Agency-Identified Reductions
In January 2025, OFM directed state agencies to identify and submit proposals to reduce their operating budget, based on Governor Bob Ferguson’s budget priorities for 2025-27. These reductions are for fiscal year 2025 and the 2025-27 biennium.
Reductions are in response to a significant projected operating budget deficit over the next four years, due to slowing revenue growth and increasing costs to meet the ongoing needs of Washingtonians.
In This Section
Agency proposals on reducing their operating budget have been reviewed by Gov. Ferguson. He has provided his recommendations to the Legislature for consideration:
- 2025-27 biennial recommendation summaries [Word]
- 2025-27 biennial recommendation summaries [PDF]
- 2025 supplemental recommendation summaries [PDF]
- News release: Governor Bob Ferguson presents plan to save $4 billion to address historic budget shortfall
What agencies were asked to do
Cabinet agencies were directed to spending reductions of at least 6% from the 2025-27 biennial appropriations in Governor Inslee’s budget proposal, with the following exceptions:
- No reductions to agencies serving K-12 students, Community and Technical Colleges, the Washington State Patrol, the Department of Corrections, and the Criminal Justice Training Commission.
- Entitlements that are cash benefits to residents are excluded.
Independent boards and commissions and separately elected officials were also urged to identify and propose reductions for their agencies of at least 6%.
Four-year public higher education institutions were urged to identify spending reductions of at least 3% of their Near-General Fund appropriations.
Note: These are separate from the savings options submitted to OFM by state agencies in November 2024, many of which were included in then-Governor Jay Inslee’s proposed budget. Agencies have also frozen non-essential hiring and spending in response to the governor’s directive, and this spending freeze is ongoing.
- Office of the Governor
- Office of Lieutenant Governor
- Public Disclosure Commission
- Secretary of State
- Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs
- Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs
- State Treasurer
- State Auditor
- Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials
- Attorney General
- Caseload Forecast Council
- Department of Financial Institutions
- Department of Commerce
- Economic and Revenue Forecast Council
- Office of Financial Management
- Office of Administrative Hearings
- State Lottery
- Washington State Gambling Commission
- Commission on Hispanic Affairs
- Commission on African-American Affairs
- Department of Retirement Systems
- Department of Revenue
- Board of Tax Appeals
- Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises
- Washington Technology Solutions
- Board of Accountancy
- Washington State Forensics Investigations Council
- Department of Enterprise Services
- Horse Racing Commission
- Liquor and Cannabis Board
- Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
- Office of Independent Investigations
- Military Department
- Public Employment Relations Commission
- Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation
- Washington State Health Care Authority
- Human Rights Commission
- Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals
- Department of Labor and Industries
- Department of Social and Health Services
- Department of Health
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Department of Children, Youth and Families
- Department of Services for the Blind
- Employment Security Department
- Columbia River Gorge Commission
- Department of Ecology
- Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council
- Washington Pollution Liability Insurance Program
- State Parks and Recreation Commission
- Recreation and Conservation Funding Board
- Environmental and Land Use Hearings Office
- State Conservation Commission
- Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Puget Sound Partnership
- Department of Natural Resources
- Department of Agriculture