Ross Hunter

Category: Budget

  • Labor Day – Where do we go from here?

    The Seattle Times today is filled with stories about the future of the American worker, and how workers of tomorrow will have to have more education and skills than many of today’s workers. Labor Day 2010: Few jobs for low-skilled workers There is a certain irony this Labor Day at a time of record unemployment,…

  • Tracking the Economy…

    On Thursday of last week, Governor Gregoire asked all her agencies to prepare for budget cuts of between $300 and $500 million. She is planning to take action on October 1st, immediately following the revenue forecast that will be released in late September. In her address she suggests that she and the legislature work together…

  • Good News on the Budget

    Good News on the Budget

    This morning the US Senate approved legislation extending the “enhanced” federal match for Medicaid for another 6 months, starting in January. This is good news for Washington state. The Senate paid for this change with other adjustments in the federal budget, so it doesn’t have an impact on the federal budget deficit, also a good…

  • Current Budget Situation

    Last week Kelli Linville, the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and I sent a letter to Gov Gregoire outlining our recommendation that she use the authority she has to make across the board cuts in the budget. We did this because changes in the economy and lack of action at the federal…

  • Retire-Rehire Program Abuse

    The Seattle Times has a great story on the use of the “retire-rehire” provision in state law that allows someone to retire, and then be hired back by the state or another governmnet but still collect his or her retirement. When I searched on the issue on the internet I hit a bunch of similar…

  • Paper: The Top Enemy of Efficiency

    Paper: The Top Enemy of Efficiency

    I sat through a briefing this morning on “Provider One,” the state’s new $200 million Medicaid claims processing software implementation exercise. We expect to go live with the software on May 6th, after 12-18 months of delay rolling the product out. I believe the implementation will mostly work at that point (this is a big…

  • Rob McKenna and Healthcare

    Earlier this week Attorney General Rob McKenna joined a lawsuit filed by a number of other AGs nationally to attack the new healthcare bill adopted in the other Washington. Here’s his press release on the suit: http://www.atg.wa.gov/pressrelease.aspx?&id=25402 He’s using 10th amendment grounds to do so, and my personal read is that the suit is unlikely…

  • Interesting Pension Fund Data

    Interesting Pension Fund Data

    The following was included in the most recent issue of Capitol Ideas, the magazine published by the Council of State Governments: “A new report from the Pew Center on the States finds a $1 trillion gap between the $2.35 trillion states have set aside to pay for employees’ retirement benefits and the $3.35 trillion price…

  • Mr. Yuk

    Mr. Yuk

    Mr. Yuk came by to lobby for the poison control center in the budget. It’s easy to get attention when you wear crazy costumes, though it looks like it’s difficult to get through doorways. I spend a lot of time at my desk, but he got me out of my office. I’m glad I don’t…

  • Using the Gavel

    Using the Gavel

    I’ve had a couple of questions about the hearing we held this weekend on the Senate bill to temporarily suspend Initiative 960. I’ll write about the bill elsewhere but I wanted to talk briefly about how difficult it is to manage a large hearing on a contentious issue. This particular hearing was held at 9:00…