Gov. Chris Gregoire's office has started contract negotiations with state employee unions. The result of the talks could tie the hands Washington's next governor for three years.

Most of the cuts are a result of privatizing liquor sales and distribution in the state, but some jobs will also be cut from the Department of Social and Health Services.

Washington lawmakers agreed Tuesday to reduce benefits for future state workers who take early retirement, making a pact that had eluded them for months and delayed final action on the state budget.

The Washington state Legislature has approved a supplemental budget, setting them up for a final adjournment of an overtime legislative session.

State lawmakers haggled behind closed doors over government pensions, school employee health care and the rules for future budgets as they made one last attempt Monday to avoid pushing their budget repair job into a third special session.

The current special session ends Tuesday. If the supplemental budget is not passed before then, a new special session will be necessary.

The simmering dispute over how to fix Washington's budget shortfall spilled into the public Wednesday as both sides in the lengthy quest tried to spin public opinion in their favor.

House Democrats are outlining a new budget plan at the Capitol today, but no deal is in sight to end a political impasse that has sent the Legislature into its fourth week of a special session.

Roll-your-own machines let consumers save money in part because state taxes don't apply to the machine-produced cigarettes. As state budget negotiations progress, some lawmakers are pushing for that to change.

Roll-your-own machines let consumers save money in part because state taxes don't apply to the machine-produced cigarettes. As state budget negotiations progress, some lawmakers are pushing for that to change.

For weeks, the main sticking points to a state budget solution have been a Democratic plan to delay a payment to schools by a day, and a Republican plan to skip a pension payment. Gov. Chris Gregoire recently said those issues are off the negotiating table, but there's still no sign that lawmakers will reach an agreement before the 30-day special session ends April 10.

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.

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.

University of Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian earned nearly $2 million last year, more than any other employee in the Evergreen State's government.

Gov. Chris Gregoire says that she has concerns about a Senate budget plan that cuts nearly $350 million to the state's K-12 education system, saying that school districts are ill prepared to absorb more cash reductions.

The Washington House released its $3.13 billion construction budget for the next two years Monday, including $718.5 million in construction grants for K-12 schools and $626.7 million for projects at colleges and universities.

Merely spending money is not enough - the question arises: is Washington getting good value for its public expenditures? Washington spends a lot on colleges, but relatively few of its citizens graduate from college. Moreover, the evidence suggests costs are rising rather significantly over time. Staffs are typically increasing faster than student enrollments. For all the concerns about inadequate state support heard from university leaders, the evidence shows Washington treats higher education more generously than most of its neighbors or other American states, while in some respects it may get less in results.

The state Legislature raced through millions of dollars in budget cuts during a special session Saturday aimed at reducing the $1.1 billion shortfall in the current state budget.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Washington State Treasurer Jim McIntire has learned some lessons from the fast and loose Wall Street accounting that plunged the country into recession - he's learned to obfuscate and mislead. When current and prospective bond holders look to Treasurer McIntire to understand the condition of the state's pension fund, they'd best beware.

Treasurer McIntire appears to be going beyond simple carelessness or cleverness. Treasurer McIntire is leading bond holders to believe the State Actuary's grim Risk Assessment fully reflects the condition of the pension fund. In fact, the situation is much worse. And Treasurer McIntire knows it.

Video of Bob Williams addressing the underfunded state pension fund problem facing so many states.  He states that the public cannot afford the benefits and suggests defined contribution programs as a solution.

Many governors and state legislators are using accounting gimmicks and federal stimulus funds to temporarily balance their budgets. When federal funds run out in a year or two, these states will face a spending cliff, necessitating a significant downsizing of their state budgets.

Paper arguing for an alternate form of fiscal discipline, known as Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO), which combines strategic planning, zero-based budgeting and performance budgeting in a workable, common-sense package.. BFO would help the governor and/or legislature, in California as it has in other states, build the budget in a way that delivers the results citizens want at a price they are willing to pay.

The benefits of competitive pricing that the legislature and Governor Locke expected to achieve from the Personnel System Reform Act of 2002 can improve efficient delivery of routine state services so tax money can be freed up to fund high-priority core functions of government.

One of the most contentious proposals the Washington State Legislature considered this year was the plan to reform the state's pension system. Initial estimates show the reforms of SB 6378 will save approximately $1.3 billion over 25 years.

