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Headlines
Needy States Use Housing Aid Cash to Plug Budgets
Only 27 states have devoted all their funds from the banks to housing programs, according to a report by Enterprise Community Partners, a national affordable housing group. So far about 15 states have said they will use all or most of the money for other purposes.
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Headlines
Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
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Headlines
Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
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Headlines
Local and state governments look for creative ways to fund transportation projects
Constrained budgets and deficit reduction efforts mean federal fewer dollars for infrastructure. As such, the burden is shifting more to state and local governments, which are being forced to find creative funding solutions.
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Research
"GASB Won't Let Me" - A False Objection to Public Pension Reform
Pension reform is a separate issue from amortization. These two issues have been conflated by those invoking the GASB proviso for closed DB plans, but this has only sown confusion. This is clearly demonstrated when the reform is structured with amortization payments on total payroll. In this way, the growth in the base for amortization payments is unaffected by the reform, so there is no policy reason for changing the schedule of these payments. The funding schedule for amortization is a red herring, irrelevant to the fundamental policy decision for pension reform. Amortization pays for past debts; pension reform lays a path toward a responsible future.
- View All News Stories
Budget timeframe: Biennial
Fiscal Year begins: July 1
Gov. Chris Gregoire
Office of Governor Chris Gregoire
P.O. Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002
Phone: (360) 902-4111
Fax: (360) 753-4110
http://www.governor.wa.gov/
Victor A. Moore, Director
Office of Financial Management
P.O. Box 43113
Olympia, WA 98504-3113
Phone (360) 902-0555
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/
ofm.budget@ofm.wa.gov
Legislative Budget Leaders:
Rep. Zack Hudgins (D), Chair, House Committe on General Government Appropriations & Oversight, zack.hudgins@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7956
Rep. Mark Miloscia (D), Co-Vice-Chair, House Committee on General Government Appropriations & Oversight, mark.miloscia@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7898
Rep. Luis Moscoso (D), Co-Vice-Chair, House Committee on General Government Appropriations & Oversight, luis.moscoso@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7900
Rep. Ross Hunter (D), Chair, House Ways & Means Committee, ross.hunter@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7936
Rep. Jeannie Darneille (D), Co-Vice-Chair, House Ways & Means Committee, jeannie.darneille@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7974
Rep. Bob Hasegawa (D), Co-Vice-Chair, House Ways & Means Committee, bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7862
Sen. Ed Murray (D), Chair, Senate Ways & Means Committee, Edward.Murray@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7628
Sen. Derek Kilmer (D), Vice-Chair, Senate Ways & Means Committee, Derek.Kilmer@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7650
The current state budget can be found here.
Want a more robust, long-term look at your state's fiscal health, beyond the budget? There are two parts: Click here for the FY2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) compiled by the state government, and click here for information on the state's pension liabilities.
Washington is required to pass a "balanced budget." Section 43.88.033 of the State law mandates the budget shall not propose expenditures in excess of the statutory limit. Section 43.88.050 requires the governor to ensure anticipated revenues match estimated expenditures. Section 43.88.110(5) requires the governor to make an "across-the-board" reduction in allotments to funds to prevent any cash deficits due to projected cash deficits. Section 43.135.025 limits state expenditures to the previous year's appropriations limit plus the fiscal growth factor, which is the average growth in state personal income for the preceding ten years. In spite of these provisions, the State's Budgetary Comparison Schedules reported budget deficits (negative net transactions) for each of the three years examined. Washington law forbids the carrying over of a deficit from one year to the next.
Washington is engaged in a practice called budgeting for fiscal discipline. Instead of the varying assumptions inherent in other states' budgets, Washington estimates revenue to grow at a fixed rate, and caps spending accordingly. While this system has varying degrees of success, keeping any shortfalls in revenue from getting out of hand, Washington also requires the budget document to conform to generally accepted accounting principles, as applicable to states.
The State's major governmental funds are the General Fund, Higher Education Special Revenue Fund and the Higher Education Endowment Permanent Fund. Of the three major governmental funds, only the General Fund is budgeted. Some non-major funds are budgeted. But judging from the differences between actual and budgeted figures, it is likely that few of the total governmental funds are budgeted. Budgetary information within the Budgetary Comparison Schedules are not efficiently ordered and do not include the necessary "total" columns. [from the Institute for Truth in Accounting]
Find the state's bond ratings here.
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K-12 Education :
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HEADLINES: Washington
Wash. Legislature passes budget proposal
The Washington state Legislature has approved a supplemental budget, setting them up for a final adjournment of an overtime legislative session.
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HEADLINES: Washington
Wash. state Senate passes bills seen as part of budget deal
The current special session ends Tuesday. If the supplemental budget is not passed before then, a new special session will be necessary.
