Sen. Zarelli statement on state's June revenue forecast

June 18, 2009

OLYMPIA…Sen. Joseph Zarelli, Senate Republican leader on the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, issued this statement regarding the June quarterly revenue forecast he and other council members adopted this morning at the Capitol: 

“The new budget doesn’t take effect for almost two weeks and it’s already projected to be in the red two years from now. The governor’s budget staff believes it can find another 200 million or so in savings to move it back toward positive territory; I hope they bring those actions forward sooner rather than later, because if there’s one lesson that should have been learned from the 2009 session, it’s that making reductions sooner rather than later is the fiscally responsible thing to do. 

“I certainly hope an economic recovery is on the horizon even though the majority party has done little to help our job creators feel welcome and be competitive. But for today the question is whether the governor can do enough on her own to get the state’s feet back on firm financial ground, or whether the Legislature needs to act. I suspect as new caseload numbers come in, the projected imbalance of almost 200 million dollars – which is understated by 70 million because of legislation that did not pass – will double. 

“Let’s remember the Legislature could have saved billions of dollars, and put this forecast in a completely different light, if it had acted quickly to reduce spending back in January. By failing to grab what the governor called its ‘opportunity to reform’ – which could have followed the approach we laid out – the  majority party ensured our ride on the ‘budget rollercoaster’ would continue. 

“We may be in better shape than California, but that isn’t saying much. This new budget is propped up with stacks of money supplied by the federal government and diverted from other state accounts. That’s looking pretty shaky today, and it is likely to look much worse two years from now.” 

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For more information contact Eric Campbell
at (360) 786-7503 or campbell.eric@leg.wa.gov