FactHub curated dataset

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

Every 'For transfer to the state general fund' line in the final transfer sections of Washington's operating budgets for 2021-23, 2023-25 and 2025-27 (plus the 2019-21 list as amended in 2021), with source account, fiscal-year amounts, category and the verbatim budget text, and every transfer out of the general fund. Built to test the I-645 Voters' Pamphlet statement that Olympia moved money from dedicated accounts to the general fund 80 times in five years.

Coverage: Budgets enacted 2021-2026 (bienniums 2019-21 as amended in 2021 through 2025-27)

Node: dataset:wa-fund-transfers-to-general-fund

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What this dataset measures

The pamphlet statement gives no source or method. The operating budget's 'State Treasurer: Transfers' section is where the Legislature directs money from other accounts into the general fund, so counting its lines is the most direct test. Two independent counts were made; this dataset holds the second, which agreed with the first within one or two lines per biennium.

Geography: Washington, United States
Unit of observation: One transfer line in a final enacted operating-budget transfer section
Update cadence: One-time compilation; may be updated after the 2027 session
Curator: FactHub Research Team

Curated data tables

These related tables form this versioned dataset release. Each table has its own downloadable file and field definitions.

Transfer lines into and out of the general fund

One row per transfer line in the final transfer section for each biennium.

Unit of observation: Transfer line

View this table

wa_fund_transfers_to_gf.csv text/csv · 32.8 KB (33,567 bytes)

11 field definitions

Field	Type	Meaning	Units	Value type
`biennium`	string	Biennium of the transfer list.	—	observed
`sessionLaw`	string	Session law that enacted the final list.	—	observed
`section`	string	Section number of the transfer list.	—	observed
`sourceAccount`	string	Account the money moves from (for toGF) or the receiving account (for fromGF), as printed.	—	observed
`fy1Thousands`	number	Amount for the first fiscal year.	$ thousands	observed
`fy2Thousands`	number	Amount for the second fiscal year.	$ thousands	observed
`totalThousands`	number	Printed total for the line.	$ thousands	observed
`direction`	string	toGF (into the state general fund) or fromGF (out of it).	—	derived
`category`	string	routine (cannabis, tobacco settlement), bsa (Budget Stabilization Account) or dedicated (all other accounts); empty for fromGF.	—	derived
`quote`	string	Verbatim entry text, struck text removed.	—	observed
`note`	string	Flags: vetoed, loan repayment to GF, GF-funded reserve, balance or recurring sweep.	—	derived

Transfer counts by biennium

Counts and totals by biennium, with and without routine and rainy-day transfers and general-fund loan repayments.

Unit of observation: Biennium

View this table

wa-fund-transfer-counts.csv text/csv · 334 bytes

12 field definitions

Field	Type	Meaning	Units	Value type
`biennium`	string	Biennium of the transfer list.	—	observed
`toGfItems`	number	Transfer lines into the general fund (vetoed line excluded).	count	derived
`toGfMillions`	number	Total of those lines.	$ millions	derived
`routineItems`	number	Lines from the Dedicated Cannabis and Tobacco Settlement accounts.	count	derived
`bsaItems`	number	Lines from the Budget Stabilization Account.	count	derived
`dedicatedItems`	number	Lines from all other accounts.	count	derived
`dedicatedMillions`	number	Total of those lines.	$ millions	derived
`dedicatedExLoansItems`	number	Other-account lines excluding repayments of general-fund loans and the return of the general-fund-funded Washington Rescue Plan Transition Account.	count	derived
`dedicatedExLoansMillions`	number	Total of those lines.	$ millions	derived
`distinctSourceAccounts`	number	Distinct source accounts in the biennium's list.	count	derived
`fromGfItems`	number	Transfer lines out of the general fund into other accounts.	count	derived
`fromGfMillions`	number	Total of those lines.	$ millions	derived

Supporting files

Source snapshots, manifests, quality reports, documentation, and other materials used to produce or review this release.

wa_fund_transfers_method.md Documentation · text/markdown · 10.1 KB (10,328 bytes)
How the count was done: sources, markup handling, definitions, cross-checks and the pamphlet examples.
build_transfer_counts.js Transformation manifest · text/javascript · 3.7 KB (3,791 bytes)
Computes the counts table and saved-analysis results from the transfers CSV.
totext.js Transformation manifest · text/javascript · 1.1 KB (1,112 bytes)
Converts session-law HTML to text, dropping struck (line-through) text.
parse.js Transformation manifest · text/javascript · 1.8 KB (1,883 bytes)
Extracts the transfer entries from each final transfer section.
csv.js Transformation manifest · text/javascript · 4.1 KB (4,160 bytes)
Classifies entries and writes the transfers CSV.

