For the first time in several years, the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council has reduced the state revenue forecast. At their quarterly meeting in Olympia yesterday, the Council voted to reduce state general fund revenue collections available for the current biennium by $132 million. Dr. Chang Mook Sohn, the state’s chief revenue forecaster, said that most of the downward change was due to the expected slowdown in real estate activity.
The change in the revenue forecast is less than one half of one percent of total general fund revenues and Dr. Sohn emphasized that the Washington State housing and construction sectors are still outperforming the U.S. as a whole.
With the recent passage of resolution 8206 which establishes a constitutional rainy day fund, the projected $1.4 billion in state reserves now consist of $430 million in the newly created “budget stabilization account” and $954 million in so-called “unobligated” revenues.