Washington lawmakers agreed Tuesday to reduce benefits for future state workers who take early retirement, making a pact that had eluded them for months and delayed final action on the state budget.

There's still no sign that Washington lawmakers will reach an agreement before the 30-day special session ends April 10.

State lawmakers say Democrats and Republicans are not that far apart on the state budget, but differences on pension payments and school aid remain big hurdles.

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.

Washington state pensions are in worse shape than state officials would have citizens believe. Andrew G. Biggs writes that the largest failing of the state's current pension system is the nature of elected leaders to make benefit promises without paying for them.

The realities of public pension liabilities have finally dawned on legislators in statehouses from coast to coast. As huge pension debt looms on the horizon, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are taking steps to reign in pension costs in their best attempt to keep the problem from growing.  Not every state is taking action, and those that are have caught on slowly.

A new report out from the office of the State Auditor finds that the Department of Labor and Industries' pension "system's internal controls are inadequate to ensure public resources are safeguarded."

Washington State Treasurer Jim McIntire has learned some lessons from the fast and loose Wall Street accounting that plunged the country into recession - he's learned to obfuscate and mislead. When current and prospective bond holders look to Treasurer McIntire to understand the condition of the state's pension fund, they'd best beware.

Treasurer McIntire appears to be going beyond simple carelessness or cleverness. Treasurer McIntire is leading bond holders to believe the State Actuary's grim Risk Assessment fully reflects the condition of the pension fund. In fact, the situation is much worse. And Treasurer McIntire knows it.

The 2010 supplemental budgets boosted total state spending by $3.3 billion, continuing the trend of higher government spending.  This state spending is being propped up with underfunded pensions; altered actuary
recommendations; use of one- time federal stimulus, and money raided from other accounts, most of which will need to be refilled.  But new spending for healthcare benefits in the 2010 operating budget added $82 per employee per month to the state’s contribution.

This all boils down to who gets to pick taxpayers' pockets first, public pensioners or municipal bond investors? More people are waking up to the hard reality that when it comes to state and local government, somebody has to lose money over the next few decades. The National Association of Bond Lawyers is worried enough about it to issue "Considerations" for advising clients who think they're getting safe investments.

Despite an organized campaign to stop public pension reform, reality is beginning to break through.  One recent report outlines a possible path to long-term solutions and another details the necessity of states and municipalities finding their own way because federal bailout is impossible.  And Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel released a plan that could have been based on both reports.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When is a budget cut not a budget cut? When agencies still have the authority to spend money but lawmakers assume agencies won't spend all of it

Even though Governor Gregoire is not running for re-election and come January 2013 we'll have either Governor Inslee or McKenna at the helm, Gregoire will finalize the state's 2013-15 CBAs by October 1 of this year - a month before the next Governor is chosen.

One of the most contentious proposals the Washington State Legislature considered this year was the plan to reform the state's pension system. Initial estimates show the reforms of SB 6378 will save approximately $1.3 billion over 25 years.

This is what it sounds like when the Federal Reserve Bank screams: "Much has been written about the various headwinds restraining economic activity over the near term. However, our economy also has other headwinds to confront over the medium- to-longer-term. ... the finances of some state and local governments are also under stress and in need of serious adjustments."  - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto

Raise of hands of those that think the new budget will survive the June Revenue Forecast?

Though it took an early morning 2nd Special Session, lawmakers finally approved a revised 2011-13 budget but more importantly adopted several significant structural reforms.

According to the Office of Financial Management, however, that figure was based on the Governor's November budget being implemented as proposed. With changes in caseloads, the revenue forecast and actions taken in December the savings lost figure isn't that high but there is a cost with each day's delay without a budget.

Budget drama year after year, coupled with declining quality in public services, eventually become more important than mere tax breaks. Instead of squabbling over cuts or finding some sort of gimmick that both parties can agree to, legislators should consider rolling back some of the state's tax breaks for already-established companies.

The charge for lawmakers has not changed: Adopt a balanced budget within the revenue forecast that is sustainable and gimmick free.

Last week was National Sunshine Week, when open government defenders worked to highlight the need for government officials to be transparent and accountable to the citizens they serve. Among those writing about the need for more transparency reforms was Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna.

