Monthly Archives: April 2010

House Passes Lottery Marketing Legislation

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Late in the evening the House passed Senate Bill 6409, which re-brands and markets the state lottery to recognize the expanded use of lottery revenues (established in the bill) to benefit higher education financial aid programs, early learning, and economic development.

Senate Bill 6409 creates the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account. Beginning in state fiscal year 2011, all net revenues from in-state lottery games that are not otherwise dedicated to debt service on the Safeco Stadium and Qwest Field and Exhibition Center are dedicated to the new account. All net income from the multi-state lottery games, other than those dedicated to the Problem Gambling Account, are deposited into the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account rather than into the General Fund.

The Washington Opportunity Pathways Account may only be used for the following programs: recruitment of entrepreneurial researchers, innovation partnership zones, and research teams; the early childhood education and assistance program (ECEAP); the State Need Grant; the State Work Study program; College Bound Scholarships; Washington Promise Scholarships; Washington Scholars; the Washington Award for Vocational Excellence (WAVE); the Passport to College Promise; the Educational Opportunity Grant; and GET Ready for Math & Science Scholarships.

Senate Bill 6409 is also  expected to provide another $15 million in lottery revenues, from re-branding and market efforts, to help offset the $2.8 billion state budget deficit.

Senate Bill 6409 now goes to the Governor for her signature.

House Concurs on Jobs Creation Act, Bill Heads to Governor

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Around 11:00 pm this evening, the House concurred on the Senate’s amended version of House Bill 2561 with a vote of 59 to 38.

House Bill 2561 requires a ballot measure be sent to voters to authorize the issuance of $505 million in bonds to finance an array of energy efficiency improvements to public schools and buildings on public college and university campuses.

The bonds for the improvements would be funded by making permanent the proposed tax on bottled water after three years.

House Bill 2561 now goes to the Governor for her signature.

Senate Passes 2010 Supplemental Capital Budget

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Around 10:30 pm this evening, the Senate passed the 2010 supplemental capital budget (HB 2836) with a vote of 33 to 13.

The 2010 supplemental capital budget provides funding for some new projects as a result of savings achieved through bid savings and the recognition that some projects would not be possible this biennium allowing their appropriations to be used elsewhere.

The budget includes an additional $100 million to add to the $505 million in the Jobs Creation Act (HB 2561) passed earlier this evening.

The 2010 supplemental capital budget passed this evening is a mixed bag for Evergreen. The upside is that the budget provides $125,000 for a feasibility study of the College’s Biomass Gasification Project. This investment makes the state a partner along with Evergreen students and the College who also provided $125,000 each to the study through energy-related fees and energy-cost savings.

The capital budget also reflects the shift from the operating to the capital budget ($3.247 million) of facility maintenance and operations costs.

Finally, the capital budget places greater reliance on Evergreen’s local funds, including the school trust and a portion of student tuition.

House Bill 2836 now goes to the House for concurrence.

Senate Concurs on 2010 Operating Supplemental Budget…Budget Heads to Governor

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Just after 10:00 pm the Senate concurred on the House amended version of the 2010 supplemental operating budget  (SB 6444) with a vote of 25-21.

The 2010 supplemental operating budget implements a multi-pronged approach to remedying the $2.8 billion state budget shortfall this biennium. The Legislature reduced funding for state programs and services by $755 million and incorporated approximately $618 million of approved/anticipated additional federal relief to Washington State.

The budget transfers $461 million from various funds to increase General Fund-State resources. The Legislature is also expected to pass legislation that will raise $794 million in new revenues.

The impact of the 2010 supplemental budget passed by the House on Evergreen is both positive and negative. The budget secures funding for student aid while at the same time reduces the College’s budget by over $1.2 million and makes further cuts through compensation reduction related-actions.

The 2010 supplemental operating budget bill now goes to the Governor for her signature.

House Concurred on Cigarette Tax Legislation, Bill Heads to Governor

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Late this evening the House concurred on the Senate amended version of House Bill 2493 – the tax increase on cigarettes and other tobacco products. The House concurred with a vote of 54-43.

House Bill 2493 raises state cigarette taxes by $1 per pack and increases taxes on other tobacco products.

House Bill 2493 now goes to the Governor for her signature.

Senate Moves Capital Related Jobs Bill and Public Works Bill

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This evening the Senate took action on two capital related bills.

The Senate passed  House Bill 2561 -a.k.a. Jobs Creation Act or Dunshee’s Job Bill – with a vote of 28 to 18.

House Bill 2561 requires a ballot measure be sent to voters to authorize the issuance of $505 million in bonds to finance an array of energy efficiency improvements to public schools and buildings on public college and university campuses.

