Office of Financial Management

Revenue forecast for 2017–19 budget increased by $307 million

OLYMPIA – Washington’s projected Near General Fund revenue collections for the 2019–21 state budget have increased by nearly $554 million, according to estimates released March 20 by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

“Despite fairly small changes to the economic forecast, stronger-than-expected taxable activity has resulted in moderate increases to forecasted revenue,” said Steve Lerch, forecast council executive director.

A new and improved version of an online dashboard that makes it even easier to monitor postsecondary outcomes for Washington high school graduates is now available.

The High School Graduate Outcomes dashboard, created by the Education Research and Data Center in the state Office of Financial Management, has displayed first-year college enrollment, persistence, completion and earnings of high school graduates by school district and individual school.

Gov. Jay Inslee released his 2019–21 biennial budget today that makes significant investments in clean energy, behavioral health, orca recovery, education, statewide broadband and other crucial budget investments.

“Washington is the only state that consistently ranks as a top state for business and ranks as the top state for workers. But we know that prosperity is not shared equally and we must make investments to grow our economy, protect the most vulnerable and ensure that everyone has access to opportunity,” Inslee said.

Revenue forecast for 2019–21 budget increased by $196 million

OLYMPIA – Washington’s projected Near General Fund revenue collections for the 2017–19 state budget have increased by about $163 million, according to estimates released today by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

“Revenue collections are essentially the same as forecast and the economy is behaving as anticipated, so the latest revisions are relatively small,” said Steve Lerch, forecast council executive director.

In accordance with RCW 43.88.583, OFM has posted tentative collective bargaining agreements for the 2019–21 biennium:

• 2019–21 tentative agreements

The tentative agreements posted are not yet funded and therefore not in effect. If the Legislature funds the agreements in the 2019–21 biennial budgets, they will go into effect on July 1, 2019.

Revenue forecast for 2019–21 budget increased by $443 million

OLYMPIA – Washington’s projected Near General Fund revenue collections for the 2017–19 state budget have increased by nearly $348 million, according to estimates released today by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

“With positive adjustments to both state personal income and employment, we have revised the latest forecast upward slightly,” said Steve Lerch, forecast council executive director.

OLYMPIA – The state of Washington is being nationally recognized for a new website that gives consumers access to vast amounts of information about health care costs and quality.

The National Association of Health Data Organizations announced last week it has given its annual Innovation in Data Dissemination Award to the state for its Washington HealthCareCompare website.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – As of April 1, 2018, an estimated 7,427,600 people resided in the state of Washington, according to annual estimates prepared by the Washington State Office of Financial Management. The state’s population grew by 117,300 persons, a 1.6 percent increase over the past year. While state population growth remains strong by historical standards, the growth rate is down slightly from last year.

OLYMPIA – Washington’s projected Near General Fund revenue collections for the 2017–19 state budget have increased by a net $298 million, according to estimates released today by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. 

“With collections once again running above the previous forecast, particularly given the increase in housing values, we revised the forecast upward,” said Steve Lerch, forecast council executive director.  

A new system that will both streamline and modernize budget development and reporting operations for Washington state agencies and for state government as a whole was launched today.

The new Agency Budget System (ABS) is a collaborative project between the state’s Office of Financial Management (OFM), which manages the state’s budgeting processes, and Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech), which lent about two dozen staff to the project through its inception in September 2016.