RCW 82.33.060 State budget outlook—Requirements.

(1) To facilitate compliance with, and subject to the terms of, RCW 43.88.055, the state budget outlook work group shall prepare, subject to the approval of the economic and revenue forecast council under RCW 82.33.010, an official state budget outlook for state revenues and expenditures for the general fund and related funds. In odd-numbered years, the period covered by the November state budget outlook shall be the current fiscal biennium and the next ensuing fiscal biennium. In even-numbered years, the period covered by the November state budget outlook shall be the next two ensuing fiscal biennia. The revenue and caseload projections used in the outlook must reflect the most recent official forecasts adopted by the economic and revenue forecast council and the caseload forecast council for the years for which those forecasts are available.

(2) The outlook must:

(a) Estimate revenues to and expenditures from the state general fund and related funds. The estimate of ensuing biennium expenditures must include maintenance items including, but not limited to, continuation of current programs, forecasted growth of current entitlement programs, and actions required by law, including legislation with a future implementation date. Estimates of ensuing biennium expenditures must exclude policy items including, but not limited to, legislation not yet enacted by the legislature, collective bargaining agreements not yet approved by the legislature, and changes to levels of funding for employee salaries and benefits unless those changes are required by statute. Estimated maintenance level expenditures must also exclude costs of court rulings issued during or within fewer than ninety days before the beginning of the current legislative session;

(b) Address major budget and revenue drivers, including trends and variability in these drivers;

(c) Clearly state the assumptions used in the estimates of baseline and projected expenditures and any adjustments made to those estimates;

(d) Clearly state the assumptions used in the baseline revenue estimates and any adjustments to those estimates; and

(e) Include the impact of previously enacted legislation with a future implementation date.

(3) The outlook must also separately include projections based on the revenues and expenditures proposed in the governor's budget documents submitted to the legislature under RCW 43.88.030.

(4) The economic and revenue forecast council shall submit state budget outlooks prepared under this section to the governor and the members of the committees on ways and means of the senate and house of representatives, including one copy to the staff of each of the committees, as required by this section.

(5) Each January, the state budget outlook work group shall also prepare, subject to the approval of the economic and revenue forecast council, a state budget outlook for state revenues and expenditures that reflects the governor's proposed budget document submitted to the legislature under chapter 43.88 RCW. Within thirty days following enactment of an operating budget by the legislature, the work group shall prepare, subject to the approval of the economic and revenue forecast council, a state budget outlook for state revenues and expenditures that reflects the enacted budget.

(6) All agencies of state government shall provide to the supervisor immediate access to all information relating to state budget outlooks.

(7) The state budget outlook work group must publish its proposed methodology on the economic and revenue forecast council web site. The state budget outlook work group, in consultation with the economic and revenue forecast work group and outside experts if necessary, must analyze the extent to which the proposed methodology for projecting expenditures for the ensuing fiscal biennia may be reliably used to determine the future impact of appropriations and make recommendations to change the outlook process to increase reliability and accuracy. The recommendations are due by December 1, 2013, and every five years thereafter.

[ 2012 1st sp.s. c 8 § 4.]