State budget information

Washington State has a two-year budget, which is made up of three spending areas:

  • Operating budget (pays for day-to-day operations for the state, including public education, public safety, human services, higher education and more)
  • Transportation budget (pays for projects that help ensure our roads and public transportation systems move goods and people effectively throughout the state)
  • Capital budget (pays for buying and maintaining public buildings and lands)

For more information on how the state budget is created, visit the website for the
Legislative Evaluation & Accountability Program Committee (LEAP) and click on "Citizen’s Guide to the Budget." You can also find proposed and final state budgets on that website.

Our state continues our work to emerge stronger from the economic recession and prepare our state for a 21st century economy. We have had to prioritize the services offered by state government like never before.

For more information on actions taken in recent years to close budget gaps and put our state budget on a sustainable trajectory, visit Gov. Chris Gregoire's
Transforming Washington's Budget page.

Overview of DEL’s 2011-2013 budget

Read DEL’s proposal to reduce state general funds by 10 percent, submitted Sept. 22, 2011.

Read DEL’s plan to reduce state general funds by 6.3 percent, submitted Sept. 29, 2010.

DEL’s 2011-2013 budget proposal.