State lawmakers are set to hear legislation requested by the Office of the State Treasurer (OST) that would address the growing crisis of retirement savings in Washington. Known as Washington Saves, the proposal would create an automatic Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for Washingtonians without access to employer-based retirement systems and invest those funds on their behalf.

Today, the State Treasurer issued his annual budget recommendations as lawmakers convened for the first week of the 2024 legislative session. This as S&P, one of the country’s major rating agencies, changed their outlook to “positive” from “stable” for Washington’s already sound credit rating, forecasting a potential upgrade.

Legislation to include financial education as a graduation requirement in Washington public schools was announced today by a bipartisan coalition of state legislators. House Bill 1915, sponsored by Rep. Skyler Rude (R-Walla Walla) and Senate Bill 5819, sponsored by Sen. Javier Valdez (D-Seattle) would phase financial education curriculum into K-12 classrooms and culminate with a half-credit requirement beginning with the class of 2029.

Backed by strong ratings and steady investor interest, the Office of the State Treasurer (OST) today refinanced $507,510,000 of previously issued bonds, saving millions in debt service costs by locking in lower interest rates. Upon finalizing today’s sale, OST will now have generated $532.2 million in net present value savings since the beginning of 2021.

The Office of the State Treasurer (OST) financed over $40 million of projects with the sale of a series of Certificates of Participation (COPs)

Following the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs passing the SAFER Banking Act of 2023, Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti released the following statement:

Washington’s outstanding credit ratings, which were recently affirmed, helped generate strong investor interest today, as the Office of the State Treasurer competitively sold $1,114,310,000 in bonds.

The Office of the State Treasurer (OST) created over $80,000 dollars in interest savings for the state of Washington by refinancing $1.28 million in outstanding debt.

Legislation updating Washington’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program was signed into law today. House Bill 1527, requested by the Office of the State Treasurer (OST) and sponsored by Rep. Sharon Wylie (D-Vancouver), will expand eligible uses of this financing tool to spur infrastructure and economic development projects around the state.

The Office of the State Treasurer (OST) sold $828,715,000 in Various Purpose General Obligation Refunding Bonds and $514,350,000 in Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax and Vehicle Related Fees General Obligation Refunding Bonds today, bringing the total net present value savings to the state generated by refinancings to a cumulative $484.8 million since 2021.