Tag Archives: Budget

Governor Holds First Public Hearing on Budget

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On Tuesday evening in Tacoma, the Governor and staff held the first of four currently scheduled statewide public hearings in Tacoma.

The media estimated approximately 450 individuals in attendance in the standing-room only crowd at the University of Washington Tacoma campus.

Approximately 140 people signed up to speak and raised several ideas with regards to the services government should and should not deliver.

Some of the ideas that were expressed, and are echoed on the transforming the budget website set up by the Governor, include no longer providing meals to state workers during meetings, reducing the number of license plates for Washington registered cars from two to one, and legalizing marijuana.

Others shared the areas of government that should not be cut including affordable housing, preservation of recreation areas, and education and health care.

The next public hearing on the budget is scheduled for July 21 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Everett Community College.

Governor Launches Budget Idea Website

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On the heels of the Governor’s statewide tour regarding the 2011-13 budget an interactive website was launched.

Over the next month Governor Gregoire plans to hold public hearings in Everett, Spokane, and Vancouver to share the budget decisions facing Washington and the resources that will be available for the budget as well as hear from the public their ideas and thought about what services the government should and should not deliver.

The website, launched the same day as the first public hearing in Tacoma, is an interactive website that will allow Washingtonians to share, comment, and vote on budget ideas.

The most highly rated ideas by viewers will rise to the top of the list and be considered by state budget writers.  Ideas will be posted between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

U.S. House Subcommittee Approves Education Appropriations Bill

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Yesterday, the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education approved a $176.4 million FY11 appropriations bill.

The bill provides $2 billion more for the U.S. Department of Education’s discretionary programs than was allocated in FY10, but $1.5 billion less than the Obama Administration requested.

In addition, the bill moves $5.7 billion for the Pell Grant shortfall, which would have been moved to the mandatory side of the budget under Obama’s budget, and counts it as part of Obama’s discretionary budget request.

No education amendments wer adopted in the subcommittee.

The next step for the appropriations bill is the full House Appropriations Committee. The full committee has not scheduled a time to work the bill to date. There is some speculation that a full committee work-up of the bill may not take place, which means Congress would have to pass a Continuing Resolution in order to provide FY11 funding for U.S. Department of Education programs.

Governors Budget Task Force Hits the Road

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In June Governor Gregoire announced a new state budget process for the 2011-13 biennium. Her intention is to develop a new biennial budget with more transparency, community involvement, and expert outside advice.

As a part of this process the Task Force will hit the road to hold several public hearings this summer across the state.  The focus of the hearings will be to share the budget decisions facing Washington and the resources that will be available for the budget.

In addition, the hearings will provide an opportunity for the public to share their ideas and thoughts about what services the government should and should not deliver.

To date four public hearings have been scheduled.

July 19 – Tacoma – 7:00-9:00 p.m.
University of Washington – Tacoma, Phillip Hall, Milgard Assembly Room, 1900 Commerce St.

July 21 – Everett – 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Everett Community College, Parks Building, Multi-Purpose Room, 2000 Tower St.

July 27 – Vancouver – 7:00-9:00 p.m
WSU-Vancouver, Admin Bldg., Room 110, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue

July 29 – Spokane – Time TBA
Spokane City Hall, City Council Chambers, 808 W Spokane Falls Blvd.

Governors Budget Task Force Named

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In June Governor Gregoire announced a new state budget process for the 2011-13 biennium. Her intention is to develop a new biennial budget with more transparency, community involvement, and expert outside advice.

As a part of this effort Governor has asked leaders from across the state in a variety of fields to serve on the Governor’s Committee on Transforming Washington’s Budget. This panel will serve in an advisory capacity to the Governor during the budget development process. The charge of the committee is to quest budget assumptions, serve as a sounding board, and lend guidance.

The members of this Task Force include:

