Last night Chair Ross Hunter moved the House’s proposed supplemental budget (HB 1086)  from the committee to the House floor.

Members of the House Ways & Means Committee spent several hours discussing various amendments to the bill that impact key parts of the state budget, including K-12, health and human services, and higher education.

The Committee adopted a single amendment that altered the reductions to higher education proposed in the supplemental budget. The proposed supplemental budget reduces funding by $4 million to research for the University of Washington and Washington State University.  The amendment to the bill passed last night requires UW and WSU to limit the impact of this reduction to research functions only.

Reductions to the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB)  and the Spokane Intercollegiate Research & Technology Institute (SIRTI) were retained.

The House’s proposed supplemental budget now goes to the House floor for further consideration.