Yesterday afternoon the Washington House Committee on Ways & Means met to receive several updates on the current budget and discuss potential areas of reform as the 2011 legislative session approaches.

The Committee began the hearing with an update on the June Revenue Forecast released last week.  The forecast showed an economy that is recovering at a slow and uneven rate. This was perhaps best exemplified in the news that the June forecast was down over $200 million from the February forecast.

The Committee then received an update with regard to the anticipated federal Medicaid funds that have been up in the air.  At this time, the U.S. Senate is considering H.R. 4213 which includes the six-month extension for Medicaid funds to states. The Senate has voted twice to close debate and move the legislation, but both votes have failed.

The latest information shared with the committee suggests that policymakers in Congress may consider an extension with a phase out. What this means for Washington is that instead of receiving the full $480 million anticipated in the 2010 supplemental budget, the amount provided to the state would be tapered over the six months resulting in fewer dollars.

Though many things remain up in the air, for example policymakers may extend the Medicaid funding in other legislation or provide for another option for distribution of these funds to states, it was shared that the tapering of funds could provide as much as $410 million to Washington or it could be much less.

Finally, though the Committee agenda publicized a discussion of possible budget reform ideas, including the fiscal note process, standard approaches to reviewing the budget and agency budget requests, and adding performance measures to the budget, the committee chose to continue to discuss these issues among themselves via email and continue this discussion at the next meeting of the Committee.