COMMENTARY

September 19, 2003

Revenue forecast highlights need for legislators to begin priorities review

Jason Mercier | Evergreen Freedom Foundation
Yesterday’s revenue forecast brought the state some good news: the economy is holding steady and employment should begin to grow by the first quarter of 2004. However, revenue is not likely to increase significantly over the next few years, meaning legislators will again be facing budget difficulties for the 2005-07 budget.

It currently looks as though the state will enter the 2005-07 budget with a $2-$2.5 billion deficit unless the legislature starts taking corrective action now. Spending obligations will climb as full funding for the teachers' cost-of-living and class-size reduction initiatives comes due, along with the first round of collective bargaining contracts for state employees, pension costs, health care inflation, any carry-forward costs from the 2003-05 budget, and caseload increases.

Thankfully, Governor Locke remains “committed to pursuing spending policies that focus on priorities of government and services most vital to Washington taxpayers.”

We believe legislators should take advantage of the governor’s willingness to continue a priority review of spending. They should work with him to compel Higher Education and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to prioritize activities. During the governor’s original priority review, Higher Education and OSPI* refused to participate, and the governor lacks jurisdiction to force them to comply. The legislature, however, does have the power to require cooperation.

Along with reviewing the state’s education priorities, legislative policy committees should debate and vote on what they believe to be the state’s core functions for all budget areas. This will serve as a litmus test for them to review the hundreds of agencies, boards, commissions and programs currently funded. Legislators will then be able to ask agencies to submit their budget requests based on delivering one or more of the state’s clearly identified goals. If an agency or program is not advancing one or more of the state’s core priorities, it can be eliminated.

There is no reason to wait for the next budget crisis to hit. Now is the time for legislators to act.

* Pages 6-25

Jason Mercier is a budget research analyst for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

Contact: Jason Mercier | Budget Research Analyst | 360.956.3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org