The Budget

2010 Operating Budget

A recession-weary economy has produced a multi-year budget challenge for this Legislature that is simply unmatched in our lifetimes. After closing a gap of more than $9 billion in 2009, the Legislature was tasked with filling a $2.8 billion hole in 2010. This comes at a time when unemployed workers are putting greater demand than ever on state services. These services are needed to provide support and protection to those hardest hit and to pave the way for a robust recovery.

Demand for public services like public schools, health care, emergency assistance, job training and state financial aid increase – just when our ability to pay for them decreases.

The Legislature’s balanced budget solution:

• Makes no cuts to basic education and preserves 54,658 teachers,
• Preserves critical preschool programs for children under three,
• Protects Working Connections childcare for 37,000 families,
• Fully funds all-day kindergarten,
• Maintains the Apple Health for Kids program serving 486,000 children,
• Preserves levy equalization funding for rural school districts,
• Secures state financial aid for 57,000 young adults,
• Provides retraining in high-demand fields for an additional 3,800 workers,
• Provides community mental health services to an average of around 55,000 people per month
• Saves health care for 69,000 people on the Basic Health Plan.

These are exactly the kind of services essential for the safety, health and security of Washingtonians that it is state government’s job to protect.

And these are exactly the kind of services essential to ensure a strong economic future.

What’s more, this budget leaves $484 million in reserve, a responsible sum to help the state weather any additional economic aftershocks during the remainder of the two-year budget cycle and get a jump on tackling future budget challenges.

In this section:

Revenue

Closing Loopholes

Visualizing the Budget