WA One of Four States with Current Year Budget Shortfall
Today the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a Fall 2011 State Budget Update: Better revenue performance is driving the improvement in state finances. Collections in most states have stabilized or are growing, and the general revenue outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year reflects confidence in continued modest growth. However, recent global […]
November 23 , 2011 - Emily Makings
A Preliminary Look at the Governor's 2012 Supplemental
On Monday, Governor Gregoire released her proposed 2012 supplemental budget for 2011-13. This follows alternatives for reductions that she laid out in October (and which I wrote about here). The Budget Highlights document explains the problem: When Governor Gregoire and the Legislature approved the 2011–13 budget last spring, the state was projected to end the […]
November 14 , 2011 - Emily Makings
Judicial Branch Spending
Last week, the Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court, Barbara Madsen, wrote an article in the News Tribune on the impact of budget cuts on the state’s judicial system. She writes, In a September 2010 survey on funding impacts, Pierce County courts reported cutting several weeks of jury trials. That resulted in a growing […]
November 09 , 2011 - Emily Makings
More on the Governor's Budget Reduction Alternatives
About two weeks ago, Governor Gregoire released a list of budget reduction alternatives — both her preliminary choices for cuts ($1.65 billion) and additional alternatives ($3.84 billion). (She will officially propose a 2012 supplemental budget later this month.) She also includes additions to the reserve of $390 million (from delaying the June 30, 2013 apportionment […]
November 08 , 2011 - Emily Makings
Thrive Washington: Setting Priorities, Marking Progress
The last of nine Thrive Washington papers is now available: Setting Priorities, Marking Progress. Thrive Washington is a research series developed by the Washington Roundtable and the Washington Research Council. Other papers focused on fiscal policy, business costs, competitive sourcing, health care, government restructuring, regulatory reform, and economic development. The final paper reviews progress made by […]
November 08 , 2011 - Emily Makings
New Brief: The Budget Arc: State Spending from Expansion to Recession, 2003-2013
Our latest policy brief looks at state spending trends from 2003 to 2013. The recession isn’t the only reason the state budget situation is such a mess. Spending choices made in flusher years are also contributing factors. The numbers we cite for the 2011-13 biennium are as budgeted — they will be cut further. The […]
October 25 , 2011 - Emily Makings
Economic Assumption Changes for WA's Retirement Systems
Yesterday the Pension Funding Council met and agreed to make changes to the economic assumptions of state retirement systems, including lowering the investment return assumption from 8 percent to 7.9 percent for the 2013–15 biennium. Additional reductions in later biennia were not agreed to at this time. At the end of August, the Office of […]
October 20 , 2011 - Emily Makings
WRC Policy Briefs on Ballot Measures
Ballots are in the mail for the general election. In case you missed any of them, here are our policy briefs on the ballot measures: Initiative 1183 Would Produce Revenue Gains for State and Local Governments State Analysts and WRC Agree: I-1183 Generates Positive State/Local Revenues I-1125: Jamming Transportation Planning I-1163: Once, Twice, Still Not […]
October 14 , 2011 - Emily Makings
Boom and Bust
The top story in Stateline today is all about Washington: “Boeing and Microsoft boom, but Washington State busts.” It’s a downer of a story, which will be no surprise to anyone that’s been paying attention to the state budget over the last few years. The article says that Washington’s budget problems stand out from those […]
October 07 , 2011 - Emily Makings
New Brief: I-1163: Once, Twice, Still Not a Priority
We have taken a look at Initiative 1163, and the resulting policy brief is here. I-1163 would essentially make the state implement training and background check requirements for long-term care workers (which were approved by voters in 2008) this biennium. The program never had a dedicated source of funding, and the legislature has never implemented […]