Gov. Gregoire: I can't make more cuts without Legislature
Everyone expects next week's quarterly forecast of state revenue to be bad. Gov. Chris Gregoire says she is girding for a drop in revenue as deep as $1.5 billion — and some are predicting even worse numbers. Gregoire has asked agencies to identify $1.7 billion in cuts, or 10 percent of their budgets.
But for Gregoire to make the cuts herself without the help of the Legislature, she would have to take an equal bite out of every state agency — and she said Wednesday such across-the-board cuts aren't possible any more.
"I can't do across-the-boards. I've made that clear to legislative leadership," she told me after a meeting of the state Finance Committee. "That's a dry well right now."