Inslee to agency leaders: Money's too tight for new programs

As Washington Gov. Jay Inslee fashions his last budget proposal, he’s told directors of state agencies to not ask for money for new programs or expansion of existing ones.

He wants them to tighten their spending as they deal with increasing demand for public services and rising costs to provide them.

Tax collections “will likely support the maintenance of current programs, but not growth,” David Schumacher, Inslee’s budget director, wrote agency leaders last month. Any funding request “should focus on continuing these programs” and only address caseload increases “while not expanding existing programs and services,” he wrote.

Three initiatives on the November ballot add further uncertainty as each threatens a source of dollars for state spending. Their passage “could negatively impact revenues that are collected, fund entitlement, and other programs and services,” Schumacher told them.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/07/18/inslee-to-agency-leaders-moneys-too-tight-for-new-programs/