There are simple changes that could be made in Washington State to help provide additional transparency and access for the public to participate in the legislative process, including extending the transparency protections to all bils and extending the notification process for public hearings to 72 hours.

The Washington House Ways and Means committee adopted several bills including HB 2762 to require all tax exemptions to sunset. Among the amendments adopted in committee was adding a referendum clause to the bill. If the bill is adopted by the House and the Senate, it would not be the first time voters were asked to automatically repeal tax exemptions.

Among the major differences between the two budgets is the long-term sustainability. The House Democrat budget does not repeal I-728/732 and utilizes a $405 million K-12 apportionment and levy delay gimmick resulting in a substantial projected shortfall in the next budget. The Senate GOP budget, however, assumes full repeal of I-728/732 and does not rely on the K-12 apportionment gimmick.

The Washington state legislature should require 72-hour public notification before any bill could receive a public hearing

A statement by Washington State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown acknowledging that the underlining structural problem in the budget is not addressed by the Senate Democrat's budget proposal.

As state lawmakers struggle to close budget gaps and reduce deficits, many are scrambling to find new sources of revenue, often in the form of new taxes. To bolster revenue, states like Texas and Illinois are honing in on a new type of tax, a "skin" tax, aimed at strip clubs in the state.

The Washingto state legislature's prospects of avoiding a 2012 Special Session to balance the budget will likely hinge on the Senate's appetite for budget gimmicks or the House's willingness to back down from its proposal to kick $405 million of K-12 school payments down the road into the next budget.

For the first time since Washington state lawmakers adjourned the "budget balancing special session last december without actually balancing the budget, there is a glimmer of hope that they'll be able to get the job done during the remaining 21 days of the 2012 Regular Session.

The last thing Washington State needs to have happen is for even more time to be wasted floating and polling "felony" budget gimmicks. It is past time to move forward with a truly balanced and sustainable state budget.

Contrary to popular belief, lawmakers are not required to adopt a balanced budget under state law. The Governor is only required to propose one. The Senate Ways and Means Committee adopted a bill that "the Legislature may not enact, nor may the Governor sign into law, a budget bill that makes appropriations from the state General Fund for that fiscal year in an amount that exceeds state General Fund Revenues, as forecast by the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council."

One of the most recognizable measurements of the state's fiscal health is the multi-year budget outlooks. These updates, however, are not done on a regular basis in Washington state. This is why the many bipartisan sponsors of HB 2607 hope to require regular six-year budget outlooks to be published.

Washingon lawmakers should end this debate once and for all by providing Washingtonians the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment reaffirming the policy during the 2012 general election.

It is encouraging to see the House State Government Committee take the first step toward putting LEAN management requirements that improve agency efficiency into law.

If all the Washington state legislature does is balance the budget for 2011-13, this session will be a failure. Lawmakers need to finally provide predictability to clients of state services, citizens and businesses by demonstrating they are putting the state's budget roller coaster out of service.

Meanwhile, lawmakers can take a significant step toward reducing the burden the present tax imposes on business owners. Policymakers should streamline the cost complying with the B&O tax by centralizing its administration.

The state's searchable budget transparency website has a new feature: Washington's "Vendor Checkbook." This is the equivalent of the state's checkbook.

After watching the Legislature play the "Grinch that Stole the Balanced Budget" earlier this week it was encouraging to open an early Christmas present offered by the Governor today.  At a press conference this morning in Olympia Governor Gregoire unveiled several reform initiatives.

Since the current situation did not provide enough urgency for lawmakers to enact meaningful and sustainable changes to state spending, the Governor should provide extra incentive by issuing an executive order with date-certain across-the-board cuts absent legislative action to help ensure this problem does not drag out till the last possible moment for action.

The Washington  Governor should have enhanced budget cutting authority, but the Legislature for the most part could avoid this authority from ever being utilized by adopting sustainable budgets and providing a meaningful reserve fund to help the state weather all but the most extreme economic downturns.

If Washington state lawmakers aren't going to balance the budget before going home for the holidays they should at least provide the Governor with discretionary budget cutting authority so she can start to make immediate surgical reductions.

Economic turmoil in Europe could play a huge role in our state budget debate.

