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Budget negotiations and constraints

In yesterday's episode of Inside Olympia, Austin Jenkins talked with Rep. Hans Dunshee, chair of the Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Bruce Dammeier, vice chair of the Ways & Means Committee, about the budget. Chair Dunshee talked a lot about his dislike of the four-year balanced budget requirement (from minute 10:03): If you had the four-year […]

Policy Today podcast: House and Senate supplemental budgets

The Olympian on the budget

The Olympian editorial board writes about the supplemental operating budget. I think the way they frame the education differences between the House and Senate proposals is a bit odd: The Democrats want to give teachers a small cost-of-living pay adjustment, including Inslee’s plan to lift starting-teacher pay to $40,000. They want to pay for that […]

New brief: Senate-Passed Supplemental Operating Budget Would Modestly Increase Spending Within Existing Revenues

On Friday, the Senate passed a 2016 supplemental operating budget proposal. We describe the proposal in a new policy brief. Briefly, As passed by the Senate, the supplemental would increase NGFS+ spending by $33.6 million. The proposal would fund public charter schools. It would provide additional support for higher education related to last year’s tuition […]

New brief: House-Passed Supplemental Operating Budget Would Increase Spending, Increase Taxes, and Tap the Rainy Day Fund

The House passed a 2016 supplemental operating budget last night. In a new policy brief, we take a look at the House-passed proposal. Briefly: As passed by the House, the supplemental would increase 2015–17 NGFS+ spending by $478.4 million. Of that, $99.0 million would be spent to recruit and retain teachers and school staff. The […]

As passed by W&M, operating budget would increase spending by $33.6 million

Yesterday the Senate Ways & Means Committee passed a supplemental operating budget. It would increase NGFS+ spending for 2015-17 by $33.6 million. This is $15.2 million less than had been proposed by the W&M chair. The biggest change is that the supplemental would no longer provide $15.0 million for anticipated increases in the number of […]

House Appropriations increases spending in its operating budget proposal by an additional $9.9 million

As I noted yesterday, on Tuesday the House Appropriations Committee passed a supplemental operating budget. The final numbers incorporating amendments are now available. As proposed by the Appropriations chair, the budget would have increased 2015-17 spending by $466 million. As passed by the committee, it would increase 2015-17 spending by $476 million. The biggest change […]

Spending details from the W&M chair's operating budget proposal

The Senate Ways & Means (W&M) chair's supplemental operating budget proposal would increase NGFS+ spending by $48.8 million. That includes a net of $168.5 million in maintenance level increases (the costs of maintaining current services) and a net of $119.7 million in policy level reductions. Some notable increases at the policy level are: $16.7 million […]

Ways & Means chair's supplemental operating budget proposal would increase spending by $49 million

Yesterday the House Appropriations committee approved its 2016 supplemental operating budget proposal. The committee adopted several amendments, but new numbers reflecting those changes have not yet been released. As proposed, the budget would increase 2015-17 spending by $466 million. (For more on that proposal, see here, here and here.) Today the Senate Ways & Means […]

Spending highlights from the Appropriations chair's budget proposal, and a comparison to the governor's proposal

As proposed, the House Appropriations chair's 2016 supplemental operating budget would increase near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways (NGFS+) spending by $466 million. Of that, $246.8 million is considered policy level and $219.1 million is maintenance level (the cost of providing current services). The chair's proposal would increase 2015-17 spending by $54.6 million less than […]