Nealey Responds to Revenue Forecast

OLYMPIA - On Novem- ber 20, legislators in Olym- pia adopted the most recent revenue forecast issued by the Washington State Eco- nomic and Revenue Forecast Council.

According to Chief Economist Steve Lerch, the 2013- 15 General Fund-State net change is an increase of $16 million. The forecast also shows an increase of $9 million for the 2011-13 biennium. However, officials are predicting a decrease in rev- enue of nearly $44 million for the 2015-17 budget cycle.

A technical adjustment regarding the definition of revenue reclassifies funds, which changes numbers in the forecast. However, Le- rch said the non-economic reclassification does not change the ending fund balance in the state budget, so the net impact is zero.

Rep. Terry Nealey, RDayton, member of the council and ranking Republican on the House Finance Committee, released this statement:

This latest forecast shows us the state's economy is continuing to improve, but recovery remains slow. While the immediate f o re- cast is good news, it also u n - der- scores the fact our economy remains in a very precarious position.

There is still uncer- tainty among employers and consumers. Boeing is receiving interest from all over the country to build its 777X jet, which could mean the loss of many jobs in Washington if it takes that project elsewhere. The state Department of Labor and Industries will soon be considering another increase in employer workers' compensation rates for 2014. In January, the state's minimum wage will increase to $9.32 per hour - which is the high- est minimum wage in the nation. And there are still more than 240 thousand people in Washington un- employed and looking for work. Our state's economy remains fragile. That's why it will be so impor- tant in the 2014 session to make sure our actions in the Legislature don't further destabilize the economy and propel us into negative territory.

During the last special session when we approved nearly nine-billion dollars in tax incentives for the aerospace industry, a very good point was made that we can attract and create more jobs in Wash- ington if we extend that same tax and regulatory relief to other employers in Washington. That needs to be the focus of the 2014 session.

This latest forecasted increase in revenue is only a small windfall when you consider our near General-Fund biennial state budget is in excess of 33 billion dollars. We need to invest our sur- pluses wisely into K-12 and higher education, pay down the state's pension liabilities, and put money aside to buffer against fu- ture economic downfalls.

Let's use the coming session as an opportunity to improve our state's economy and get Washing- ton working again.