The bonds for the improvements would be funded by making permanent the proposed tax on bottled water after three years.

House Bill 2561 now goes back to the House for concurrence.

The Senate also took action on House Bill 1690 with a vote of 40-5.  House Bill 1690 clarifies that, unless otherwise specifically provided for in law, public bodies that want to use an alternative public works contracting procedure, may use only those procedures specifically authorized in chapter 39.10 RCW.

The Senate amended HB 1690 in several ways.

  • Removes direction given to the University of Washington Board of Regents to receive approval from the Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB) prior to adopting new alternative public works contracting methods.
  • Removes the authority of CPARB to approve demonstration projects and submit reports.
  • Clarifies that all housing authorities are subject to the provisions of Chapter 39.10 RCW; except where alternative requirements or procedures of federal law or federal regulation are authorized.
  • Clarifies that prevailing wage requirements (Chapter 39.12 RCW) apply to housing authority public works projects unless specifically preempted by federal law or regulation.

House Bill 1690 now goes back to the House for concurrence.

Senate Passes Revenue Legislation

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A little past 8:30 pm this evening the Senate adopted the revenue conference report and voted to pass half of the two-bill revenue package. The Senate passed Senate Bill 6143 with a vote of 25-21.

Senate Bill 6143 modifies excise tax laws to preserve funding for public schools, colleges, and universities, as well as other public systems essential for the safety, health, and security of all Washingtonians.

Senate Bill 6143 raises $667.7 million in new revenue. Combined with the revenue expected to be generated by an increase in the cigarette tax and taxes on other tobacco products,and revenue generated from lottery revenues and the Convention and Trade Center Account the total revenue generated is expected to be $794.1 million.

Senate Bill 6143 now goes to the Governor for her signature.

House Passes 2010 Supplemental Operating Budget

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Just after 7:00 p.m. this evening, the House passed the 2010 supplemental operating budget  (SB 6444) with a vote of 54-43.

The 2010 supplemental operating budget implements a multi-pronged approach to remedying the $2.8 billion state budget shortfall this biennium. The Legislature reduced funding for state programs and services by $755 million and incorporated approximately $618 million of approved/anticipated additional federal relief to Washington state.  In addition, the budget transfers $461 million from various funds to increase General Fund-State resources. Finally, the Legislature is expected to pass legislation that will raise $794 million in new revenues.

The House passed a single amendment on the floor. The House agreed to increase the amount provided to restore administrative reductions in the 2009-11 budget from $16. 8 million general fund to $19.1 million general funds to respond to recent job losses at the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

Specifically,the increase in funding is directed towards the Department of Social and Health Services to attempt to maintain current employment levels and achieve savings through vacancies and attrition, implement efficiencies as soon as possible to minimize reductions in force, and implement a management strategy that minimizes disruption of service and negative impacts on employees.

The impact of the 2010 supplemental budget passed by the House on Evergreen is both positive and negative. The budget secures funding for student aid while at the same time reducing the College’s budget by over $1.2 million in addition to reductions to be achieved through compensation reduction related-actions.

The 2010 supplemental operating budget now goes to the Senate for concurrence.

The 2010 Supplemental Operating and Capital Budgets for Evergreen

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The Evergreen State College, along with every other state agency in Washington, is impacted by the 2010 supplemental budgets released today by the Legislature.  For Evergreen the impact is mixed, including both reductions and investments.

2010 Supplemental Operating Budget

The supplemental operating budget released earlier today makes a strong commitment to funding programs that financially assist college students.  The operating budget in combination with revenue legislation restores funding to the State Need Grant. This funding preserves grants for 285 Evergreen students that would have been ineligible under the initial cuts proposed in the Governor’s Book 1 Budget and maintains award amounts appropriated in the 2009-11 biennial budget.  The state work study program was also reduced by 30% but not eliminated. This minimizes the impact on 162 Evergreen students who would have lost this financial resource had the program been eliminated.

The challenges and difficulties of the 2010 legislative session are still evident in changes outlined in the supplemental budget for Evergreen.  A proportion of facility maintenance costs are shifted from the operating to the capital budget ($3.247 million).  These costs will be funded with trust land revenues appropriated in the capital budget rather than with state general fund appropriations.

State funding for Evergreen was reduced by $1.291 million. This does not include a further reduction in state appropriations of $568,000 to be achieved through compensation reduction actions (SB 6503).

Apart from these reductions, Evergreen received $637,000 to provide for an increase in the monthly employer contributions for state employee health benefits. This appropriation provides for a rate increase for FY2011 from $768 to $850.

In addition, Evergreen’s Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) was appropriated $50,000 to provide research support to the Quality Education Council.

