announced last Saturday and the increase in the number of people diagnosed, the House had approved $5 million for the outbreak response and the Senate plan called for $10 million.

Meeting with reporters, Jinkins said she didn’t know if $100 million would be enough. Wiesman briefed lawmakers Tuesday on the status of the outbreak. The health department’s hope is that it won’t need to spend all of the money and will return what’s left over, she said.

The bill moves to the Senate. The 60-day legislative session ends March 12.

This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 5:45 AM.