More Analysis of the State Budget Challenges

The Senate Ways and Means Committee updated its Six Year General Fund Outlook. While it differs slightly from the WashACE report released last week, the differences are minor and the bottom line is unaffected. A shortfall of $3.2 billion is projected for the 2009-2011 biennium. Draining the entire $728 million rainy day fund would still leave a gap of $2.5 billion. If the budget office succeeds in making the $200 million savings the governor ordered on top of the $90 million savings expected from the hiring and travel freeze, there's still plenty of work to do to close the gap. 

The Governor told the Columbian the rainy day fund may need to be tapped to manage the shortfall (h/t Jason Mercier).

Elsewhere in the papers, Sen. Joe Zarelli has an op-ed in the morning Seattle Times, giving his perspective on how the state's fiscal house can be put back in order.

And in the Herald of Everett, I write that the state has no budget crisis, it has a problem to manage. (My apologies for a transposition error in the "slice" number, which should be $529 million. Just a typo, it doesn't affect any of the analysis.)

Rushing to The Last Resort, the Budget and Policy Center calls for a sales tax increase.