Budget transfers into Washington's general fund

What this chart asks

How often did each operating budget move money from other accounts into the general fund, and from what kinds of accounts?

Why it is shown this way

• Stacked bars show the total count per biennium and how much of it is routine cannabis and tobacco-settlement flows or the rainy-day fund.
• Counts, not dollars, because the claim being checked is a count of times.

Data and accessibility

Download chart data · Open accessible table · Download PNG · Download SVG

Dataset wa-fund-transfers-to-general-fund, analysis transfers-by-biennium

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

Washington operating-budget transfers into and out of the general fund, 2021-23 to 2025-27

1. Washington State Legislature 2021-23 operating budget (2021 c 334): sec. 1802 is the final 2019-21 transfer list.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Official session law text published by the Washington State Legislature; amendatory sections show struck and inserted text.

2. Washington State Legislature 2023-25 operating budget (2023 c 475): sec. 1804 is the final 2021-23 transfer list.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Official session law text published by the Washington State Legislature; amendatory sections show struck and inserted text.

3. Washington State Legislature 2025-27 operating budget (2025 c 424): sec. 1804 is the final 2023-25 transfer list.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Official session law text published by the Washington State Legislature; amendatory sections show struck and inserted text.

4. Washington State Legislature 2026 supplemental operating budget (2026 c 268, partially vetoed): sec. 802 is the final 2025-27 transfer list.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Official session law text published by the Washington State Legislature; amendatory sections show struck and inserted text.

5. Washington State Legislature 2022 supplemental (2022 c 297): interim 2021-23 transfer list, used for comparison only.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Official session law text published by the Washington State Legislature; amendatory sections show struck and inserted text.

6. Washington State Legislature 2024 supplemental (2024 c 376): interim 2023-25 transfer list, used for comparison only.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Official session law text published by the Washington State Legislature; amendatory sections show struck and inserted text.

7. Washington State Legislature fiscal committees and LEAP 2026 Legislative Budget Notes, pp. O-4/O-5 'Fund Transfers In Budget Bill': cross-check of the 2026 changes ($1,267.7M subtotal), and p. O-2 on the $394.6M capital gains distribution change.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Prepared by nonpartisan legislative fiscal staff from the enacted budget.

8. Washington Research Council Cross-check of 2025-27 transfer totals: net transfers into the general fund of $2.292 billion, including $279.6 million from 44 accounts.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Copyrighted web page. Linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Advocacy group. Business-funded nonpartisan research group that has criticized reliance on fund transfers; it counts transfers into all NGF-O accounts, not only the general fund.

9. Washington Secretary of State (Voters' Pamphlet) I-645 Voters' Pamphlet pages: the Argument For, written by Sen. Chris Gildon and others, with the '80 times' and capital gains statements.

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Party to the dispute. Has a stake in this finding. Campaign arguments are written by each side's committee and printed unedited by the Secretary of State.

10. Washington State Senate Final bill report on ESSB 5752 (2025): delays of the ECEAP entitlement and Working Connections Child Care eligibility expansions, and repeal of two eligibility expansions.

    Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

    Reliability: Government. Nonpartisan Senate committee staff summary of the enacted bill.

11. Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families DCYF summary of 2025-27 budget impacts on early learning: delays, eliminated Early ECEAP, fewer ECEAP slots.

    Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

    Reliability: Government. The agency that runs the programs, describing the enacted budget's effect on them.

12. Washington State Legislature Capital gains tax law (2021 c 196), sec. 1 intent: invest in K-12 education and early learning and child care by dedicating revenue to the Education Legacy Trust Account and the Common School Construction Account.

    Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

    Reliability: Government. Official session law text published by the Washington State Legislature.

13. Washington State Legislature RCW 83.100.230: permitted uses of the Education Legacy Trust Account, including the common schools, higher education, and early learning and child care programs.

    Retrieved October 21, 2026. Washington State government publication. Public document; linked, not redistributed.

    Reliability: Government. Current statute text from the Revised Code of Washington.

Limitations

• Counts lines, not dollars: one line can be $1 million or $2 billion.
• Operating-budget transfer sections only; transportation and capital budgets and fund swaps are not included.
• Two 2019-21 lines enacted in 2021 (a rainy-day draw and a loan repayment) fall in the pamphlet's five-year window but are not shown.