On June 30, legislators passed, and the governor signed a $34 billion operating budget hours before the new biennium was to begin, avoiding a partial shutdown of state services. The legislature remains at work in what is its third special session. As of yet there is no agreement on a capital budget for the 2017-2019 biennium and it is unclear if there will be agreement this session.
On the whole, the operating budget is very good for hospitals and healthcare. Specifically, the final budget did not include cuts to hospital clinics, extended the safety net assessment program, and made significant progress on mental health funding and reforms. For a detailed analysis of the budget, see our recent Inside Olympia article. (Andrew Busz, andrewb@wsha.org)