Saved analyses

Transfer lines into the general fund by biennium and kind

Question: How many times did each operating budget move money into the general fund from other accounts, and of what kind?

Result: Transfer lines into the general fund: 2021-23 8, 2023-25 20, 2025-27 53, 81 in all. Most are from dedicated accounts other than cannabis, tobacco settlement and the rainy-day fund; 2025-27 alone has 53, after the 2026 supplemental added 15 new source accounts.

Operation: Count of toGF lines (vetoed line excluded) by biennium and category.

Scope: table transfers

View this analysis

Counts lines, not dollars; one line can be $1 million or $2 billion.
Operating-budget transfer sections only.

Transfers into the general fund enacted 2021-2026 under different definitions

Question: Under which definitions does the count reach about 80?

Result: 83 transfer lines into the general fund were enacted in 2021-2026 (81 in the three final lists); 72 excluding cannabis, tobacco-settlement and rainy-day transfers; 67 also excluding repayments of general-fund loans and the return of the general fund's own reserve; from 62 distinct accounts.

Operation: Sum of toGF lines in the three final lists, plus the two 2019-21 lines first enacted in 2021; then excluding routine and BSA lines; then also excluding general-fund loan repayments and the Washington Rescue Plan Transition Account return; and distinct source accounts.

Scope: tables transfers and transfer-counts

View this analysis

The 2019-21 adjustment relies on which lines were inserted (underlined) by the 2021 law.
Definitions of 'dedicated account' differ; the Dedicated Cannabis Account and the BSA are dedicated by law, but their transfers are routine or reserve draws.

The pamphlet's four named examples

Question: Do the accounts the pamphlet names appear as transfers into the general fund?

Result: Three of the four named examples appear as transfers into the general fund (health-care insurance accounts, pipeline safety, school employees' insurance); flood control does not.

Operation: Search of the four final transfer lists for each named account.

Scope: table transfers

View this analysis

Operating-budget transfer sections only; a flood-control fund swap elsewhere would not appear.

Statements on record

Exact quotes, unaltered, with what surrounded them, the primary source, and an archived copy of it.

80 times in the last five years Olympia has moved money from dedicated accounts to the general fund.

Sen. Chris Gildon and other signers of the Argument For I-645, Authors of the Voters' Pamphlet argument for Initiative 645 (Sen. Gildon, R-Puyallup, and five others) Washington State Voters' Pamphlet, November 3, 2026 general election, Argument For Initiative 645 · September 17, 2026 · Assertion

Context: The sentence opens a section titled 'A History of Broken Promises' in the Argument For, which says lawmakers should demonstrate they can keep existing commitments before asking taxpayers for more. The next sentence names state healthcare, flood control, pipeline safety and school employees' insurance as examples. The pamphlet gives no source for the count.

Source: Washington Secretary of State (Voters' Pamphlet)

The capital gains tax was promised to support early learning and childcare, yet those commitments were delayed, reduced, or cancelled.

Context: It follows the fund-transfer sentences in the 'A History of Broken Promises' section, and is followed by a sentence about first responders' pensions. The argument offers it as evidence that new tax revenue may not go where it was promised.

Source: Washington Secretary of State (Voters' Pamphlet)

Sources

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 and reproducibility

Reproducible from public sources: The session-law HTML files are public. The included Node.js scripts convert them to text while dropping struck (line-through) text, parse each transfer entry, and write the CSV; build_transfer_counts.js computes every count in the saved analyses from the CSV.

Only the operating-budget transfer sections are covered. Transfers in transportation and capital budgets, stand-alone bills, and fund swaps that move a program's cost from the general fund onto a dedicated account are not included.
A 'line' is one entry as printed; the Tobacco Settlement Account is printed once per fiscal year, so it counts twice in a biennium.
Several amounts are caps ('not to exceed', 'the lesser of'); the printed amount is used.
Category labels are judgment calls: 'routine' covers the Dedicated Cannabis Account and Tobacco Settlement Account flows; some 'dedicated' lines are repayments of general-fund loans or the return of a reserve the general fund had funded, flagged in the note column.
Transfers into other NGF-O accounts (such as the Education Legacy Trust Account) are not counted as transfers into the general fund.
The vetoed 2026 Air Operating Permit Account transfer ($2.0M) is listed with a note and excluded from every count.

Publications using this dataset

Version details

The exact citing versions, and the version of this dataset each cites.

Article i645-fund-sweeps-early-learning — version 3 (published) cites version 1
Chart wa-transfers-into-general-fund — version 1 (published) cites version 1
Briefing wa-i-645 — version 6 (published) cites version 1
Briefing wa-i-645 — version 4 (published) cites version 1