Why Did WA Governor Veto Program Fighting Retail Theft-Crime?

When you see how much WA State spends (and wastes) in state government $500K is a paltry amount.   It's a tiny fraction of the multi-billion-dollar bloated budget plan.

But that did not stop WA Governor Bob Ferguson from vetoing a successful plan that even the Department of Commerce said was successful in fighting retail theft crime.

    Why Did Ferguson Veto the Funding? The Answer Will Infuriate You

According to The Center Square and The Reflector online, The National Retail Foundation (NRF) says in 2025, nationally, retailers lost $112 billion in retail theft and organized related theft, and a few years ago, based on 2021 data, WA state retailers lost $2.7 billion to theft. That in turn cost the state over $603 million in lost sales tax and local revenue.

WA State ranks #1 in the nation in retail theft, according to the Lynnwood Times. So why was the Organized Task Force basically shut down?  Created in 2024 with a $1 million dollar investment, the latest $500K was to ensure the program continued.

  The Program had Bi-Partisan Support

Especially on the West Side, it was working, and in King, Snohomish and Spokane Counties who have some of the highest theft rates. It allowed for more prosecutions, and for some, diversion of sentences for 1st timers. It ran out of money last June, and Democrat House Rep Mary Leavitt of University Place, had pushed through the financial extension.

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Following his veto a couple of weeks ago, when he signed the supplemental budget for the current legislative session, Ferguson told reporters he'd created a "task force" to study the issue, but also said "we've got a budget to balance."

Leavitt and other legislators who supported the bill are furious, even some in the Democrat party are putting heat on Ferguson.

By the way, that $500,000? It's 0.000632 percent of the $79 billion dollar budget Ferguson signed at the beginning of April.