Budget

Policy changes in the compromise budget versus those passed in March

The Senate has passed the compromise 2017-19 budget. If enacted, spending will increase by $5.254 billion (near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways) over 2015-17. Of that, about $2.071 billion is at the policy level. The chart below (click on it for a larger version) shows how the policy changes are distributed throughout the budget and compares […]

2017–19 operating budget compromise would appropriate $43.7 billion

Budget negotiators reached an agreement on the operating budget for 2017–19 Wednesday morning, but details were not made public. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will have an executive session on the budget and other bills today at 8 am, and the budget must be passed and signed by the end of today. This tight […]

As the Legislature begins its second special session, OSPI offers a new K–12 plan

Yesterday the Legislature began the second special session of the year, because the Legislature has not come to an agreement on an operating budget or an education plan to comply with the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. As the Seattle Times reports, Gov. Inslee said yesterday that neither the property tax levy swap in the […]

New brief: Senate- and House-Passed Capital Budgets Include About $1 Billion for Public Schools

Last week we published a two-page comparison of the capital budgets that have been passed by the Senate and House. New today is a more detailed look at the proposals: Senate- and House-Passed Capital Budgets Include About $1 Billion for Public Schools. Briefly: The Senate and House have both passed 2017–19 capital budgets. The Senate would appropriate $3.995 […]

New brief: Comparing the Capital Budgets

The House and Senate have each passed capital budgets, but they differ by $157 million. In a new policy brief, we provide a side-by-side comparison of some of the major provisions of each proposal.

Exchange enrollment still increasing, with growth from non-subsidized customers

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange’s new Spring enrollment report shows that in February 2017, 182,232 customers had purchased qualified (private) health plans (QHP). The chart below shows the monthly enrollment numbers, as revised by the current report. (These are all plans that have been paid for.) Interestingly, there were fewer enrollments in December 2016 than […]

New brief: House-Passed 2017–19 Operating Budget Would Increase Spending by $6.4 Billion

In a new policy brief, we take a look at the House-passed operating budget. Briefly: The House-passed operating budget would increase revenues by $2.981 billion in 2017–19. It would impose a 20 percent B&O tax surcharge on various activities while reducing B&O taxes for small businesses, and it would impose a tax on capital gains, […]

New brief: Comparing the Operating Budgets

In a new policy brief, we provide a short comparison of the 2017-19 operating budget proposals, as passed by the Senate and House. UPDATE: We’ve recorded a Policy Today podcast discussing the differences between the House and Senate budget plans. You can listen to it here.

Our education funding comparison table has been updated

Yesterday we posted a policy brief comparing the various education funding proposals. After publication, we received additional information from the Office of Financial Management that allowed us to fill in some of the holes regarding Gov. Inslee’s proposal. Also, we changed the first row of the table to show the full NGFS+ policy change for […]

New brief: Comparing the Education Funding Proposals, Second Edition

In a new policy brief, we provide a side-by-side comparison of the education funding plans that have been proposed by the governor and Legislature. This is an update of the comparison we published last month. The update reflects changes made to the House- and Senate-passed plans, as funded in the operating budgets passed by each chamber. […]