By Shauna Sowersby
 and Jim Brunner
Seattle Times staff reporters
OLYMPIA — Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a state operating budget on Tuesday that substantially boosts state spending and raises taxes by roughly $9 billion over the next four years.

Throughout his early months as governor, Ferguson had vowed to bring a more hawkish approach to state spending. He publicly rejected a wealth tax floated by fellow Democrats and said he’d go through the budget line by line to look for savings.

But in the end, Ferguson went along with major tax increases on a wide array of businesses and wealthy individuals that Democrats, who hold wide majorities in the Legislature, approved while wrestling with a multibillion-dollar shortfall.

The $78 billion two-year budget Ferguson signed on Tuesday raises state spending by more than 8%, or $6 billion over the current two-year budget, while funding pay raises for most state workers and maintaining social and other services.

Flanked by Democratic lawmakers at a signing event Tuesday, Ferguson defended the budget as “maintaining core services” and boosting funding by more than $1 billion for public schools. While some states have started to cut services such as cash assistance to poor families and Medicaid, Ferguson said “in Washington, we are holding the line.”

Ferguson vetoed a relatively tiny slice of spending items in the operating budget — totaling about $25 million. The vetoes included funding for several studies and grants to small nonprofit groups.