Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 18, 2001
Contact: Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact: Hal Spencer, Office of Financial Management, 360-902-0525
The governor takes a balanced approach in solving a $1.25 billion problem in the $22.8 billion biennial budget and seeks no new general tax increase. His proposal includes $566 million in reductions and $573 million in new resources.
“We had to make hard choices that affect real people,” Locke said about the cuts. “I can’t think of a single choice that was easy. Whatever we cut will cause someone some pain, but we are maintaining the safety net for those most in need of services.”
“I said from the beginning that we had to do this without looking at a general tax increase,” the governor said. “The basic ground rule was that we would look at what is needed -- and what is not -- to deliver core state services. From there, we would make choices.”
The cuts included the elimination of 30 entire programs, ranging from a program to slightly boost the federal Supplemental Security (SSI) payments for low-income recipients to closure of the state library and the Mission Creek Youth Camp.
In addition, 835 full-time equivalent (FTE) General Fund state employee positions will be eliminated. However, the state will hire an additional 395 personnel for a net FTE cut of 440 state personnel. The new personnel will include caseload-growth-driven hires such as prison guards, supervisors for the developmentally disabled, staff to ensure that vulnerable seniors are not abused, and DNA scientists at the state crime lab. Unfortunately, not all people displaced by these job cuts will qualify for these new positions.
The proposed cuts are in state services and programs outside basic education and class-size reduction at public schools. “Education remains my highest priority because great schools are the key to a successful future for children and our state,” Locke said.
Locke and his budget advisors worked for several weeks to find ways to balance a budget slammed by the economic aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which came atop an economic slowdown and growing demand for state services.
“Clearly, the cuts we are proposing will cause some pain, but this also is a budget that protects education funding, continues to deliver state services to those who need them most and puts us on solid footing to sustain those services in 2003 and beyond,” the governor said.
Locke’s proposal reduces human services programs, which account for 32 percent of the General Fund budget, by $246 million.
“But we do keep our focus on children and youth at risk of neglect and abuse,” the governor said. “We retain community-based services for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill, and we preserve access to health care for the poor.”
Locke’s proposal reduces general government and natural resources by a combined $41 million.
Higher education is cut by $54 million and discretionary public school funding is reduced by $29 million. The budget also is balanced by ending $84.6 million in state financial assistance to local governments that lost revenue after passage of Initiative 695.
New resources include $169 million raised through price increases on hard liquor, a new multistate lottery game, a tax on card rooms, a tax loophole closure on shipments from out of state and increased and enforcement of existing state taxes.
Another $200 million in new revenue results from better state accounting that improves the state’s federal reimbursement rate for nursing home care. Selected fund balances of $50 million and fee increases of $1.9 million provide another $51.9 million. And funding of $125 million for ferry and multimodal transportation programs is returned to the transportation budget.
State-funded employees will share the budget pain. The governor proposes to save $44 million by requiring that employees pay a larger share of health insurance costs, a requirement that will extend to public school districts as well.
Locke also proposes to delay until Sept. 1 a scheduled July 1 cost-of-living pay increase of 2.6 percent for state and higher-education workers, saving about $8.5 million. The scheduled increase for public school teachers required by I-732 is not affected.
At the same time, the governor’s budget package attempts to ease the suffering of Washington workers and their families and improve the state’s economic future. His 10-year, $8.5 billion transportation-funding proposal, and plan to give regions local-option taxing authority for transportation, will sustain 20,000 new jobs over several years.
The governor’s supplemental budget proposal also refinances $880 million in general-obligation bonds for capital projects in the current biennium. The plan creates 4,200 new jobs by covering a $200 million shortfall in the capital budget and creating another $100 million for more needed construction projects.
The governor also asks for $9 million to expand enrollment at community and technical colleges to retrain workers for high-demand jobs, gives state colleges and universities broader tuition-setting authority and helps fight crime by expanding the state’s DNA databank by hiring more DNA scientists to speed up processing of evidence at the state crime lab.