Finally, the budget transfers $164,000 from Evergreen to South Seattle Community College (SSCC) as a part of the transfer of the Labor Center from Evergreen to SSCC. The budget also provides that at least $119,207 for FY2011 be expended on the Longhouse and $103,146 expended on the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute.

2010 Supplemental Capital Budget

The supplemental capital budget, like the operating budget, is a mixed bag for Evergreen. The upside is that the budget provides $125,000 for a feasibility study of the College’s Biomass Gasification Project. This investment makes the state a partner along with Evergreen students and the College who also provided $125,000 each to the study through energy-related fees and energy-cost savings.

The capital budget also reflects the shift from the operating to the capital budget ($3.247 million) of facility maintenance and operations costs.

Finally, the capital budget places greater reliance on Evergreen’s local funds, including the school trust and a portion of student tuition.

An Overview of the Operating Budget as It Relates to Higher Education

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The 2010 supplemental budget released this morning and likely to be passed by both chambers reduces funding for public services and programs by $755 million for the current biennium.

Among the reductions in the operating budget, higher education is impacted by both statewide changes and changes directed specifically towards higher education.

Statewide, the 2010 supplemental operating budget assumes $48 million in General Fund-State savings in the form of temporary state agency layoffs and management reductions (SB 6503). The Evergreen State College is reduced by a total of $568,000. This includes a reduction of $327,000 in general fund dollars and a reduction of $241,000 in non-state funds.

In addition, $30 million is expected in savings from increased efficiency in state information technology. The savings will be achieved through strategies outlined in House Bill 3178 (i.e. buying wireless service from master contracts and consolidation of email and phone services).

Specific to higher education, the budget provides funds for worker retraining, maintains much of the state funded student-financial aid programs; and minimizes reductions to colleges and universities to the extent possible.

The budget only increases funding for higher education in two areas. The budget provides $17.6 million for the Opportunity Express Account. The Account will fund an additional 3,800 full-time equivalent (FTE) unemployed workers to train at community and technical colleges for new jobs in high-demand fields.

The budget also provides $1 million to the Opportunity Express Account to provide financial aid for the additional community and technical college students who pursue training in high-demand fields.

Beyond these increases, the budget includes several budget reductions. The budget reduces state funding to the six public baccalaureate institutions and 34 community and technical colleges by an additional 6% overall for  fiscal year 2011.  The Evergreen State College was reduced by $1.291 million in addition to the reduction taken as part of the compensation-reduction bill (SB 6503).

As with implementation of the reductions in the original biennial budget, colleges and universities are expected to focus first on achieving savings through purchasing efficiencies, reduced energy use, administrative reductions, and program consolidations. The Legislature does acknowledge that the following are likely across higher education in Washington: reductions in course offerings, increases in class sizes, and reduced student support services.

The State Need Grant is maintained as enacted in the 2009-11 biennial budget. However, the State Work Study Program is reduced by approximately 30% in the second year of the biennium.  The reduction will be realized through a combination of the following: maintaining average student earnings at the current level rather than increasing them to keep pace with the estimated costs of attendance; increasing the required employer share of wages from 35% to 50% for proprietary employers and from 20% to 30% for non-profits; and discontinuing student eligibility for the program.

It should be noted that the budget assumes the passage of Senate Bill 6409 which creates the Opportunity Pathways Account and funds this account by providing that all profits from in-state lottery games are to be used for student financial aid, early childhood education, and economic development. Funds from the Opportunity Pathway Account, $73.5 million, are appropriated to replace state general fund support for the State Need Grant, the State Work Study program, Washington Scholars, and the WAVE program.

Funding for the state funded GEAR-UP project to increase college awareness and preparedness among students is also reduced by 30%.

Funding is also suspended for several state supported student aid programs.  The Legislature does continue to provide sufficient funds to complete commitments to current recipients. These programs include the Health Professional Loan & Scholarships, Education Opportunity Grants, Western Interstate Compact for Higher Education (WICHE) Professional Student Exchange program, and Future Teachers Scholarship.

The Washington Scholars and Washington Award for Vocational Excellence (WAVE) programs were not suspended but  reduced. During the 2010-11 academic year, only one student (instead of three) will be awarded scholarships equivalent to at least 90 percent of full tuition and fees at a Washington public college or university. Similar to other financial aid programs, funding will continue to be made available for current recipients who were awarded scholarships in previous years to complete their studies.

Finally, a handful of other programs were reduced or suspended. During the second year of the biennium state matching funds are not provided to support innovations in childcare delivery at public universities and funding for the Leadership 1000 project is reduced by 50%.

Two programs were suspended. State contributions for the Foster Care Endowed scholarship are suspended for the second year of the biennium. In addition, state work study for math and science is suspended.