AN ACT Relating to economic forecasts; and amending RCW 43.88.030 and 82.01.120.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. Section 43.88.030, chapter 8, Laws of 1965 as last amended by section 7, chapter 138, Laws of 1984 and RCW 43.88.030 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The budget document or documents shall consist of the governor's budget message which shall be explanatory of the budget and shall contain an outline of the proposed financial policies of the state for the ensuing fiscal period and shall describe in connection therewith the important features of the budget. The message shall set forth the reasons for salient changes from the previous fiscal period in expenditure and revenue items and shall explain any major changes in financial policy. Attached to the budget message shall be such supporting schedules, exhibits and other explanatory material in respect to both current operations and capital improvements as the governor shall deem to be useful to the legislature. The budget document or documents shall set forth a proposal for expenditures in the ensuing fiscal period based upon the estimated revenues as approved by the economic and revenue forecast council for such fiscal period from the source and at the rates existing by law at the time of submission of the budget document((~~: PROVIDED, That~~)). However, the estimated revenues for use in the governor's budget document may be adjusted to reflect budgetary revenue transfers and revenue estimates dependent upon budgetary assumptions of enrollments, workloads, and caseloads. All adjustments to the approved estimated revenues must be set forth in the budget document. The governor may additionally submit, as an appendix to each agency budget or to the budget document or documents, a proposal for expenditures in the ensuing fiscal period from revenue sources derived from proposed changes in existing statutes.

The budget document or documents shall also contain:

(a) Revenues classified by fund and source for the immediately past fiscal period, those received or anticipated for the current fiscal period, and those anticipated for the ensuing biennium;

(b) Cash surplus or deficit, by fund, to the extent provided by RCW 43.88.040 and 43.88.050;

(c) Such additional information dealing with expenditures, revenues, workload, performance and personnel as the legislature may direct by law or concurrent resolution;

(d) Such additional information dealing with revenues and expenditures as the governor shall deem pertinent and useful to the legislature;

(e) Tabulations showing expenditures classified by fund, function, activity and object; and

(f) A delineation of each agency's activities, including those activities funded from nonbudgeted, nonappropriated sources, including funds maintained outside the state treasury.

(2) The budget document or documents shall include detailed estimates of all anticipated revenues applicable to proposed operating or capital expenditures and shall also include all proposed operating or capital expenditures. The total of anticipated revenues shall equal or exceed the total of proposed applicable expenditures. The budget document or documents shall further include:

(a) Interest, amortization and redemption charges on the state debt;

(b) Payments of all reliefs, judgments and claims;

(d) Expenditures incident to the operation for each agency;

(e) Revenues derived from agency operations;

(f) Expenditures and revenues shall be given in comparative form showing those incurred or received for the immediately past fiscal period and those anticipated for the current biennium and next ensuing biennium.

(3) A separate budget document or schedule may be submitted consisting of:

(a) Expenditures incident to current or pending capital projects and to proposed new capital projects, relating the respective amounts proposed to be raised therefor by appropriations in the budget and the respective amounts proposed to be raised therefor by the issuance of bonds during the fiscal period;

(b) A capital program consisting of proposed capital projects for at least the two fiscal periods succeeding the next fiscal period. The capital program shall include for each proposed project a statement of the reason or purpose for the project along with an estimate of its cost;

(d) Such other information relating to capital improvement projects as the legislature may direct by law or concurrent resolution.

(4) No change affecting the comparability of agency or program information relating to expenditures, revenues, workload, performance and personnel shall be made in the format of any budget document or report presented to the legislature under this section or RCW 43.88.160(1) relative to the format of the budget document or report which was presented to the previous regular session of the legislature during an odd-numbered year without prior legislative concurrence. Prior legislative concurrence shall consist of (a) a favorable majority vote on the proposal by the standing committees on ways and means of both houses if the legislature is in session or (b) a favorable majority vote on the proposal by members of the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee if the legislature is not in session.

Sec. 2. Section 1, chapter 138, Laws of 1984 and RCW 82.01.120 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The director shall employ an economic and revenue forecast supervisor to supervise the preparation of all economic and revenue forecasts. As used in this section and RCW 82.01.125 and 82.01.130, "supervisor" means the economic and revenue forecast supervisor. Approval by an affirmative vote of at least five members of the economic and revenue forecast council is required for any decisions regarding employment of the supervisor. Employment of the supervisor shall terminate after each term of three years, unless the supervisor is reappointed by the director and approved by the economic and revenue forecast council for another three years. The supervisor shall employ staff sufficient to accomplish the purposes of this section.

(2) Four times each year the supervisor shall prepare, subject to the approval of the economic and revenue forecast council under RCW 82.01.130(2):

(a) An official state economic and revenue forecast;

(b) An unofficial state economic and revenue forecast based on optimistic economic and revenue projections; and

(3) The supervisor shall submit forecasts prepared under this section, along with any unofficial forecasts provided under RCW 82.01.130(3), to the governor and the legislature on or before ((~~December~~)) November 20th, February 20th in the even-numbered years, March 20th in the odd-numbered years, June 20th, and September 20th.