Governor's 2011 Supplemental
We have a new policy brief on Gov. Gregoire’s proposed 2011 supplemental budget. Although the legislature made deep cuts to the 2009-11 budget during its special session a few weeks ago, they did not completely close the gap. The governor’s proposal would do so. It takes into account revised estimates as to the costs to […]
December 17 , 2010 - Emily Makings
Better Services, Lower Costs!
The third paper in the Thrive Washington series is now available. The Case for Contracting Out: A Vital Tool to Help Balance Washington’s Budget and Improve Public Services shows how the state could save money by contracting out a variety of services it currently provides. Other states have had success with opening services to competitive […]
December 14 , 2010 - Emily Makings
Only the Beginning
Today we published a policy brief on the special session that took place on Saturday. As discussed in the brief, legislators made good headway in addressing the $1.1 billion 2009-11 budget shortfall: They reduced it by $588 million. The $588 million comes in the form of budget reductions ($490.4 million), fund transfers ($54 million), a […]
December 10 , 2010 - Emily Makings
More on the Special Session Agreement
The House Democrats have released the full list of reductions in the agreement that legislators and the Governor came to yesterday. I have added these proposals to my spreadsheet comparing the different ideas; it can be accessed here: Reduction Comparison 12.10.10 The agreement cuts DSHS, Natural Resources and Legislative by less than any of the […]
December 10 , 2010 - Emily Makings
Pre-Special Session Agreement
The Seattle Times reports that the Governor and the legislature have come to an agreement on a way to cut $790 million in FY2011. It does not eliminate the Basic Health Plan or Disability Lifeline, but it does eliminate non-emergency adult dental (Medicaid). The Governor’s idea to change the reimbursement method for Federally Qualifying Health […]
December 09 , 2010 - Emily Makings
Comparison of the Budget Reduction Proposals
I was glad when the House Democratic Caucus released its suggested budget reductions for FY2011 last week that they provided the exact list of cuts by program area. Unfortunately, I have not been able to completely reconcile the lists of possible budget reductions from the Governor, the Senate Republicans and the House Democrats. That said, […]
December 03 , 2010 - Emily Makings
Budget Reduction Ideas Galore
The House Democrats have joined Republicans in offering budget reduction options. For your spreadsheeting pleasure, I have put their full list of reduction ideas into an Excel document, which you can access here: HDC reduction list I am still going through the list, but I already have questions. The full list compares the reductions to […]
November 30 , 2010 - Emily Makings
Budget Fun
A post at Politics Northwest this afternoon highlights the Governor’s suggestion that June K-12 payments be delayed until July, as a way to save $240 million in FY2011 (more on the Governor’s proposed reductions here): Educators and staff would still get paid on time. It’s essentially a budget trick that would allow the state to […]
November 29 , 2010 - Emily Makings
Governor's Reductions
Last week, Governor Gregoire released a list of programs that have been reduced or could be reduced to close the budget shortfall for FY2011. In addition to across-the-board cuts, fund transfers, and payment delays, the Governor’s proposal would cut education, health, corrections, and other social services funding. As the Governor says in a letter to […]
November 18 , 2010 - Emily Makings
21st Century Trade Barriers
Earlier this week, Google released a white paper on trade and the Internet: "Enabling Trade in the Era of Information Technologies: Breaking Down Barriers to the Free Flow of Information." We tend to think of information freedom in human rights terms (or at least I have), but Google makes an interesting case for it being […]