House Ways and Means Committee Passes Supplemental Budget
On Saturday the House Ways and Means Committee reported out, with amendments its Chair’s proposed supplemental budget. (Here is our brief on the Chair’s Proposal.) The amendments increased spending by $64.4 million (General Fund-State, Education Legacy Trust and Opportunity Pathways Accounts combined [NGFS+]) from total in the Chair’s proposed budget and reduced the projected ending […]
February 22 , 2012 - Kriss Sjoblom
Charts comparing Hunter and Gregoire supplemental budgets
I have prepared two pie charts that allow a comparison of Rep. Hunter’s supplemental budget proposal to the “Book 1” supplemental budget that Gov. Gregoire released in November. By the governor’s reckoning at that point in time, the state faced a shortfall of nearly $2 billion in the general fund–state budget for the remainder of […]
February 16 , 2012 - Kriss Sjoblom
Revision to state revenue forecast adds $95.7 million for 2011-13 biennium
The headline number for today's revision to the state general fund revenue forecast is a gain of $95.7 million, taking expected revenues for the 2011-13 biennium to $30.284 billion. However, $50.6 million of the $95.7 gain is due to actions taken in the December 2011 special session of the legislature allowing unclaimed property seized by […]
February 13 , 2012 - Kriss Sjoblom
State's monthly Economic and Revenue Update contains a bit of good news
The state Forecast Council’s monthly Economic and Revenue Update (available here), which was released this afternoon, contains a bit of good news on revenue collections over the last month. Here is the summary: The preliminary February forecast for the U.S. economy is similar to the November forecast, with continued concerns about downside risks. Washington’s economy […]
January 30 , 2012 - Kriss Sjoblom
Machinery & Equipment Exemption Key to Keeping Jobs, Investments in Washington
Manufacturing continues to be a strength of Washington’s economy. We have published a Policy Brief on the machinery and equipment exemption, which contributes to that strength by encouraging the capital investments that anchor manufacturing here.
January 12 , 2012 - Kriss Sjoblom
State Revenue Collections Remain On Track
The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released the January Economic and Revenue Update yesterday. Here is the summary: The U.S. economy is performing as expected in the last forecast, but downside risks remain extremely high. Washington’s economy is benefitting from solid performances by aerospace, software and agriculture. But overall growth is being held back by […]
December 15 , 2011 - Kriss Sjoblom
OFM Posts 6-Year Outlook
The Office of Financial Management has posted a new six-year outlook for the state budget. OFM's analysis shows that, even with the cuts that Gov. Gregoire has proposed to close the deficit in the current biennium, the state faces budget deficits in the following two biennia under current law. The main culprits are restoration of […]
December 12 , 2011 - Kriss Sjoblom
Scant Good News for Budget Writers in Report on November 11 to December 10 State Revenue Collections
The Washington State Economic and Revenue Council (EFRC) today issued its December Economic and Revenue Update. Here is the summary: The U.S. economy continues to “muddle through.” The risk of a renewed financial meltdown stemming from the European sovereign debt crisis remains high. We continue to expect Washington’s economy to outperform the U.S. in the […]
November 18 , 2011 - Kriss Sjoblom
Trends in Washington's Life Sciences Industry 2007-2011
An economic impact analysis of the state’s life sciences industry by the Research Council was released today at the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association’s Governor’s Life Sciences Summit and Annual Meeting. We estimate that the various segments of the life sciences industry directly employed over 33,500 people in the state in 2010. Those life science […]
November 17 , 2011 - Kriss Sjoblom
State revenue forecast for 2011-13 reduced by $122 million
The state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council updated its forecast of general fund-state revenues today. The forecast for the 2011-13 biennium was reduced by $122 million, while the talley of revenue for 2009-11 was increased by $25 million. The net bad news was thus a reduction of $97 million. From the press release: Our current […]