Patricia Akiyama, Director of External Affairs, Port of Seattle
Representative Gary Alexander, House Republican Caucus
Sandra O. Archibald, Dean, UW Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs
Rick S. Bender, President, Washington State Labor Council
Rodney L. Brown, Jr., President, Washington Environmental Council
Don C. Brunell, President, Association of Washington Business
Larry Cassidy, retired business owner and former member of NW Power and Conserv. Council
Brian Cladoosby, Chairman, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Richard Davis, Coordinator, WashACE (Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy)Commissioner Mike Doherty, Chairman, Board of Clallam County Commissioners
Senator Karen Fraser, Senate Democratic Caucus
Carver Gayton, Emeritus and founding Executive Director of Northwest African American Museum and former Commissioner of Washington State Employment Security Department
Dr. Deborah J. Harper, President, Washington State Medical Association
Deborah Heart, President-Elect, Washington State School Directors Association
Dr. Thelma A. Jackson, Owner/President of Foresight Consultants and former school board member
Eric Johnson, Executive Director, Washington State Association of Counties
Eric D. Johnson, Executive Director, Washington Public Ports Association
Mary Lindquist, President, Washington Education Association
Representative Kelli Linville, House Democratic Caucus
Mike McCarty, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Washington Cities
Jason Mercier, Director, Center for Government Reform, Washington Policy Center
Stephen F. Mullin, President, Washington Roundtable
Fred A. Olson, former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor
Chief Don Pierce, Executive Director, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs
Stephen Reynolds, Chairman, President, and CEO, Puget Sound Energy
David Rolf, President, SEIU Healthcare 775NW
Orin Smith, former Chief Financial Officer of Starbucks and former director of Office of Financial Management
Lyn Tangen, Senior Director of Corporate Communications, Vulcan
Suzanne Petersen Tanneberg, Vice President of External Affairs and Guest Services, Children’s Hospital
Melinda Travis, Spokane community leader
Remy Trupin, Executive Director, Washington State Budget and Policy Center
Marilyn Watkins, Policy Director, Economic Opportunity Institute
Senator Joe Zarelli, Senate Republican Caucus
David A. Zeeck, President and Publisher, The News Tribune
Cristobal Guillen, President/CEO, Association of Washington State Hispanic Chambers of Commerce

State Budget Deficits a Growing National Problem for Higher Ed

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A recent report by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and a smattering of national press outlets are calling attention to the dilemma presented by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds in higher education. Without these 11th-hour rescue funds from the federal government, many state legislatures would have had to have cut more deeply into higher education funding. With ARRA funds quickly running out and a difficult election year ahead for Congress, it is unlikely that federal support for higher education can continue.

The NCSL report highlighted the often drastic decrease from Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 to FY 2010 among states’ funding of higher education, even with ARRA funding included. Washington, for example, increased appropriations for higher education by 0.5% in FY 2009, but decreased overall funding by 7.6% in FY 2010. Without the ARRA funding, Washington higher education cuts would have equaled 12.1%.  Even with the federal requirement that states keep higher education funding at or above 2006 levels in order to qualify for help, the effect of the recession on institutions was grim.

Because of its unique relationship with state legislatures, public higher education has historically experienced amplified results of economic conditions. When state revenues are robust, leaders often invest heavily in higher education. Conversely, when budget deficits strike, public higher education is seen as having in tuition what no other state agency has – its own revenue stream. Called upon in times of hardship to increase tuition in a bid to make up for lost revenues, higher education administrators have, according to U.S. News and World Report, “little choice but to impose hefty tuition increases or reduce the number of classes and services offered on campus.” So far, administrators during this recession have opted for the former, keeping academic services in tact while calling on students and families to begin shouldering the majority of their public educational costs. With national per-student funding stagnated at a low of $6,928 (the lowest in constant dollars since FY 1980), the concept of a “public” education is quickly fading along with state revenues.

With most public colleges in the nation forecasted to face further hardships during the upcoming fiscal year, it is likely that tuition increases, faculty and staff layoffs, and decreasing enrollments will characterize the next chapter in public higher education. Any potential recourse must be tempered with less ambitious sentiments than those heralded by President Obama, who set a goal of having the world’s highest proportion of college graduates. According to Jim Palmer, the editor of Grapevine quoted in a recent USA Today story on the subject, “Our aspirations for higher education have outpaced our funding systems.”

Congress Takes Action on FY11 Budget

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The U.S. House Appropriations Commitee’s Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education Subcommittee is expected to begin work on the FY11 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill on Thursday.

This appropriations bill will set FY11 spending levels for the U.S. Department of Education programs, including the federal student aid programs.

In addition, the bills will provide a first glance at the difference between Congress and the Administration with regard to education, health, and human service spending. In February the Obama Administration released its FY11 request which asked to increase discretionary education spending by $4.5 billion to $50.7 billion. In addition, the Administratin proposed making the Pell Grants an entitlement program by funding it entirely with mandatory funds and increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by $160 to $5,710.

Though it is positive that action on the education appropriations bill will likely take place this week it is a first step among many. Only six of the twelve subcommittees have reported their FY11 spending bills to the full House Appropriations Committee. The Appropriations Committee has not yet scheduled time to work on the bills.

