New Numbers Show $300 Million Hit To Washington State Budget - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

New Numbers Show $300 Million Hit To Washington State Budget

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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - New numbers shows that the state's projected budget deficit has grown by $300 million.
    
The numbers released Thursday during a Washington State Caseload Forecast Council briefing show that the recent hit is primarily because Medicaid services are being more heavily used than forecasters had projected.
    
That means lawmakers are facing a roughly $1.3 billion budget shortfall, not counting additional money needed for a court-ordered requirement that they increase funding to basic education. The state's revenue forecast, due next Wednesday, has lawmakers bracing for even more bad news in the midst of the 105-day legislative session.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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