Reps. Travis Couture and Ed Orcutt propose realistic budgeting reform bill
CONTACT: Hanna Scott, Public Information Officer for Rep. Travis Couture | 360-968-3938
John Handy, Communications Director for Rep. Ed Orcutt | 360-786-5758
Reps. Travis Couture and Ed Orcutt propose realistic budgeting reform bill
The state operating budget is arguably the single-most important bill passed in the Legislature every year. Unfortunately, having been largely unchecked in their decision making in recent years, Democratic budget writers in Olympia have been spending at record levels leading the state into the budget crisis we face today.
One of the driving factors behind the crisis is the unsustainable and unrealistic formula the majority party has depended on to more than double state spending over the past decade. That formula allows budget writers to assume 4.5% revenue growth in the second half of the four-year budget cycle.
The problem is our state rarely sees that level of revenue growth. Even so, budget writers are enabled to assume 4.5% revenue growth even if state economic forecasts are significantly below 4.5% revenue growth. The law allows and incentivizes legislative budget writers to create as much money on paper as possible.
“This balance sheet manipulation allows Democratic budget writers to create boatloads of new programs, obligating the state to pay for a bow wave of policies we never had money for in the first place. Fully knowing revenue growth is less than 4.5%, Democrats instead propose to raise taxes, as they have done 50 times in the last decade, to bail themselves out of reckless spending sprees and budget negligence,” said Rep. Travis Couture.
Couture, R-Allyn, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, which takes up the operating budget, and Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, the ranking Republican on the House Finance Committee, which considers legislation related to taxes, hope to fix the problem in a new bill.
“Washington state needs to operate with fiscal responsibility, just like the rest of us. We should only plan to spend what we expect to receive in revenue. It’s a novel concept that every business and family budget must adhere to, and government should be no different,” said Couture. “Our bill would ensure we live as close to reality as possible when it comes to the state budget, and force budget writers to prioritize spending on critical functions of government and not the junk drawer of pet projects.”
House Bill 1411 would take the Legislature back to reality and only project revenues published in the latest economic and revenue forecast. This effectively means the Legislature can only plan to spend revenue that is actually projected.
The state economist expects that revenue growth will only average 2.7% between fiscal years 2024 and 2029. While the difference between 2.7% and 4.5% may seem small, it actually results in billions of dollars on paper that may not be real at all. This is the true nature of the deficit, and Couture and Orcutt believe the practice must come to an end.
“We must stop the reckless spending spree in this state,” said Couture. “I was encouraged to hear Governor Bob Ferguson identify this problem in his inaugural address this week, a problem that Republicans have wanted to reform for years. This is an opportunity for a bipartisan budgeting agreement between legislative Republicans and the executive branch to restore common-sense budgeting principles in Olympia, especially while Democratic legislators have already proposed the largest slate of tax increases in state history.”