Furthermore, the Senate’s Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee has not begun work on its version of the bill.

If the House and Senate are unable to pass FY11 appropraitons bill, a Continuing Resolution will need to be passed to continue funding for federal programs.

U.S. House Passes Supplemental Spending Package, Benefits to Higher Education

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On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010 (H.R. 4899). The Act is a mixed bag for higher education.

H.R. 4899 included a provision to provide $10 billion to help school districts avoid educator layoffs. Though this is good news, the funding provision comes at the cost of reductions ($800 million) to several of President Obama’s key education initiatives. 

The initiatives vulnerable to reductions have been referred to as “new discretionary grant awards”. Among these awards includes a reduction of $500 million to the Race to the Top Round 2 awards. Washington is one of thirty states competing for Race to the Top dollars in the second round.

On a more positive note, the House bill includes $4.95 billion to pay down most of the $5.7 billion Pell Grant shortfall. The $4 billion included in the bill is not based on new estimates regarding the Pell Grant shortfall, but is the most the bill’s authors could include into the package of spending and offsets. If the package passes the Senate with the Pell Grant funding included there still remains a $717 million shortfall in Pell funding.

Finally, the Act passed by the House included a budget enforcement resolution that would limit discretionary spending for FY11 to $1.12 trillion, which is $7 billion less than the President requested in his budget in February.

The Act passed by the U.S. House must still be approved by the U.S. Senate.  As the Senate considers the Act, it is expected to face pressures from the education and higher education sectors, the U.S. House, and the White House which has indicated that the President would likely veto any final bill that includes reductions to education reforms.

State Releases Six-Year Budget Outlook

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The combined released today of the Governor’s plans to transform the state budget and the Office of Financial Management’s six-year budget outlook make it clear that the state economy will slowly recover. The Governor in her letter to Washingtonians stated, “…we expect budget challenges to be in place for at least the next four years.”

This is evident in the documents provided by the Governor’s Office and the Office of Financial Management. Both show projected budget shortfalls for the 2011-13 biennium ($3.053 billion) and 2013-15 biennium ($8.761 billion).

Both shortfalls are directly related to expected new costs over the next four-years, including replacement of federal funds, medical inflation, pension obligations, K-12 basic education obligations, and funding for voter initiatives I-728 (class size) and  I-732 (teacher salaries).

In its release of the six-year budget forecast, the Office of Financial Management notes that the shortfall estimates for 2011-13 and 2013-15 are based on budget obligations in current law and the latest official revenue and caseload forecasts. In addition, they recognize that any solution to the 2011-13 budget gap would reduce the projected gap in later years.

Governor Announces New State Budget Process

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Governor Gregoire announced a new state budget process for the 2011-13 biennium. Her intention is to develop a new biennial budget with more transparency, community involvement, and expert outside advice.

The new budget process will assume zero-based budgeting from the beginning. Zero-based budgeting focuses on reviewing the current and alternative funding levels for each agency activity (including zero).

In addition, each agency will be asked eight critical questions before their budgets are increased or shuffled. These eight questions are:

  • Is the activity an essential service?
  • Does state government have to perform the activity or can it be provided by others?
  • Can the activity be eliminated or delayed in recessionary times?
  • Does the activity need to be paid for with state general funds? Should users pay a portion of the costs?
  • Are there federal funds or other fund sources available to support this activity?
  • Are there more cost-effective, efficient ways to do the activity?
  • Can the activity be the subject of a performance contract?
  • Can the activity be the subject of a performance incentive?

The process will include a public component involving the opportunity for citizens to submit suggestions and a statewide tour to share the new budgeting process.

Finally, the Governor has asked leaders from across the state in a variety of fields to serve on the Governor’s Committee on Transforming Washington’s Budget. This panel will serve in an advisory capacity to the Governor during the budget development process. The charge of the committee is to quest budget assumptions, serve as a sounding board, and lend guidance.

The Governor also issued a time-line for the development of the 2011-13 budget. It is expected that as other dates and locations for budget hearings across the state are confirmed they will be announced.

  • Spring 2010                        Committee on Transforming the Budget formed
  • July 19, 2010                     First Budget hearing (Tacoma)
  • Early September 2010   Agency budget requests due
  • September 16, 2010        Updated revenue forecast adopted
  • November 18, 2010        Update revenue forecast adopted
  • Mid-December 2010      Governor’s proposed 2011-13 budget released
  • January 10, 2011             2011 Legislative Session begins