Under the 2/3 requirement, if a broad consensus cannot be reached in the Legislature to increase citizens' tax burden, a simple majority of lawmakers can put a tax referendum on the ballot for the voters to consider. This is likely what will occur now that the Governor has indicated she wants a March vote for Washingtonians to consider her half a billion dollar sales tax increase.

It is exciting to see voters embrace the idea of focusing government efforts on strict enforcement of the public health, safety and drinking-age laws related to liquor sales, while leaving the business of distributing, pricing and selling liquor products to the competitive marketplace.

In these tough budget times it is very encouraging to see Washington officials exploring ways to improve service delivery. It is equally impressive to see Boeing providing the state access to its Lean experts at no cost to help with this reform.

Illustrating once again the need for the Legislature to have the authority to make budget decisions concerning state employee compensation, state employee unions have rejected the Governor's request to make changes to the portion taxpayers pay for their health care.

Unions exist to fight for their members, not to advocate for policy that is in the best interest of taxpayers. This why it is incumbent on the Legislature to have the authority to weigh all spending requests equally in the context of the priorities of all taxpayers and citizens and not be cut out of budget decisions totaling millions of dollars.

The Washington Policy Center proposes seven ideas for balancing the budget that, if adopted, would put Washington on the path to long-term financial stability so lawmakers do not feel they have to increase the financial burden they place on citizens by raising tax rates.

Read Bob Williams', SBS President and Senior Fellow of the Freedom Foundation, letter to Washington state's Governor Christine Gregoire offering recommendations to get the state to a sustainable budget.

Governor Gregoire announced this morning she is calling a special session to start November 28 to address the state's $1 billion plus budget deficit and utlined her goals for the session.

Washington state's 2011 Personnel Detail is now available on the state's budget transparency website in a searchable way.

Washington state pensions are in worse shape than state officials would have citizens believe. Andrew G. Biggs writes that the largest failing of the state's current pension system is the nature of elected leaders to make benefit promises without paying for them.

If Washington state lawmakers are going to send voters a proposed tax referendum they should also put a constitutional amendment enforcing the four-time voter approved 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases on the ballot.

Legal filings by the State of Washington defend the four-time voter approved 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases, but the only sure way to end this debate once and for all is for Washingtonians to have the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment.

It is becoming increasingly likely the Governor may be forced to call a special session or order blunt across-the-board cuts before the legislature is scheduled to convene in January 2012.

Today the Washington State Office of Financial Management sent agency budget directors a memo requesting that they prepare for budget reductions of up to 10% in a 2012 supplemental budget.

With the August 2 deadline less than a week away before the federal government reaches its debt limit, state budget officials across the country are preparing for the potential impact on state budgets depending on what Congress and the President agree (or don't agree) to.  According to at least one state budget director, there will be "no happy endings" for states regardless of what occurs.

Several House Democrats have joined the Washington Education Association (WEA) and the League of Education Voters to file a lawsuit to overturn the four-time voter approved 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases.

Washington State has been given a "stable" rating for its response to balancing the state's budget. That said, clouds remain on the horizon that could impact the state's future credit rating.

At the request of Governor Gregoire, State Auditor Brian Sonntag released a report last week detailing the state's current use of performance-based contracting and identifying opportunities for improvements.

An examination of how state employee compensation in Washington state impacts state spending.

The Washington state revenue forecast showed a negative $12 million difference between the March and June forecasts for the two budgets yet the impact on the ending fund balance for 2011-13 showed a reduction of $575 million.  How does that math work?

Last week Governor Gregoire signed a proposal to consolidate several administrative agencies and create a review process to help identify opportunities for some competitive contracting.  he Governor's signature on SB 5931 is an important step in the right direction to help streamline state government and begin to restore balance concerning competitive contracting and the state's 2002 civil service reform.

The 2009-11 supplemental budget (rolled into the 2011-13 budget) Governor Gregoire signed Wednesday is already projected to end in an $84 million deficit thanks to Thursday's revenue forecast.

The emergency clause has worried supporters of a new initiative to end the state's prohibition era liquor monopoly. They believe SB 5942 could short circuit voters' opportunity to consider their new liquor reform proposal.

While awaiting Senate confirmation of his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China, outgoing U.S. Commerce Secretary and former Washington Governor Gary Locke is still pushing Priorities of Government (POG) budgeting.

