Challenges for revenue forecasters and state budgets
Bill Lucia has a good story in Route Fifty on how the coronavirus outbreak could affect state budgets, with a heavy focus on Washington and some insights into Washington’s revenue forecasting and spending process. David Schumacher, director of Washington’s Office of Financial Management, said that when he looks at the public health crisis in his […]
Coronavirus response, rainy day funds, and state budget stress tests
Yesterday, Gov. Inslee signed EHB 2965, which appropriates $200 million from the rainy day fund in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. (I wrote in detail about the bill here.) The Associated Press reports that other states are using their reserve funds for this purpose as well. Aside from the direct public health costs, . […]
13th of March 2020
Legislature appropriates $200 million from rainy day fund (plus $25 million in federal dollars) for COVID-19 response—including for unemployment insurance
Yesterday (the last day of session), the Legislature passed EHB 2965. The House and Senate had each passed versions of the bill last week that would have appropriated $100.0 million from the budget stabilization account (BSA, or the rainy day fund). As adopted yesterday, the bill appropriates $200.0 million from the BSA. Of that, $175.0 […]
5th of March 2020
Workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and quarantines
Given the coronavirus outbreak in Washington, policymakers are considering how workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance should be applied when workers are quarantined. Today Gov. Inslee and the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) announced: L&I is immediately changing its policy around workers’ compensation coverage for health care workers and first responders who are quarantined by […]
4th of March 2020
Should the state use the rainy day fund to respond to the coronavirus outbreak?
On Feb. 29, Gov. Inslee declared a state of emergency in response to Washington’s coronavirus outbreak. On March 2, the Department of Health (DOH) gave a presentation to the Senate Ways and Means Committee in which DOH estimated that the public health system and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) could need $100 […]