The Legislature began a third special session this afternoon, following the conclusion of the 105-day regular session on April 23 and two, 30-day special sessions. Governor Inslee called legislators into a third special session for the purpose of adopting the 2017-19 biennial state budget. The Governor must sign a new budget by midnight on June 30 in order to prevent a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins July 1. The Legislature has entered into multiple special sessions while constructing a budget each odd-numbered year since the 2011 session, including during 2013 and 2015, when biennial budgets were signed into law on June 30 both years.

On June 20, the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released its quarterly revenue forecast, which helps inform budget negotiations in Olympia. The new forecast shows an increase in state revenue by $81 million for the current 2015-17 biennium and $87 million for the 2017-19 biennium. While revenue projections have increased since the March 2017 forecast, these increases are modest and the Legislature still grapples with the complex issue of finding an agreement on how to fund K-12 education and other areas of state government. The House of Representatives and the Senate each laid out their proposals for the state’s biennial operating and capital budgets earlier in session.

In the event that a new budget is not signed into law by July 1 and the state enters a partial government shutdown, Western will maintain current operations. As WWU’s budget office announced earlier this month, Western’s administration has made contingency plans to rely on other financial resources to enable continuation of normal university operations.

Stay tuned to the blog for legislative updates through the remainder of session, and you can follow WWU Government Relations on Twitter here.

Washington State Legislative Building on June 19, 2017