How would you fill expected $2 billion state budget hole?
Not even three months into its two-year budget cycle, Washington state is facing as much as a $2 billion budget problem.
Between the dire September revenue forecast and another dip anticipated in November, Gov. Chris Gregoire announced her intentions to call the Legislature back into a special session in November.
This news comes after three painful years of state budget deficits. The low-hanging fruit, the simpler, more obvious cuts, have been made. And the possibility of raising new revenue faces high hurdles with voter-affirmed requirements for a two-thirds legislative majority for any tax increases or a vote of the people.