Tag Archives: Governor

Governor Convenes Second Meeting of Higher Education Steering Committee

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This week the Governor convened the second meeting of the Higher Education Steering Committee charged to establish the Council for Higher Education.

The Committee focused on the structure and goals of education in Washington. The Committee took time to discuss the various goals that have been charged each sector of education ranging from early learning to higher education.

The Committee then spent a considerable amount of time hearing about and discussing potential roles for the new Council of Higher Education. Committee members received a presentation by Aims McGuinness from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems on the roles of higher education state-level entities in other states. The Committee combined there discussion of potential roles with a final conversation about potential functions of a new state level entity. 

The next meeting of the Steering Committee is scheduled for October 27.

State Revenue Forecast This Week; Next Steps

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On Thursday the September Economic and Revenue Forecast for Washington will be released. No one is expecting good news, in fact the talk on The Hill is how bad is the bad news going to be.

The Context

Word on the street predicts the shortfall could be as deep as $2 billion, with a likely drop in revenue to fall somewhere between $1-$2 billion. The state currently only has $163 million in reserves to last through June 2013 with the rainy day fund taken into account.

In August declining revenues led Governor Gregoire to ask state agencies – including higher education – to identify how to cut up to 10% of their budgets. A 10% reduction of all state agency budgets is estimated to yield $1.7 billion.

Revenue

The potential negative impact of a large decline in state revenues has led some Democrats to again raise the need to raise taxes and other new revenues in addition to cuts. Among the topics up for discussion includes a spring ballot measure to raise taxes.

Those historically opposed to increasing revenue have not ruled tax options out. However consideration of additional revenue for many cautious of increasing taxes must come after exhausting other options such as elimination of state programs and reform of agency operations to maximize efficiencies.  

It is unlikely the Legislature would be able to pass the threshold to raise revenues which requires a supermajority in both the House and Senate. So any increase in revenue will likely have to go to voters.

Going Forward

So what happens after Thursday. Over the last month talk of a special session in late October or early November has dominated discussions. Last week Gregoire stated that she would be unable to make the necessary reductions to balance the budget.

In order for the Governor to make the cuts on her own (i.e. without the Legislature) she would have to make across-the-board cuts. In comments last week Gregoire indicated that across-the-board cuts are no longer a viable option, information she has shared with legislative leaders. This is in part because certain state agencies cannot take further reductions, such as the Department of Corrections, without immediate and dire impacts to the citizens of Washington.

Though an across-the-board approach seems to be off the table, the Governor did not go as far as to say for certain that she would call a special session prior to the 2012 supplemental session in January. This is in part because she and others are waiting to find out if the drop in revenue is primarily in this fiscal year or next. If it is in the 2012-13 year lawmakers may be able to wait until the scheduled legislative session to solve the budget shortfall.

The idea of a special session has been met with mixed reaction. Budget writers in Olympia have shared the idea that if a special session is called they would prefer a one-day special session that would require a plan be developed and have the votes to pass prior to the special session. 

Last week Senator Zarelli, the Ranking Minority Leader on the Senate Ways & Means Committee, outlined an entirely different approach to that of a special session. He proposed the creation of a bipartisan panel to find solutions to the state’s ongoing budget problems.

In a blueprint calling for early action to balancing the state budget, Zarelli proposes the Legislature convene a bipartisan group to undertake a close examination of the workings of state government and make comprehensive detailed recommendations to the Legislature by January 1. 

The group would be charged with looking at both short- and long-term solutions to help solve the immediate budget crisis and to propose forward-thinking recommendations to bring long-term budget solutions.

The group would consist of two legislators appointed by each caucus member. One legislator would be from the caucus member’s own caucus and one from the other caucus within that particular chamber.  In addition the group would include a ninth member to serve as a non-voting chair.

Stay tuned…

Gregoire Passes NGA Chair to Nebraska Governor

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In July Governor Gregoire passed on the National Governors Assocation (NGA) Chair to Nebrasaka Governor Dave Heineman.

As the incoming chair, Governor Heineman unveiled his chair’s initiative for the year Growing State Economies-A Guide for State Policy Makers in Fostering Economic Growth. The initiative will include an individualized state profile for each governor, action-oriented reports on policy choices to generate job growth and four regional summits for governors and their senior economic advisors.

 

Gregoire Introduces New Report at National Governors Association Meeting

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In July the National Governors Association (NGA) met to dialogue on a variety of issues facing states, including the role of higher education in global competitiveness.

A key part of the conversation with regard to higher education focused on a report introduced by Governor Gregoire, as part of her NGA Chair’s initiative Complete to Compete,  that focuses on restructuring state higher education accountability systems. The report, From Information to Action: Revamping Higher Education Accountability Systems, makes the case that states should include efficiency and effectiveness metrics in their accountability systems to help answer for key policy questions.

  • What extent are public higher education institutions meeting the state’s need for an educated workforce and supporting progress toward longer term economic goals?
  • How many students at public institutions are graduating relative to total enrollment?
  • What is the return on states’ and students’ investment in public institutions in terms of completed certificates and degrees?
  • How can public institutions demonstrate that efficiency gains are being achieved without sacrificing student learning?

The report goes on to suggest that several policy options are available to make better use of accountability measures, including bugeting, funding, and regulation.

Governor Gregoire Asks Agencies to Prepare for Additional Cutbacks

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If state revenues continue to decline, as witnessed in June and July and expected in September, Governor Gregoire will ask agencies to trim their budgets further.