While the main focus of the just concluded special session was to finally finish work on the state budget and other necessary government reforms, the House Democrats also found time to lay the groundwork to in effect sue the voters over their passage of I-1053, which ratified a requirement that tax increases require a 2/3 vote.

The Washington State Senate today adopted a proposal to consolidate several administrative agencies and create a review process to help identify opportunities for some competitive contracting.

What is the drop dead deadline for the 2011-13 budget to be adopted in Washinton State, and will lawmakers face misdemeanor charges if they fail to meet that deadline?

The Washington State House Ways and Means committee took the first steps to setting up a tax fight on the floor of the House during the special session.

Reading the tea leaves of I-728, 732, I-884 and I-1098, it appears the voters supported the policies of I-728 and I-732 when they were "free" and wouldn't hurt the budget or require tax increases but were against them when asked to raise taxes to pay for them.

Proposed tax increases will take center stage Wednesday in the Washignton State Senate Ways and Means Committee despite the promise from legislative leadership and the Governor that the special session would be focused on only those bills necessary for finishing the budget.

The realities of public pension liabilities have finally dawned on legislators in statehouses from coast to coast. As huge pension debt looms on the horizon, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are taking steps to reign in pension costs in their best attempt to keep the problem from growing.  Not every state is taking action, and those that are have caught on slowly.

Apparently 105 days won't be enough for the Washington State Legislature to finish the budget this year.

Based on the balance sheet, of the three legislative budget proposals, the House Republicans' spends the least while the Senate proposal leaves the most savings in the protected Rainy-Day account.

States are getting down to the nitty-gritty of budget cuts as they hack away millions of dollars in order to salvage their shortfalls. While some states are managing to balance their budget woes, others are still deliberating their budgets for the next fiscal year.

This session's most important bill, the budget, and proves once again the Legislature's rules requiring 5-day notice forpublic hearings are insufficient to ensure to the public has an opportunity to participate in a meaningful way.

It is past time to take "felony gimmicks" off the table completely.

As Washington state lawmakers prepare for the consensus bad news awaiting at tomorrow's revenue forecast, a number of troubling potential budget gimmicks have begun to surface to "balance" the budget.

We hope all lawmakers will have the opportunity to go on the record next year on whether the public should be provided adequate time to participate in the legislative process. Better yet, they should adopt these much-needed legislative transparency protections into law.

The House demonstrated last night how efficiently it could move priority legislation when the public is cut out of the process. HB2011, introduced just this past Saturday, was the last bill acted on by the House last night and passed by a vote of 59-36.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton's move to raise the state income tax to be the highest in the nation ignores the fact that recent similar efforts have not been successful.

As states across the country struggle to balance their budgets perhaps no single issue is hampering their options more than the federal restrictions of the Medicaid program. This is why Congress needs to provide states Medicaid flexibility.

This past week the Washington legislature decide to change its process for providing notice of public hearings on draft and substitute bills.

Attorney General Rob McKenna and State Auditor Brian Sonntag, two of the state's strongest advocates for transparent and accountable government, have written a letter to legislators encouraging them to adopt a constitutional amendment to improve legislative transparency. 

Combined with her other calls for pension reforms and agency consolidation, Governor Gregoire's budget represents a good framework for the Legislature to debate how best to move Washington forward in a sustainable, core-function focused way.

Governor Gregoire announced this morning her proposals for agency consolidations as recommended by her Budget Transformation Committee.

In Washington state, forecasted revenue for both the current and next budget is forecasted to drop by $1.2 billion but the state's budget director voted against part of the revenue forecast questioning the numbers.

The Washington State Governor's Higher Education Funding Task Force briefed lawmakers on the various reform options that are being discussed to reset the state's role in higher education.

With potentially millions in savings at stake, the Washington State Legislature and Governor should find a way to implement a policy that the cheapest effective drug wins regardless of whether it is a generic or brand name.

It is time to re-evaluate the so-called 2002 Civil Service Reform in Washington State that put state unions in the driver's seat and policy makers in the back seat when it comes to certain budget decisions.

Fiscal stress and strain continues in the fifty states this week as more legislators look for ways out of the black holes in which they find themselves. Solutions sought by states include delayed retirement, increased pension contributions, and furloughs.