- View All Washington articles
Higher Education :
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SOLUTIONS: Washington
Top 10 Ideas to Cut Waste, Balance the Budget and Stimulate the Economy Without Raising Taxes
Ten ideas to cut waste and balance the buget without raising taxes, including more efficient K-12 funding, spending high education tax dollars more wisely and rein in state employee salaries and benefits.
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HEADLINES: Washington
Gregoire outlines grim choices for budget cuts
The latest round of cuts proposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire would increase public-school class sizes, eliminate subsidized health care for the working poor and release hundreds of inmates early.
- View All Washington articles
Budget Gimmicks :
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HEADLINES
Needy States Use Housing Aid Cash to Plug Budgets
Only 27 states have devoted all their funds from the banks to housing programs, according to a report by Enterprise Community Partners, a national affordable housing group. So far about 15 states have said they will use all or most of the money for other purposes.
-
HEADLINES: Washington
Wash. Legislature passes budget proposal
The Washington state Legislature has approved a supplemental budget, setting them up for a final adjournment of an overtime legislative session.
- View All Washington articles
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Solutions: Washington
Top 10 Ideas to Cut Waste, Balance the Budget and Stimulate the Economy Without Raising Taxes
Ten ideas to cut waste and balance the buget without raising taxes, including more efficient K-12 funding, spending high education tax dollars more wisely and rein in state employee salaries and benefits.
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Solutions: Washington
DeBolt proposes common sense ideas
The plan is aimed at reducing regulatory burden, and increasing permit predictability by suggesting the suspension of some growth management requirements, the suspension of agency rulemaking, and shortening permitting decisions.
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Solutions: Washington
State officials need to overhaul basic budget strategy
state budget writers need is a paradigm shift to reality-based budgeting, a shift from the prevailing budget-writing paradigm, ongoing programs are assumed to continue and spending is assumed to go up, up, up. These assumptions represent the easy route for legislators, but a very expensive path for taxpayers.
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Solutions: Washington
How can legislators solve a $5.3 billion deficit?
there is no shortage of ideas for fixing the budget. The demand for government services is virtually infinite, but the resources to pay for them are not. This is why legislators must do the job for which they were hired—prioritize the role of government within existing resources.
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Solutions: Washington
Questions for Legislators and School Boards for K-12 Education
Public education is a huge expense in state budgets. It is important to know how much of the taxpayer dollars actually reach the classroom and what the taxpayers are getting for that investment. Here are questions to ask of legislators, school board members and school officials.
- View All Solutions
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Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
-
Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
-
"GASB Won't Let Me" - A False Objection to Public Pension Reform
Pension reform is a separate issue from amortization. These two issues have been conflated by those invoking the GASB proviso for closed DB plans, but this has only sown confusion. This is clearly demonstrated when the reform is structured with amortization payments on total payroll. In this way, the growth in the base for amortization payments is unaffected by the reform, so there is no policy reason for changing the schedule of these payments. The funding schedule for amortization is a red herring, irrelevant to the fundamental policy decision for pension reform. Amortization pays for past debts; pension reform lays a path toward a responsible future.
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OPINION
Public pension 'best practices' omit 1 thing: How do we pay benefits?
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
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OPINION
COMMENTARY Municipal, state workers should take their pension money and run, fast
Public employees should take their pension money now and run to avoid risk of getting reduced benefits - or nothing - in the future. It's the best deal for them and for taxpayers. A growing chorus of credible voices including the Government Accountability Office, a Federal Reserve bank and now the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government confirm state and local government finances are "spiraling out of control" and even draconian reforms only make it "more likely" that future benefits will paid in full.
- View All Pensions
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OPINION: Pensions
Public pension 'best practices' omit 1 thing: How do we pay benefits?
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
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BLOG
Final budget stands only $46 million away from deficit
The unrestricted ending fund balance rests at $46 million with another $265 million in the constitutionally protected budget reserve account. Because the budget reserve account requires a vote of lawmakers to access, the immediate flexibility built in the budget to avoid another special session or across-the-board cuts is only $46 million out of a $31.1 billion budget.
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OPINION: Pensions
COMMENTARY Municipal, state workers should take their pension money and run, fast
Public employees should take their pension money now and run to avoid risk of getting reduced benefits - or nothing - in the future. It's the best deal for them and for taxpayers. A growing chorus of credible voices including the Government Accountability Office, a Federal Reserve bank and now the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government confirm state and local government finances are "spiraling out of control" and even draconian reforms only make it "more likely" that future benefits will paid in full.
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BLOG: Unions
State union negotiations begin tomorrow on 2013-15 contracts
Governor Gregoire will begin negotiations with state employee unions tomorrow to determine the terms of the 2013-15 state union contracts. These 2013-15 Collective Bargaining Agreements are to be finalized by October 1 of this year - a month before the next Governor is chosen.
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BLOG: Pensions
COMMENTARY: This plan could save municipal, state workers' pension checks
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
- View All Blog & Opinions
