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For eleven straight years, a Washington state budget line called "Special Appropriations to the Governor" had zero staff. Zero. Every year until 2026 that is... In fiscal year 2026, it has 20.5 full-time positions and $1.14 billion in public funds. That number comes directly from the Washington Office of Financial Management's own statewide staffing history at ofm.wa.gov. It is not an interpretation. It is on the state's public record. Here is what this budget line actually does, in OFM's own words: "Special Appropriations to the Governor has been created as a budget entity to separate appropriations that the Governor allocates to other state agencies. Once the allocation is made, expenditures are recorded in the receiving agency." Translation: the legislature puts money into a pool. The governor's office decides which agencies get what and when. The allocation decisions happen inside the governor's office, not in a public legislative vote on that specific use. For context: the entire Office of the Governor proper has 161 Full Time Employees (FTE) and $70.6 million in total appropriations for this biennium. The Special Appropriations pool managed by those 20 positions is sixteen times larger than the governor's direct office budget. The bill that created this structure, ESSB 5167, passed the Senate 28-19 and the House 52-45. Every yes vote was a Democrat. Every no vote was a Republican, per the legislative vote record. It was signed by Governor Ferguson on May 20, 2025. The governor's office has stated the expansion was necessary to respond to federal funding uncertainty from the Trump administration. That explanation may be entirely accurate. It does not change what the structure is. Over a billion dollars flowing through a single pool. Allocation decisions made inside the governor's office. By staff who do not appear on any public vote record. Zero staff for eleven years. Then twenty, managing $1.14 billion. And the average Washington taxpayer has no idea this line exists. I publish the full research and sourced breakdowns on Substack every week. Search Shane Kidwell if you want the deeper dive.