OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state is facing a reduction in projected state revenues of about $8.8 billion over the next three years due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, new numbers released Wednesday, June 17, show.

The number is higher than the $7 billion predicted during an unofficial forecast that was prepared at the end of April.

Lawmakers — who are expected to be called into a special session by Gov. Jay Inslee sometime this summer — must first contend with the impact on the approximately $53 billion two-year budget that ends mid-2021. That initial projected drop of state revenues— nearly $4.5 billion — means that after reserves and the state’s so-called “rainy day” fund are used, lawmakers will be left with a $1.4 billion shortfall that they’ll have to address through either cuts or new revenue.

The projection for the next two-year budget that lawmakers are tasked with writing at the start of the next regular legislative session in January 2021 is more than $4.3 billion in projected reduction in revenues from July 2021 through mid-2023. The next revenue forecast will be on Sept. 23.

Last month, Inslee issued a directive freezing most hiring and signing of personal services contracts and purchasing of equipment, and the state’s budget office sent a letter to state agencies telling them to find ways to cut 15% from their current budgets. Agencies started submitting their budget proposals with suggested cuts this month.