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Policy Today podcast, Common Ground edition: Sen. Christine Rolfes on McCleary

Increased Medicaid spending a main driver of state spending nationally

Last month the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) released its annual State Expenditure Report, including actual data for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and estimated numbers for 2015. According to the report, Total state spending increased in fiscal 2015 at its fastest rate since 1992 due to a combination of modest growth in states' […]

New report: Spending and Revenues of Select Washington Counties

In a new special report, we compare the spending and revenues of Benton, Franklin, King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. This is the second of several special reports we are producing on county revenues and spending. (The first focused on King County.)

InFocus podcast: State employment, revenue forecast, charter schools & cell-phone taxes

A new challenge to I-1366

As expected, a lawsuit has been filed in King County Superior Court questioning the constitutionality of I-1366. Voters approved the initiative earlier this month (51.5 percent to 48.5 percent). Generally voters are allowed to vote on initiatives, even if there's a strong chance the initiative will be declared unconstitutional later. In a pre-election lawsuit, a King County Superior […]

New report: King County: Spending and Revenues

In a new special report, we review the spending and revenues of King County. This is the first of several reports we are producing on county revenues and spending. On both the taxation and expenditure sides, local governmental activities are significant. We have started with our three largest counties and two more located in the […]

Charter schools still unconstitutional, but Court slightly limits its ruling

Yesterday afternoon the state Supreme Court released its final decision on charter schools. A majority of five justices decided to delete footnote 10 from the original opinion finding that charter schools are unconstitutional (see page 11). Other than that, the decision stands. Footnote 10 says that "the absence of local control by voters would also violate the article IX […]

Notes from the caseload forecast

Earlier I wrote about the new budget outlook. The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council estimates that maintenance level spending for 2015-17 will increase by $368 million. That is partially driven by caseload and enrollment changes, and it's based on new estimates that the Caseload Forecast Council approved last week. Some highlights from the caseload forecast: K-12 Basic Education. Enrollment […]

Despite revenue gains, a cloudier budget outlook

As Kriss wrote yesterday, the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council estimates that near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways (NGFS+) revenues for the current biennium (2015-17) will be $103.3 million higher than previously expected. Additionally, the NGFS+ revenue forecast for the 2017-19 biennium is increased by $24.7 million. The extra expected revenue is good news for budget writers, […]

InFocus podcast: Fallout from I-1366, state revenue collections, Common Core