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Tuesday, December 6, 2005
State Budget: Prudence in order
It's heartening to hear Gov. Christine Gregoire emphasize prudence in the face of a projected $1.4 billion state budget surplus. The next test of her leadership ability will be whether she can lead Republican and Democratic legislators away from the temptation to cut taxes, expand programs or both.
Gregoire must set the fiscal tone as the Legislature convenes next month to write a supplemental budget.
The first step will be to meet the needs to which the state already is committed, including increases in public school enrollments and prison populations, maintaining health care coverage for children and meeting pension-funding obligations.
After that, the budget surplus quickly dissipates. "There's no scenario after we fund the mandates that doesn't result in us having a deficit going into the next (2007) biennial budget," Gregoire told P-I Capitol Correspondent Chris McGann.
If the looming surplus is to be tapped, catching up on the state's pension funding backlog -- which actuaries place in the hundreds of millions of dollars -- would be a good place to start. Consider House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Helen Sommers' proposal for what she calls a "Pension Stabilization Act." The Seattle Democrat would bolster the pension balance with, say, $300 million from the anticipated reserve.
A year of such prudence will give budget writers a much clearer view of where the state economy is headed. For now, tax cuts and major spending expansions should be kept on hold.
Tell us what's on your mind.
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| What's the state of the state's economy? | |
 8.5%Still in recession. |
66.0% Beginning to recover. |
| 18.1% In full recovery. |
3.2% Booming. |
| 4.3% Bound for bust. |
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| Total Votes: 94 | |
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