The conservative Evergreen Freedom Foundation is calling on Gov. Chris Gregoire to make immediate across-the-board budget cuts, as the size of the deficit in the current fiscal year (now until the end of June) grows.

Here's the letter the group delivered to Gregoire's office. EFF's Bob Williams, a former lawmaker, says that state law requires the governor to make such custs "if at any time during the fiscal period the governor projects a cash deficit in a particular fund or account." He argues that the state cannot use federal dollars and the state's rainy day fund to solve the problem this year: "The RCW (law) does not permit these actions; under the law you are required to make across-the-board cuts."

Specifically, Williams is calling on Gregoire to order $50 million in cuts by Wednesday, and to produce a plan for $300 million more in cuts to send to lawmakers.

Gregoire made it clear earlier this week that she has no intention of writing second budget proposals this year. And a spokesman for the state budget office, Glenn Kuper, said that Gregoire's willing to let lawmakers continue to work out a fix to the problem. (The state Senate plans to unveil its operating budget proposal at 10:30 Monday morning.) It's far better, Kuper says, to have lawmakers weighing cuts "rather than doing the blunt instrument of an across-the-board cut."

The same issue was raised by Williams in 2002, prompting an attorney general's opinion from Solicitor General Narda Pierce. Pierce opined that state law requires such moves if there is a deficit "at the end of the fiscal period, after all disbursements and receipts are accounted for." In other words, as long as the governor believes that mid-course corrections are underway that will leave the state with enough money at the end of the fiscal year, there's no need for an immediate across-the-board cut.

"That's there for when there are no other solutions," said Kuper.

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