Revenue update: `Flat is the new up’
A new Washington revenue forecast was what passes for good news at the beleaguered state Capitol: at least things didn’t get worse. Lawmakers and the new governor still have a potential budget gap of several billion dollars, including court-mandated K-12 funding. Some old Olympia hands had expected a sizable new drop in expected revenue for the next 27 months, perhaps in the $200 million range, but the number from chief economist Steve Lerch was up $40 million. The forecast for…