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Category: Governor’s Office

Report: WA recession over, recovery `tepid at best’

Report: WA recession over, recovery `tepid at best’

Washington’s economy is officially out of recession  — and state revenue is even growing a tiny bit. But the recovery, mirroring the national scene, is “painfully slow” and “tepid at best,” said a new Columbus Day report released by the state Economic and Revenue Foecast Council. The state’s chief economist, Arun Raha, announced that tax collections for the past month have grown $2.5 million above the September forecast.  In a two-year budget of $30 billion, that’s peanuts, of course, but…

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Bleak times: WA revenue projections plummet $1.4b

Bleak times: WA revenue projections plummet $1.4b

Washington’s expected revenues have plummeted more than $1.4 billion. Governor Gregoire will order across-the-board emergency cuts in state government spending, reportedly in the 6 percent range.  The state now has a projected deficit of about $520 million. Lawmakers and the governor already were girding for a $3 billion shortfall as they write the new two-year state budget this winter. The stunning economic news was presented by the state’s chief economist, Arun Raha, to the bipartisan legislative-administration panel called the Economic…

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Tightening the belt: Gregoire orders spending cuts

Tightening the belt: Gregoire orders spending cuts

Governor Gregoire has just inked an executive order requiring most agencies and programs of Washington state government to trim their sails some more.  The actual percentage — in the 4-to-7-percent range — will be filled in by the state budget office after the new revenue forecast is released on Thursday morning. The cuts, which take effect Oct. 1, will apply to all programs without a constitutional protection, such as basic aid-to-education, bond debt service and pensions, or federal entitlements.  A…

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Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 7

Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 7

My post is full of all kinds of drama and excitement today!  I have some good news, and then I have some bad news, but I’m going to end my post with some really great news.    The good news: on November 11, 1881, the Washington Territorial House of Representatives passed House Bill 103, a women’s suffrage bill by a vote of 13 to 11.  The bad news is that the measure was voted down by the Territorial Council, five to…

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Gregoire: Prepare for budget cuts and more cuts

Gregoire: Prepare for budget cuts and more cuts

Governor Gregoire is directing state agencies to make plans for possible spending cuts in the 4-to-7 percent range, beginning Oct. 1. Gregoire, sounding very sober despite a recent infusion of over a half-billion dollars in federal aid, told a Capitol news conference Thursday the cupboard is nearly bare, with this fiscal year’s projected ending fund balance now down to just $72 million (out of a $31 billion two-year budget).  As noted a day earlier, state tax receipts are lagging below…

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Revenue update: Economy limps, tax collections lag

Revenue update: Economy limps, tax collections lag

A new state economic and revenue update says the national economic recovery “appears to be stalling” and that state tax collections are lagging below expected levels. The report from chief economist Arun Raha says collections were down more than $40 million below the June forecast, bringing the total backslide for the past two months to $124.5 million. The news comes shortly after President Obama signed a $26 billion bailout for the states, including $338 million in expected federal aid for…

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Gregoire: Stickin’ close to home

Gregoire: Stickin’ close to home

Governor Gregoire says she’s called the White House and said, thanks, but no thanks.  She’s staying in Olympia. The governor had been touted as the next Obama choice for solicitor general, succeeding Justice Elena Kagan.  Solicitor general, sometimes called the 10th justice, is a powerful post, representing the administration in appellate court cases.  Gregoire worked with Kagan on the national tobacco settlement and is considered a favorite of the White House. But as she’s been hinting for weeks, the governor…

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Budget crisis update: Congress OKs aid bill

Budget crisis update: Congress OKs aid bill

The U.S. House, recalled to the Capitol from the campaign trail for a special sitting Tuesday, approved and sent to President Obama a $26 billion budget bailout for the states.  For Washington, it will mean the difference between having a small reserve and dipping into the red, requiring a special session or gubernatorial edict to cut state spending. The vote was party line in the Washington delegation: 6 Democrats aye and 3 Republicans nay.  A relieved Governor Gregoire was delighted…

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Budget crisis update: Senate greenlights aid

Budget crisis update: Senate greenlights aid

Just as Washington was girding for a nasty special legislative session or across-the-board spending cuts by Governor Gregoire, Congress may at long last be riding to the rescue.  The U.S. Senate voted 61-38 in a key test vote Wednesday to jump-start a $26 billion aid package for the financially-strapped states. That  would translate into over a half-billion for Washington state. This would include $320 million in Medicaid matching funds that the Legislature had booked when it wrote the budget last…

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