Office of Financial Management

OLYMPIA – The state of Washington is being nationally recognized for a new website that gives consumers access to vast amounts of information about health care costs and quality.

The National Association of Health Data Organizations announced last week it has given its annual Innovation in Data Dissemination Award to the state for its Washington HealthCareCompare website.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – As of April 1, 2018, an estimated 7,427,600 people resided in the state of Washington, according to annual estimates prepared by the Washington State Office of Financial Management. The state’s population grew by 117,300 persons, a 1.6 percent increase over the past year. While state population growth remains strong by historical standards, the growth rate is down slightly from last year.

OLYMPIA – Washington’s projected Near General Fund revenue collections for the 2017–19 state budget have increased by a net $298 million, according to estimates released today by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. 

“With collections once again running above the previous forecast, particularly given the increase in housing values, we revised the forecast upward,” said Steve Lerch, forecast council executive director.  

A new system that will both streamline and modernize budget development and reporting operations for Washington state agencies and for state government as a whole was launched today.

The new Agency Budget System (ABS) is a collaborative project between the state’s Office of Financial Management (OFM), which manages the state’s budgeting processes, and Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech), which lent about two dozen staff to the project through its inception in September 2016.

OLYMPIA – College students with fewer of their financial needs met through aid are less likely to finish their degree than those who received more financial aid. That, and other findings about the relationship between financial need and college graduation rates, are included in a report released recently by the Washington Office of Financial Management’s Education Research and Data Center.

Washington’s projected Near General Fund revenue collections for the 2017–19 state budget have increased by nearly $628 million, according to estimates released today by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

“With collections running above the previous forecast and continued positive signs in the underlying economy, we revised the forecast upward,” said Steve Lerch, forecast council executive director.

Today’s forecast is the largest quarterly increase for the state since before the Great Recession.

Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday released his 2018 supplemental budget, which adds nearly $1 billion to fully fund basic education in time for the 2018 school year and makes modest new investments for emerging and urgent needs such as tools to combat the opioid crisis, emergency preparedness, protection for endangered orcas and mental health.

OLYMPIA – Washington’s projected Near General Fund revenue collections for the 2017–19 state budget have increased by nearly $319 million, according to estimates released today by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The increased revenue estimate is a 0.7 percent increase over the previous forecast.

“The U.S. and Washington economies continue to perform largely as expected in our September forecast,” said Steve Lerch, forecast council executive director. “As a result, we have made relatively small adjustments in our forecast update.”

OLYMPIA – Washington’s projected Near General Fund revenue collections for the 2017–19 state budget have increased by about $288 million, according to estimates released today by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

“The national economic trends we’ve identified in recent forecasts are holding relatively steady, while the state economy is slightly stronger than expected in June” said Steve Lerch, forecast council executive director. “This quarter’s update reflects these modest changes.”