Author Archives: garverj

Action on Supplemental Budget to Begin Next Week

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Next week the House Ways & Means Committee is scheduled to take action on the supplemental budget for the current fiscal year.

In December the Legislature convened a special session to remedy a portion of the budget gap in the current biennium.  The actions taken by policymakers reduced the estimated $1.2 billion shortfall by approximately $700 million. This left a remaining budget gap of approximately $502 million.

The actions next week will focus on closing the remaining budget gap in the current fiscal year.  This is part of an effort by both House and Senate leadership to expedite an early action supplemental budget reduction bill.

In comments earlier today, Senate Majority Leader Brown stated that though the goal is to attempt to close the revenue gap in this fiscal year, both chambers are also focused on ensuring that actions taken in the supplemental budget dovetail with the biennial budget the Legislature must have in place by June 30, 2011.

The hope is to finalize the supplemental buget by early February.

WA Senate Chair of Higher Education Cmte Discusses the Issues Facing Legislators this Session

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Today Senator Rodney Tom, the Chair of the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Committee provided constituents with an update regarding the 2011 session and the issues facing policymakers as they move forward.

Sen. Tom provides a glimpse into some of the issues that he will focus on as Chair of Higher Education in the Senate including governance and funding.

House Education Appropriations Continues Budget Discussion

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This afternoon the House Education Appropriations Committee completed a work session on education funding and held a public hearing.

The Governor’s Office completed its presentation of the proposed supplemental budget for the current biennium and the 2011-13 biennial budget.

Following the presentation organizations, institutions, teachers/faculty, students, parents, and other concerned citizens testified before the Committee with recommendations and requests to minimize the impacts proposed under the Governor’s budget.

Higher education’s public baccalaureate sector was represented by students, faculty, and institutions. Each institutions testified to the major impacts of the Governor’s proposed 211-13 proposed biennial budget.

House Higher Education Focuses on Budget

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This morning the House Higher Education Committee held a work session on higher education funding and budget priorities.

The Committee heard several overviews regarding the recent history of higher education funding in Washington and the impact of the Governor’s proposed 2011-13 biennial budget. Presentations were provided by Legislative staff, the Governor’s Office, and the Council of Presidents.

Following this overview, each four-year, public institution of higher education provided a brief presentation regarding the impacts of the Governor’s proposed budget and the impact of state funding reductions over the last few years.  Due to time constraints, Evergreen will provide their presentation on Monday, January 17.

The Committee wrapped-up their discussion with a student panel of representatives from the Washington Student Association to share their perspectives.

Note: All committee presentations can be found on the House Higher Education Committee’s website by clicking on Committee Meeting Documents, selecting the date and work session, and then selecting the presentation

Federal Bill Introduced to Reduce Spending on Programs and Services

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This week, U.S. Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Cut Unsustainable and Top-heavy Spending (CUTS) Act to reduce federal spending by $153 billion over the next five years. The bill includes several provisions that would affect student aid, including:

  • Elimination of the administrative cost allowance (ACA) paid to schools for student aid administration to save $200 million over the next five years
  • Elimination of the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) Program to save $1 million over five years
  • Elimination of the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program to save $42 million over the next five years
  • Elimination of the Department of Education’s Legal Assistance Loan Repayment Program to save $5 million over the next five years.  

The Act is among several that have already been introduced in the U.S. House. Further action on this bill has yet to be scheduled.

Higher Education Policy Committees

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Led by Chair Larry Seaquist, the House Higher Education Committee started the morning with presentations about the students Washington’s public and private 2-year and 4-year sectors serve.

The Higher Education Coordinating Board provided an overview for the commitee. This was followed by panels that focused specifically on four-year public baccalaureate institutions, private baccalaureate institutions, community and technical colleges, and career colleges.

Mike Reilly, Executive Director for the Council of Presidents, shared with the committee an an overview of the student profile at Washington’s four-year, public institutions.

Following Reilly was a panel of five baccalaureate students, including Erin Dorrough  from The Evergreen State College. Each student shared with the Committee a little about themelves, their studies and what brought them to a Washington campus.

In the afternoon, the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee, led by Senator Rodney Tom, heard several presentations, including recommendations from the Technology Transformation Task Force and an overview by the Higher Education Coordinating Board on transfer and articulation in Washington.

Governor Gives State of the State Address

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This afternoon Governor Gregoire addressed both chambers of the Washington Legislature, several public officials, and the citizens of Washington in her State of the State Address.

Governor Gregoire emphasized three points in her address.

  • The need to create a stable and secure financial future for the state
  • The realization that state government cannot do it all
  • The need to transform state government into a leaner and more efficient and effective system.

She reiterated her proposals to create a Department of Education and change the state ferry system into a regional operation. She also pointed to health care and pensions as critical areas of spending that need to be reigned in.

Finally, she urged the Legislature to take early action (ideally by February) on a supplemental bill to eliminate the remaining budget gap in the current fiscal year.

The Republican response to the State of the State was provided by first-time Representative Ann Rivers (R-LaCenter). 

In her comments, Representative Rivers stated that the Republicans are focused on two issues this session

  • Strengthening the economy by creating jobs
  • Balancing the state budget without raising taxes

In addition, she stated that education, health care, and transportation were important issues.

Washington Senate Changes Historic Rule

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Today, the Washington Senate voted to end a 96-year-old requirement that amendments to the operating budget offered on the Senate floor receive a supermajority in order to pass.

In 1915, the Senate adopted a supermajority requirement for floor amendments to the operating budget proposed by Ways & Means Committee. A two-thirds vote was requirement for amendments, but the Senate heard amendments on the floor as a committee of the whole, which appears to have meant that votes on the amendments were not recorded.

The requirement for voting as a committee of the whole was dropped in 1983, and the threshold lowered from two-thirds to sixty percent, creating the rule as it has existed for 28 years until today.

Higher Education’s Contributions to the Economy and Citizenship Focus of First House Higher Education Cmte Hearing

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This afternoon the House Higher Education Committee began the 2011 legislative session with a work session focused on the contributions of higher education to society.

The work session was anchored by two substantial reports focused on the contributions higher education makes to both the economy and citizenship.

Dr. Zumeta, UW School of Public Affairs and Educational Leadership & Policy Studies focused on higher education’s impact on society.  His presentation focused on the impact of higher education on the economy and on several subgroups within society, including low-income individuals and underrepresented communities.

Dr. O’Mara, University of Washington History Department, provided a historical examination of the impact of higher education on society with an emphasis on Washington.

The Committee also received an overview of the state’s economic and revenue forecast and the health of the state’s labor market.

The next scheduled meeting of the House Higher Education is Wednesday, January 12.

* Note: All committee presentations can be found on the House Higher Education Committee’s website by clicking on Committee Meeting Documents, selecting the date and work session, and then selecting the presentation