This afternoon Governor Gregoire partially vetoed the 2010 supplemental operating and capital budgets passed by the Legislature in April.

Operating Budget

The Governor vetoed several sections of the 2010 supplemental operating budget passed by the Legislature in April. In total she vetoed all or parts of thirty two sections of Senate Bill 6444.

Only a handful of the sections vetoed impact Evergreen in some way. None of the areas vetoed that impact Evergreen changed the state funding reduction to Evergreen’s institutional budget.

• Vetoe Section 501(1)(f)(iv) – Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Exempting the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) from Expenditure Restrictions.
  This section exempted PESB from the restrictions on travel allowances and meeting costs that apply to other boards and commissions under Chapter 7, Laws of 2010 (Engrossed House Bill 2617). This law allows agencies to seek exceptions to the travel and meeting restrictions for critically necessary work. To maintain consistency in the application of these restrictions among state boards and commissions this section was vetoed.
• Veto Section 708, pp.270-271, Washington Management Service and Exempt Management Services Reductions.
  This section ties to Section 2 of Senate Bill 6503 which was vetoed. The budget proviso assumes additional compensation reductions of $10 million in General Fund-State funding from the Washington Management Service and exempt managers, who comprise less than 5% of the state employees. This cut would require that specified staff take nearly two weeks of temporary layoff time beyond the ten days included in ESB 6503. This inequity is likely to create problems in recruiting/retaining qualified and experienced workers, as well as be disruptive to normal state operations. Managers will be subject to temporary layoffs in the same proportion as all affected state employees.
• Veto Section 902, pp. 289-290, Agency Staffing Report
  The agency staffing report required by Section 902 adds another layer of complexity to the data already required to be reported through allotment and accounting systems. The addition of monthly job class information adds immensely to agency workloads with seemingly minimal benefit. The Governor directed the Office of Financial Management to work with legislative fiscal staff to identify alternative reporting formats that can be useful without creating an unacceptable workload burden.
• Veto Section 920, pages 301-302, Washington State Quality Awards
  Section 920 accelerates the date by which agencies must apply to the Washington State Quality Awards program. It also limits that requirement for agencies that have more than 300 full-time equivalent employees. A great deal of time and effort is required for a well-executed Washington State Quality Award application. The new date of June 30, 2010 is too short a timeframe especially for large agencies that may have to submit multiple applications.

Capital Budget

The Governor vetoed only three sections of the 2010 supplemental capital budget passed by the Legislature in April. Of the three sections vetoed, two impact Evergreen.

• Section 6003, p.111, Office of Financial Management Budget Instructions
  With this proviso the Office of Financial Management must require that preliminary energy audits be conducted on project requests that involved significant renovations or improvements in owned or leased facilities. Reducing energy consumption is a high priority, but requiring energy audits before funding decisions are made will be burdensome and costly. The Governor has directed the Office of Financial Management to develop instructions to state agencies that will serve the goal of reducing energy costs without requiring formal audits for every project.
• Section 6012, pp. 121-122, Project Tranfer Authority
  This proviso eliminates existing authorization for the Office of Financial Management to approve the transfer of funds from one capital project to another within the same state agency. It also places limitations on approving spending plans for construction contingencies, bid alternates, and equipment costs for capital budget projects already approved by the Legislature. These limitations are too stringent for state agenices and may cause unintended cost increases and schedule delays. The Governor has directed the Office of Financial Management to continue to scrutinize capital project spending plans to identify additional savings that can be directed to new projects in the 2011-13 biennium.