Gov. Jay Inslee delivered his first in-person State of the State Address to the Washington state Legislature since 2020 on Tuesday, outlining his vision for the state. The governor reflected on the progress made in recent years in tackling issues like mental health, housing, and climate change. Inslee also detailed how the state plans to continue those efforts in the coming years. "When there’s not enough housing for all, rents and prices skyrocket beyond what many can afford," Inslee said. "Until we fix our housing crisis, thousands of people will remain homeless." Washington state is short 81,000 housing units, according to Inslee, and Washington's population grew by nearly 1 million people in the last decade. Housing stock only grew by 315,000 units during this time. Inslee said the state needs 1 million units in the next 17 years. Inslee cited the state's rapid-acquisition housing program, which began two years ago, that helped to speed up the process of developing affordable housing. He also spoke about his budget proposal from December, which included a $4 billion referendum that will "significantly speed up the construction of thousands of new units that will include shelters, supportive housing and affordable housing." These efforts would be combined with additional behavioral health support, substance use treatment, employment services and more. Behavioral health was another point of emphasis for Inslee. He spoke about an "unprecedented" rise in demand for competency evaluation and restoration services, a 60% increase in court orders since 2018 and a 145% increase in inpatient referrals since 2013. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/state-politics/gov-inslee-state-of-the-state-address/281-bfb804a0-e511-45d0-8631-6d17522cbf5e