Emily Makings

Arkansas' Budget System and Prioritization

Arkansas, apparently, is one state that has managed to weather the recession fairly well.  Stateline has an article today about the state's budget process, which is quite interesting: Every two years lawmakers pass a list of appropriations, and agencies project what they will need to run their programs. Then those funding requests are divided into […]

New Brief: SJR 8206: A Prudent Savings Measure

In our new brief, we take a look at SJR 8206 — a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot in November. The amendment would save any extraordinary revenue growth (growth that exceeds by one-third the average revenue growth over the prior five biennia) in the Budget Stabilization Account.  Years in which there is […]

Overpayment of Unemployment Benefits in WA

In a blog post yesterday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) has released data on overpayment of unemployment benefits.  As part of a plan to lower these overpayments, DoL will target certain states with high overpayment rates–including Washington. Nearly $19 billion in state unemployment benefits were paid in […]

New Brief: The 2011-13 Budget and the Upcoming Revenue Forecast

As Kriss reported on Sunday, the September 15 revenue forecast probably won’t be pretty:  “[State economist Arun] Raha indicated that a major downward adjustment to the forecast of state revenue for the 2011-13 biennium is forthcoming.” In light of that, we have a new brief today that describes some of the policy changes made in […]

GASB Proposals for Public Pension Accounting and Reporting

Earlier this summer, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) released proposed new standards for state pension accounting and financial reporting.  One of the reasons GASB has proposed these changes is the “increasing need among the users of governmental financial reports for comparable information about pensions.”  The WRC looked at public pensions in a policy brief […]

City and County Classifications in the News

If you liked our policy brief on local initiatives and referenda, you may be interested in a few stories today from around the state regarding city and county classifications.  A locality’s classification is the starting point in determining whether its residents have initiative and referendum powers. First, in a blog post in the Kitsap Caucus, […]

WA has Highest Workers' Comp Benefits per Covered Worker

Last week the National Academy of Social Insurance released its report on workers’ compensation for the year 2009.  Based on the state-specific data in the report, 2009 benefits paid per covered worker in Washington were the highest in the nation at $857.32.  The state with the second highest benefits per covered worker was West Virginia […]

New Brief: Initiatives and Referenda at the Local Level

Today we published a new brief on the local initiative and referendum process in Washington.  Washington has 281 cities and 39 counties.  Depending on the type of city or county, residents may or may not have the powers of initiative and referendum locally–in 59 cities and six counties, they do.

Workers' Compensation Reforms in Other States

Apparently Washington wasn’t the only state to make significant changes to its workers’ compensation system this year.  An article in Stateline today discusses cost-cutting measures that were enacted in several states.  The article also includes a handy sidebar with the key changes made in Montana, Illinois, Oklahoma, Washington, Kansas, and North Carolina. Like Washington, Montana […]

Budget Gimmicks

Stateline has a handy article today on common budget gimmicks used by the states, with copious examples.  Not surprisingly, many of these will be familiar to Washington budget-watchers: Putting off payments Accelerating revenue Using temporary money for recurring expenses Counting on savings that aren't likely to materialize Counting on revenue that isn't likely to materialize […]