In 2017, the Senate Labor, Commerce and Sports Committee held a fact finding hearing in Olympia in response to a report from KING-TV which analyzed the past five years of WSF financial data obtained through a request for public records. Transportation officials issued a statement saying, "the cash-strapped ferry system was cutting out excessive forms of compensation for many of its workers and saving millions of tax dollars in the process," while KING 5 Investigators showed WSF has been spending more on labor costs every year since 2012. Sen. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, chair of the committee, said, "the most troubling portion of the report centered on how types of compensation that were eliminated by the legislature and WSF management were quietly added back on, which led to the soaring labor costs." Baumgartner stated plans to introduce legislation that would make negotiating contracts an open process in the future. He cited a conflict of interest in the current protocol as labor unions are perennial supporters of the governor.