AGO defines what "within available funds" means

Earlier this year State Auditor candidate Rep. Mark Miloscia (D) and Secretary of State candidate Sen. Jim Kastama (D) asked the Attorney General's Office to review the decision by the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to advise agencies to not comply with a state requirement to undergo a quality management assessment . . . READ MORE

Voters should have opportunity to consider at least one tax increase advisory vote this fall

When adopting for the third time the state's supermajority requirement for tax increases in 2007 with the passage of Initiative 960, voters also approved the requirement for a non-binding advisory vote for any tax increase not first sent to the voters for ratification. This legal requirement means voters should have the opportunity to consider at least one tax increase advisory vote this fall . . . READ MORE

Voters will once again have chance to approve supermajority requirement for tax increases

The Secretary of State's Office has certified I-1185 for the November ballot. If approved by voters, I-1185 will mark the fifth time in the last 20 years that voters have adopted the requirement for tax increases to receive a supermajority vote or voter approval. Here is the track record for the state 2/3 vote requirement for taxes policy at the ballot . . . READ MORE

Letter to Congress: Don't jump off fiscal cliff and take the rest of us down with you

Raise your hand if you thought one of the key strategies in Congress this fall would be the possibility of diving head first over the "fiscal cliff" the Congressional Budget Office warned about? Me neither. Yet that is exactly where we stand today as reported by the Seattle Times . . . READ MORE

Will state Medicaid expansion lead to tax increases?

While the debate continues over the scope of the tax increases in the federal health care law, a state level tax could be in store for Washingtonians if lawmakers decide to expand Medicaid under the new discretion granted by the recent Supreme Court ruling. A recent Urban Institute report commissioned by the Office of Financial Management estimated the "state share of spending" for Medicaid under the federal law (including the expansion) would grow from $2.66 billion in 2013 to $3.81 billion in 2019 - an increase of $1.15 billion or a 43% increase . . . READ MORE

Medicaid expansion/block grants discussed at WPC health care conference

Though somewhat lost in the background of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the federal health care law, the Court's decision to give states discretion on whether to pursue the law's expansion of Medicaid could have the biggest impact on state budgets going forward. The Supreme Court ruled . . . READ MORE