Late last night the House passed their proposed 2010 supplemental operating budget  (SB 6444) with a vote of 55-43.

Though the House passed their proposed 2010 supplemental operating budget from committee to the floor two weeks ago (HB 2824), it is the Senate’s proposed budget that the House voted on.

The House passed a striker, which strikes the language from the Senate’s proposed 2010 operating budget and replaces it wit the House’s proposed operating budget language (HB 2824). As a result the House effectively passed their proposed operating budget using SB 6444 as the vehicle.

The striking language passed by the House reduces state funding to Evergreen by 3%, of which $415,000 must be used to reduce compensation.  In addition, the Labor Center is transferred to South Seattle Community College (reduces state funding by $150,000) and$5.839 million is transferred from the Evergreen Capital Projects Account to the general fund. Finally, $155,000 is appropriated to the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to conduct various studies.

On the floor the House considered 61 amendments to Senate Bill 6444. Of the 61 amendments, twenty-one passed. Of these the following amendments impact Evergreen.

• Establishes a legislative task force on four-year higher education institution affordability and access. The group will consist of one member from each caucus of both the House and Senate and will be staffed by legislative staff. The group will recommend a 10-year strategy that aligns state support, financial aid, tuition, and cost management and includes an analysis of higher education business operations and job placement and retention of graduates. The report is due to the Legislature by December 1, 2010.
  
• Increases the monthly employer funding rate charged to participating employers for the Public Employees’ Benefits Board (PEBB) health and insurance benefits for fiscal year 2011 from $768 to $863 per eligible employee, and requires the PEBB not to adopt a plan for expenditures on benefits and administration that would project a total reserve level for the end of fiscal year 2011 of less than $90,000,000. The intent of the Legislature is that the Governor immediately request to commence bargaining a corresponding increase in the employee share of health premiums with the coalition of all the exclusive bargaining representatives with which health care benefit funding is bargained. Transfers $30 million from the Data Processing Revolving Fund and $13 million from the Public Works Assistance Account to the Salary/Insurance Increase Revolving Account. This amount is appropriated for agency charges due to the increased monthly employer funding rate in lieu of an appropriation from the state general fund.
• Reduces the general fund–state appropriation at TheEvergreen State College by $14,000 and appropriates those amounts to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges for the Labor Education and Research Center.
• Requires that at The Evergreen State College, $119,207 of the general fund–state appropriation for FY 2011 must be spent on the Longhouse Center and $103,146 of the general fund—state appropriation for FY 2011 must be spent on the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute.
• Deletes the section reducing appropriations related to SSB 6503 (temporary layoffs), and directs the Office of Financial Management to develop a schedule of reduced compensation expenditures of state agencies by $48,648,000 million General Fund-State and $51,975,000 from all other funds. The reductions are to be distributed to each agency and institution of higher education proportionately based on each state agency and institution’s share of the total compensation of all state employees.

So what happens next in the legislative process.  Senate Bill 6444 now goes to the Senate for concurrence. Since the Senate’s proposed operating budget and the House’s proposed operating budget differed greatly, it is likely that the Senate will not concur with the changes made in the House. If the Senate does not concur, the bill will go to conference where a final 2010 supplemental operating budget will be developed.

The House Ways & Means Committee held an executive session on the House’s proposed 2010 supplemental operating budget this afternoon.

The session extended into the evening as members considered 35 proposed amendments to House Bill 2824.

The committee adjourned without taking action on any of the proposed amendments or moving the bill to the House floor. No further action is scheduled for HB 2824 as of this evening.

Of the 35 amendments, six are of interest to Evergreen.

1.  Amendment 217: Provides clarifying language regarding alternate routes to teacher certification program funding. Specifies that at least 85% of endorsements be in math, science, bilingual, or special education.

2. Amendment 281: Establishes a legislative task force on four-year higher education institution affordability and access. The group will consist of one member from each caucus of both the House and Senate and will be staffed by legislative staff. The group will recommend a 10-year strategy that aligns state support, financial aid, tuition, and cost management and includes an analysis of higher education business operations and job placement and retention of graduates. The report is due to the Legislature by December 1, 2010.

3. Amendment 057: Savings from information technology savings is not to impact revenue collection efforts.

4. Amendment 362: Eliminates new transfers from capital funds to the general fund.

5. Amendment 363: Deletes the exception from the hiring freeze for positions necessary to implement legislation passed in the 2010 legislative session.

6. Amendment 025: Funding for the WorkFirst program within the Economic Services Administration in the Department of Social and Health Services is reduced by $12,729,000 and assumes that the federal 60-month lifetime limit for receipt of benefits is enforced. This amount also assumes that the deficit in the TANF program is filled as a result of this policy change.All funding for the general assistance-unemployable program ($75,621,000) in the Economic Services Administration within the Department of Social and Health Services is eliminated in fiscal year 2011.

Eliminates medical assistance for clients under the Disability Lifeline program and the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Treatment and Support Act in the Department of Social and Health Services Medical Assistance program. Eliminates funding for the Disability Lifeline program under Substitute House Bill 2782 (security lifeline). General Fund-State funding is reduced by $107,246,000 and other funds by $41,119,000. Eliminates state-only coverage for non-citizen children and adults and reduces General Fund-State by $41,682,000.

Eliminates funding for treatment and stipends under the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Treatment and Support Act in the Department of Social and Health Services Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program. Reduces funding for treatment for Disability Lifeline clients and removes increased funding for the Disability Lifeline program under Substitute House Bill 2782 (security lifeline act). General Fund-State funding is reduced by $15,150,000.

Eliminates the Basic Health Plan as of July 1, 2010. General Fund-State funding is reduced by $104,087,000.

Limits combined enrollment in running start programs to 1.0 FTE enrollment. The current cap for running start is 2.0 FTE. General Fund-State funding is reduced by $10,117,000.

Reduces the general fund–state appropriations in FY 2011 for the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges by $25,581,000; for the University of Washington by $8,757,000; for Washington State University by $8,021,000; for Eastern Washington University by $1,643,000; for Central Washington University by $1,587,000; for The Evergreen State College by $854,000; and for Western Washington University by $2,027,000.

Reduces the general fund–state appropriation in FY 2011 for the Higher Education Coordinating Board for the State Need Grant program by $70,082,000. Adds language to change the State Need Grant program policy by reducing the maximum award available at private and public four-year colleges to $5,000 and at private and public community and technical colleges to $2,500.

Requires the state to manage as single entity the activities of PEBB, HCA and related functions in DSHS and reduces state funding by $10,000,000.

Rejects funding for the compensation and fringe benefit provisions of the collective bargaining agreements negotiated after the 2009 legislative session and, notwithstanding provisions of Chapter 1, Laws of 2010 (Substitute Senate Bill 6382, reducing the cost of state government), or other provisions of law expands the prohibition on salary and wage increases to include employees covered by collective bargaining agreements from July 1, 2010, through the end of the biennium. Assumes savings of $9,596,000 General Fund-State and $9,526,000 other funds.