This afternoon the Washington House released a proposed 2014 Supplemental Operating and Capital budget.
The House’s proposal would boost the state’s $33.6 billion dollar budget by approximately $170 million. The majority of the increase goes to maintaining current services. The major changes to maintenance level include mandatory caseload, utilization, and federal match rate adjustments in health care, staff mix and enrollment changes in K-12; College Bound Scholarship adjustments in higher education; caseload adjustments in TANF/WCCC; Hospital Safety Net Assessment and Affordable Care Act Implementation adjustments; and self-insurance and workers compensation premium adjustments.
The budget also includes approximately $82 million in policy level increases. Among those changes included are $60 million for K-12 for materials, supplies, and operating costs; $18 million in community mental health funding increases; and $4 million in higher education increases in addition to $5 million to support the Real Hope Act.
Higher Education
The supplemental budget proposed by the House supports the investment made in higher education in the 2013-15 biennial budget.
The budget makes a handful of investments in higher education including $5 million to the State Need Grant in response to the Real Hope Act and $2 million to support the Institute of Protein Design at the University of Washington and matching funds to support a federal grant for the Jet Fuels Center of Excellence at Washington State University.
The budget also maintains the ability for public baccalaureate institutions to raise tuition beyond appropriated tuition levels for the 2014-15 academic year. The budget includes clarifying language that underscores the requirement that institutions that raise tuition beyond appropriated levels must mitigate the impact to students with additional financial aid.
Capital Budget
The House also proposed a supplemental capital budget for higher education. The House provided funding for a small number of projects across higher education. This includes authority for Evergreen to enter into a certificate of participation to purchase the existing facility in Tacoma for the College’s Tacoma program; $2 million to remove, clean and dispose of two underground diesel oil tanks at Central Washington University; and $5 million to renovate the Carver Academic Center at Western Washington University.