Related Links:
- Budget Highlights
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 18, 2001
Contact: Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact: Hal Spencer, Office of Financial Management, 360-902-0525
Locke proposes cuts to balance state budget
OLYMPIA — Adjusting to the realities of war and recession, Gov. Gary Locke today proposed a 2002 supplemental budget that makes tough choices, focuses on high-priority state services and lays the groundwork for a sustainable operating budget for years to come.The governor takes a balanced approach in solving a $1.25 billion problem in the $22.8 billion biennial budget and seeks no new general tax increase. His proposal includes $566 million in reductions and $573 million in new resources.
“We had to make hard choices that affect real people,” Locke said about the cuts. “I can’t think of a single choice that was easy. Whatever we cut will cause someone some pain, but we are maintaining the safety net for those most in need of services.”
“I said from the beginning that we had to do this without looking at a general tax increase,” the governor said. “The basic ground rule was that we would look at what is needed -- and what is not -- to deliver core state services. From there, we would make choices.”
The cuts included the elimination of 30 entire programs, ranging from a program to slightly boost the federal Supplemental Security (SSI) payments for low-income recipients to closure of the state library and the Mission Creek Youth Camp.
In addition, 835 full-time equivalent (FTE) General Fund state employee positions will be eliminated. However, the state will hire an additional 395 personnel for a net FTE cut of 440 state personnel. The new personnel will include caseload-growth-driven hires such as prison guards, supervisors for the developmentally disabled, staff to ensure that vulnerable seniors are not abused, and DNA scientists at the state crime lab. Unfortunately, not all people displaced by these job cuts will qualify for these new positions.
The proposed cuts are in state services and programs outside basic education and class-size reduction at public schools. “Education remains my highest priority because great schools are the key to a successful future for children and our state,” Locke said.
Locke and his budget advisors worked for several weeks to find ways to balance a budget slammed by the economic aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which came atop an economic slowdown and growing demand for state services.
“Clearly, the cuts we are proposing will cause some pain, but this also is a budget that protects education funding, continues to deliver state services to those who need them most and puts us on solid footing to sustain those services in 2003 and beyond,” the governor said.
Locke’s proposal reduces human services programs, which account for 32 percent of the General Fund budget, by $246 million.
“But we do keep our focus on children and youth at risk of neglect and abuse,” the governor said. “We retain community-based services for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill, and we preserve access to health care for the poor.”
Locke’s proposal reduces general government and natural resources by a combined $41 million.
Higher education is cut by $54 million and discretionary public school funding is reduced by $29 million. The budget also is balanced by ending $84.6 million in state financial assistance to local governments that lost revenue after passage of Initiative 695.
New resources include $169 million raised through price increases on hard liquor, a new multistate lottery game, a tax on card rooms, a tax loophole closure on shipments from out of state and increased and enforcement of existing state taxes.
Another $200 million in new revenue results from better state accounting that improves the state’s federal reimbursement rate for nursing home care. Selected fund balances of $50 million and fee increases of $1.9 million provide another $51.9 million. And funding of $125 million for ferry and multimodal transportation programs is returned to the transportation budget.
State-funded employees will share the budget pain. The governor proposes to save $44 million by requiring that employees pay a larger share of health insurance costs, a requirement that will extend to public school districts as well.
Locke also proposes to delay until Sept. 1 a scheduled July 1 cost-of-living pay increase of 2.6 percent for state and higher-education workers, saving about $8.5 million. The scheduled increase for public school teachers required by I-732 is not affected.
At the same time, the governor’s budget package attempts to ease the suffering of Washington workers and their families and improve the state’s economic future. His 10-year, $8.5 billion transportation-funding proposal, and plan to give regions local-option taxing authority for transportation, will sustain 20,000 new jobs over several years.
The governor’s supplemental budget proposal also refinances $880 million in general-obligation bonds for capital projects in the current biennium. The plan creates 4,200 new jobs by covering a $200 million shortfall in the capital budget and creating another $100 million for more needed construction projects.
The governor also asks for $9 million to expand enrollment at community and technical colleges to retrain workers for high-demand jobs, gives state colleges and universities broader tuition-setting authority and helps fight crime by expanding the state’s DNA databank by hiring more DNA scientists to speed up processing of evidence at the state crime lab.
Related Links:
- Budget Highlights
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