Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008
State budget picture grows $2 billion worse
Lawmakers from both parties say painful cuts are coming.
Any way you look at it, the state budget is likely in for some painful cuts, including layoffs, the next two years.
The latest forecast released Wednesday predicts a shortfall of $5.1 billion through 2011 at current spending levels.
This represents a jump of nearly $2 billion from the last figure made public that pegged the deficit at $3.2 billion.
Because the state constitution requires elected officials to balance the budget, cuts are a certainty.
"It's just adding another 'very' to very, very, very ugly," said Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "There will be lots of layoffs, I'll bet. Eighty-five percent of what the state does is people. Literally, it's salaries."
Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, serves on the same committee.
"The bottom line is we have a spending problem," she said.
The two legislators disagreed on the root cause of the problem. Dunshee blamed the economy while Bailey said it's also because the state has dramatically increased spending the past few years.
They agreed that cuts will be needed.
Dunshee said $5.1 billion amounts to 14 percent of the current budget. If taken across the board, it would amount to $2 billion from K-12 education, $600 million from higher education, $1.6 billion from health and human services and $133 million from mental health programs, to name just a few examples, he said.
"These are cuts like nothing I've seen since I've been there or others have seen since the '80s," Dunshee said. "It's just going to be hard on everyone: Kids are going to lose health care, people are going to lose educational opportunities.
"You can guess our UW-North isn't going to get a dollar."
Bailey agreed that cuts are needed but said spending has increased 33 percent the past four years while revenue has grown 7 percent.
Even if the economy were in better shape, "we would still be facing a serious sustainability problem with the budget that was written the way it was in the last two bienniums."
She called on the state to nudge the economy to bring in more tax money.
Gov. Chris Gregoire is preparing an austere, no-new-taxes plan to deal with the deficit, which includes about $500 million in needed savings this year and another $4.6 billion in cuts for the 2009-11 state budget, which takes effect in July.
Some savings measures for the current budget already are in motion, including an across-the-board spending cut and hiring freeze. The administration hopes to expand those savings for the current fiscal year without calling a special session of the Legislature, said Victor Moore, Gregoire's budget director.
Bailey argued against a tax increase. Dunshee noted that last year's Initiative 960 requires either a two-thirds vote of the Legislature or a vote of the people to raise taxes. It's not likely to happen in the Legislature, he said.
Even without Initiative 960, "I think it's healthy to take it to the ballot anyway," Dunshee said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
The latest forecast released Wednesday predicts a shortfall of $5.1 billion through 2011 at current spending levels.
This represents a jump of nearly $2 billion from the last figure made public that pegged the deficit at $3.2 billion.
Because the state constitution requires elected officials to balance the budget, cuts are a certainty.
"It's just adding another 'very' to very, very, very ugly," said Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "There will be lots of layoffs, I'll bet. Eighty-five percent of what the state does is people. Literally, it's salaries."
Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, serves on the same committee.
"The bottom line is we have a spending problem," she said.
The two legislators disagreed on the root cause of the problem. Dunshee blamed the economy while Bailey said it's also because the state has dramatically increased spending the past few years.
They agreed that cuts will be needed.
Dunshee said $5.1 billion amounts to 14 percent of the current budget. If taken across the board, it would amount to $2 billion from K-12 education, $600 million from higher education, $1.6 billion from health and human services and $133 million from mental health programs, to name just a few examples, he said.
"These are cuts like nothing I've seen since I've been there or others have seen since the '80s," Dunshee said. "It's just going to be hard on everyone: Kids are going to lose health care, people are going to lose educational opportunities.
"You can guess our UW-North isn't going to get a dollar."
Bailey agreed that cuts are needed but said spending has increased 33 percent the past four years while revenue has grown 7 percent.
Even if the economy were in better shape, "we would still be facing a serious sustainability problem with the budget that was written the way it was in the last two bienniums."
She called on the state to nudge the economy to bring in more tax money.
Gov. Chris Gregoire is preparing an austere, no-new-taxes plan to deal with the deficit, which includes about $500 million in needed savings this year and another $4.6 billion in cuts for the 2009-11 state budget, which takes effect in July.
Some savings measures for the current budget already are in motion, including an across-the-board spending cut and hiring freeze. The administration hopes to expand those savings for the current fiscal year without calling a special session of the Legislature, said Victor Moore, Gregoire's budget director.
Bailey argued against a tax increase. Dunshee noted that last year's Initiative 960 requires either a two-thirds vote of the Legislature or a vote of the people to raise taxes. It's not likely to happen in the Legislature, he said.
Even without Initiative 960, "I think it's healthy to take it to the ballot anyway," Dunshee said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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