State Treasurer McIntire confident state won’t go broke

State Treasurer Jim McIntire issued a statement today saying the budget and revenue package approved by the Legislature should prevent the state from be short of cash this fall — a concern he warned about months ago.

Here’s the statement:

Washington State Treasurer James McIntire congratulated the Legislature today for passing a supplemental budget and revenue package in extremely difficult circumstances. Tough program cuts and new taxes were needed to compensate for revenue shortfalls caused by the recession.

“Based on a preliminary assessment of the tax and budget package, we believe we have a sufficient cushion to ensure we have the cash necessary to pay our bills,” McIntire said.

“In addition, cash management reforms enacted by the Legislature will help us work with other state agencies to consolidate short-term cash investments, reduce costs and improve returns for the state,” McIntire said.

You may recall that McIntire sent lawmakers this letter in December 2009 warning the “entire state treasury could be depleted as soon as September” unless the Legislature took prompt action.