This afternoon Marty Brown, Director of the Office of Financial Management, sent a memo to all state agencies asking each agency to prepare for possible cutbacks by submitting 5% first-priority reductions and a second 5% for a total of 10% in state funding reduction options as part of the agency’s 2012 supplemental budget request.  The request does make exceptions for basic education, pensions, and debt service.

The impact to Evergreen of a 5% reduction of state funds would be a reduction of $1.545 million (a 1.5% reduction to total funds) and a 10% reduction of state funds would be a reduction of $3.89 million (a 3% reduction to total funds).

Recognizing the difficulty of this task given the limited amount of time that has passed since the passage of the 2011-13 budget, the memo encouraged agencies to revisit essential service assessments compiled last year and budget reductions included in the Governor’s 2011-13 biennial budget but were not enacted by the Legislature. In addition, the memo suggests additional consideration be given to new or additional policy choices and structural or business process changes that allow improved efficiencies and reduce state funding expenditures.  Finally capital-budget proposals should be limited to technical corrections, emergency issues, or return of project savings.

Governor Appoints New External Affairs Director

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Today the Governor appointed Carol Cockrill Albert as the new External Affairs Director. She replaces Marty Loesch who recently took the position of Chief of Staff to the Governor.

Albert has worked for twenty years in state and national politics, including seving as Washington state director for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign three years ago. She also served on the Clinton-Gore transition team in 1993 and as a congressional aide and strategic adviser to U.S. Senator Patty Murray.

Governor Names Lead for Restructuring Effort and Head of New Department

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Governor Gregoire announced that Joyce Turner will oversee the effort to retructure several state agencies. The restructuring comes as part of legislation (SB 5931) passed during the 2011 session. 

The restructuring effort will merge five agencies into three and eliminate four other agencies.  As part of this effort the Department of General Administration, the Department of Personnel, the Department of Information Services, the state printer and the Office of Financial Management will be reconfigured.

The final product will be the establishment of a new Department of Enterprise Services (to include the Department of General Administration, Department of Personnel, and parts of the Office of Financial Management), a reconfigured Office of Financial Management, and a new Consolidated Technology Services.

Once the restructuring effort is formalized on October 1, Turner will become the new Director of DES and Mike Ricchio will serve as the new Director of Consolidated Technology Services. Turner currently serves as the Director of the Department of General Administration and Ricchio serves as the Director of the Department of Information Services.

Gregoire Names New Chief of Staff

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Earlier this week Governor Gregoire named Mary Loesch as Chief of Staff.

Loesch joined the Governor’s staff as General Counsel in 2009 and later added the role of Director of External Affairs to his work. Prior to joining Gregoire’s team Loesch was Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the Swinomish Indian Tribe and worked in private practice with three firms.

Loesch replaces Jay Manning who announced his resignation as Chief of Staff last month.

Governor Signs Biennial Budget

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Earlier this week Governor Gregoire signed into law the 2011-13 biennial operating and capital budgets.

Gregoire vetoed several sections of the operating budget passed by the Legislature at the end of May because of concerns with policy or technical issues. In addition she vetoed a handful of items in the capital budget, none of which impact Evergreen.

Included among the vetoes to the operating budget were:

  • A feasibility study on the implications of mandating direct payroll deposit for state employees based on prior research by the Office of Financial Management that raised concerns among stakeholders and limited cost savings given that the majority of state employees voluntarily use direct deposit.
  • The requirement that all state agencies, including institutions of higher education, complete a Washington State Quality Award or Baldridge full assessment with a schedule for completion of this assessment every three years and incorporation of this assessment into agency’s strategic plans. A veto was issued based on the unprecedented level of 2011-13 budget reductions and the existence of the the Government Management and Accountability Performance (GMAP) program which is more-cost effective.
  • The creation of the Agency Reallocation and Realignment Commission (ARROW) with responsibilities for examining current state operations and organization and making proposals to reduce expenditures and eliminate duplication and overlapping services. A veto was issued based on the existence of current mechanisms to perform many of the same responsibilities without the additional cost.
  • A proviso that directs Evergreen’s Washington State Institute for Public Policy to study the costs and benefits to state and local governments and the citizens of Washington from implementation of the state’s policies on “controlled substances”. A veto was issued based on the policy that controlled substances are under federal law and it would not be in the best interest of the state to spend funds on a study that cannot address the fundamental issues in this policy area.

The Governor also signed into law legislation requiring reductions in compensation related expenditures (SB 5860) and legislation that makes several changes to higher education retirement plans (HB 1981).

No Third Term for Governor Gregoire

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Earlier this week Governor Gregoire announced that she would not seek re-election to a third term as the Governor of Washington.

In a press release, Gregoire highlighted her decades in public service and gave no set plans after leaving office in 2012.  In the meantime she plans on focusing on the economy in the next 18 months.

Who will become the next governor of Washington remains to be determined. Last week Washington’s Attorney General Rob McKenna announced that he will seek the Governorship. Though he has not declared, it is expected that current. U.S. Representative for Washington Jay Inslee will also put his hat in the ring to run.

Other names that are floating around but have not declared include Bill Bryant, Seattle Port Commissioner; Aaron Reardon, Snohomish County Executive; Dow Constantine, King County Executive; and Brian Sonntag, Washington State Auditor.