What is the actual number of dollars that will be lost from the State's budget annually and what is the State's actual annual budget now?

-- Jim Pickett (jjvonruston@prodigy.com), October 03, 1999

Answers

Well the state actually runs on a 2 year budget cycle, so if you want a rough estimate per year just divide all these numbers by 2.

It's estimated that should 695 fail, the state will collect $1.5 billion in the 1999-2001 budget cycle.

The totals of the three budgets passed by the legislature last session are: Operating Budget $20.6 billion. Captial Budget $2.3 billion. Transportation Budget $4.1 billion. For a total of $27 billion. So the MVET is about 5.6% of the total.

The often quoted $45 billion state spending number includes all of the federal programs that the state oversees like Medicaid in which the state can't reallocate this money to any other program.

All of this information can be found at the legislature's web site www.le

-- Patrick (patrick1142@yahoo.com), October 03, 1999.

Patrick is leading you to the right source of budget numbers. His comments about the need to disregard the $18 billion in fed money are a bit off though. Much of that money is used for roads,public transit, schools, police,etc. Budget items that the state would need to fund if the feds didn't. These are many of the areas that the anti- I-695 folk claim will be cut.

How you count the money returned to the states is difficult. As it is returned with strings attached. But it must be counted as most of it goes to programs that the state would be funding anyway[roads]. Medicaid being more exception than rule.

-- Verne Robirds (lrobirds@tx3.net), October 04, 1999.

" How much does the state collect in motor vehicle excise taxes, and where does the money go?

The state expects to collect about $1.5 billion in motor vehicle excise taxes over the next two years. Motor vehicle taxes represent a little more than 2 percent of the state's total revenue, according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. " From today's PI. http://www.seattle- pi.com/local/fact04.shtml

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), October 04, 1999.

It's important not to omit the next paragraph from that P-I report:

"About half the excise tax goes to state transportation projects, 30 percent to public transit, the rest to local governments for criminal justice, roads, public health and other programs."

Also, I saw this very interesting point in the 9/26/99 Sunday P- I/Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com/news/local/html98/init_19990926.html

"Eyman claims the initiative lops off just 2 percent of total government spending in Washington. But he's counting the combined total of all state, city, county and federal programs. Another way to look at it: I-695 would get rid of an annual fund that collects $750 million, a sum equal to 7.5 percent of the state's $10 billion annual operating budget.

Money gathered in this motor-vehicle excise-tax account isn't part of the state's general operating budget and can't be used for public schools, social services and most other state programs. It's a separate, free-standing account that cities, counties and state agencies rely on for specific services."

This gives me a clue about what to make of Tim Eyman's, "Don't be fooled! It's only 2% of government spending in the state..."

-- Joe Campbell (joecampbell76@hotmail.com), October 04, 1999.

"Another way to look at it: I-695 would get rid of an annual fund that collects $750 million, a sum equal to 7.5 percent of the state's $10 billion annual operating budget."

Better. 7.5% begins to give you the scale of the financial impact of the MVET, but that part of the initiative is still the side show. The voter approval section, which changes the operation of state and local governments to direct democracy for funding issues, causes many more problems and will have a greater long term impact.

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), October 04, 1999.