OLYMPIA — Governor Bob Ferguson offered the following statement regarding the latest revenue forecast from the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, which projects revenue over the next four years to be $720 million lower than the Legislature assumed in its budget:
“While this revenue forecast is disappointing, it is not surprising. We knew that things were unlikely to improve in the near term, especially in light of continued chaos from the Trump Administration — including tariffs, which have an outsized negative impact on a trade-dependent state like Washington. It is particularly discouraging given the current efforts by the Trump Administration to make draconian cuts to Medicaid, education and food benefits. If those move forward, it will mean billions of dollars in cuts impacting our most vulnerable residents. The forecast makes it abundantly clear that we as a state cannot replace all of those dollars.
“My team is still analyzing the information in this forecast. At this time, I do not anticipate calling a special session. We are closely monitoring developments from the federal government that could force me to revisit that question. We will also carefully review the next revenue forecast in September.
“As we begin preparing to draft my first budget, OFM has already communicated to agencies that they need to look for additional savings.
“This will not be easy. We already made many difficult decisions last session in order to bridge our $16 billion shortfall. Washingtonians expect us as leaders to make the tough decisions to live within our means and still deliver core services.”
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