On Monday, March 20th the quarterly revenue forecast was released by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. Legislators will base their budget on this forecast. Both House and Senate budget proposals are expected to be released in the next week.

Biennial revenues are expected to total nearly $66 billion in the next biennium. This forecast shows stagnant revenue collections for the rest of the 2021-23 biennium and a decrease in collections by $483 million and $541 million for the 2023-25 biennium and 2025-27 biennium, respectively. These decreased revenue collections are likely to make budget leaders more cautious when it comes to spending.

Rising interest rates, a potential cooling of the housing market, and uncertainty in the banking sector are all factors that might further impact revenue collections, however, it is too soon to tell what the economic impacts will be.