Tag Archives: state legislature

Governor Signs Early Action Budget and Other Legislation Passed During Special Session

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Yesterday Governor Gregoire signed into law the early action budget passed by the Legislature last week. She vetoed a single proviso that directed the Department of Social and Health Services to maintain the physical plant and protect state assets at the closed Maple Lane School.

The budget implements a variety of state funding reductions, transfers and delayed payments to reach roughly $480 million in savings.  The early budget action by the Legislature reduces the state’s budget shortfall to approximately $900 million with plans to also set aside approximately $600 million in a reserve for the remainder of the biennium. This leaves nearly $1.5 billion for the Legislature to solve when they return in January.

Upon signing the budget bill the Governor asked lawmakers to give her a timeline on when they expect to resolve the remainder of the budget shortfall. She is asking lawmakers to find a solution early in the new year. Budget writers in Olympia have shared that work continues on the budget with consensus building on other areas to cut and several work groups forming around smaller projects within the budget.

In addition to the budget legislation, Governor Gregoire signed into law several policy bills that were passed by the Legislature during the special session. Among the bills signed into law three were  education related and together would do the following:

  • Establish grant programs for high schools to prepare students for jobs as entry-level aerospace assemblers; for skills centers to enhance manufacturing-skills programs; and for high schools to create specialized courses in science, technology, engineering and math.
  • Require the Professional Educator Standards Board to revise certification and certificate-renewal standards for elementary teachers and secondary science and math teachers to include knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering, and math.
  • Allow Project-Lead-the-Way examinations to be included in the list of college-level proficiency exams that are recognized as a method for fulfilling postsecondary courses. Project-Lead-the-Way is a national organization that provides curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and math for middle and high schools.

Governor Names Scholarship Board

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This week Governor Gregoire appointed seven members to a board of directors to administer a scholarship program for middle-income families.

The members to the board are: Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes; Brad Smith, General Counsel for Microsoft Corp; Mack Hogans, Senior Executive at Weyerhauser Co.; Kimberly Harris, CEO of Puget Sound Energy; Theresa Gillespie, Partner at Trilogy International Partners wireless communications investment company; Jim Sinegal, CEO Costco Wholesale Corp.; and Jerry Grinstein, former CEO of Delta Air Lines.

Esstablished in legislation passed during the 2011 session, the Opportunity Scholarship Program and the Opportunity Expansion Program were created to mitigate the impact of tuition increases, increase the number of baccalaureate degrees in high employer demand and other programs, and invest in programs and students to meet market demand fields of study while filling middle income jobs with a sufficient supply of skilled workers. 

The program is paid for through a public-private partnership. The scholarships are funded through $5 million form the state and $55 million form Boeing and Microsoft.

Legislature Adjourns Special Session; Passes Some Education Legislation

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On Wednesday the Washington Legislature adjourned a seventeen day special session.

By the end of the seventeen days the Legislature had passed an early action budget package and some policy legislation ranging from benefits for military spouses to legislation focused on dealing with involuntary commitments of mental patients.

The budget bill passed by the Legislature reduces the shortfall by roughly 25% ($479.9 million) of the total problem ($2 billion). While some will argue that the special session did not achieve all that it could, the time provided legislators with the opportunity to receive public feedback on the Governor’s proposed 2012 supplemental budget and to begin budget conversations within their respective caucuses. In addition it provided agencies and stakeholders with the chance to get an earlier than usual glance at potential policy considerations.

In addition to the budget the Legislature passed three bills related to strengthening the aerospace industry in Washington. All three bills are education related and together would do the following:

  • Establish grant programs for high schools to prepare students for jobs as entry-level aerospace assemblers; for skills centers to enhance manufacturing-skills programs; and for high schools to create specialized courses in science, technology, engineering and math.
  • Require the Professional Educator Standards Board to revise certification and certificate-renewal standards for elementary teachers and secondary science and math teachers to include knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering, and math.
  • Allow Project-Lead-the-Way examinations to be included in the list of college-level proficiency exams that are recognized as a method for fulfilling postsecondary courses. Project-Lead-the-Way is a national organization that provides curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and math for middle and high schools.

The Governor is scheduled to take action on the early action budget proposal and the legislation passed during the special session on December 20.

Washington Senate Passes Early Action Budget; Now Heads to Governor

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This afternoon the Washington Senate passed legislation that will reduce the current budget shortfall by nearly $500 million.

The Senate voted 42 to 6 to pass a budget package that consists of reductions to programs and services, fund shifts, and new revenues. The House passed the budget last night.

The bill now goes to the Governor for her signature.

House Passes Early Action Budget Proposal

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This evening the Washington House passed legislation that will reduce the current budget shortfall by nearly $500 million, setting up the potential for adjournment of the special session as early as tomorrow night.

The House voted 86 to 8 to pass a budget package that consists of reductions to programs and services, fund shifts, and new revenues.

The bill now goes to the Senate. Earlier today the Senate Ways & Means Committee passed its version of the budget proposal setting up a late morning or early afternoon vote tomorrow on the Senate floor.

Senate Appropriations Committee Moves Early Action Budget Proposal

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This afternoon the Senate Ways & Means Committee passed legislation that will reduce the current budget shortfall by $479.9 million.

The Committee considered a handful of amendments, but passed only a few that were technical in nature. The bill now goes to the Senate floor for consideration.

Both the Senate and the House will convene for floor sessions tomorrow morning.

Senate Higher Education Committee Holds Work Session on Academic and Structural Efficiencies

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This afternoon the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee convened a work session focused on academic and operational efficiency efforts at Washington’s higher education institutions.

Representatives from the six, public baccalaureate institutions and the community and technical colleges shared with the committee efficiency efforts ranging from increased partnerships to ease transfer among sectors to increased automation to minimize costs associated with printing, mailing, and supplies.

Through the College’s presentation to the Committee, Evergreen shared academic and operational efficiencies the College has undertaken in recent years as well as the opportunities Evergreen’s unique delivery of higher education provides for an efficient and effective degree path.

Among the efficiencies highlighted in Evergreen’s presentation to the Committee was the College’s transfer friendly structure. Specifically, Evergreen’s student-focused credit transfer policy and the 354 articulation agreements with 29 of the state’s 32 community and technical colleges.

In addition, Evergreen noted its leadership among Washington’s public, four-year institutions in time to degree and talked about the lean administrative structure at the College.

On the operational side Evergreen noted the dramatic reduction in utility costs the College has experienced and the virtualization of the College’s server environment reducing electrical and hardware costs.

The Senate Committee will convene again on Thursday, December 15 for a work session focused on higher education graduation and post-college employment.

House Appropriations Committee Moves Early Action Budget Proposal

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Early this morning the House Ways & Means Committee passed legislation that will reduce the current budget shortfall by $479.9 million.

The Committee considered a handful of amendments and passed three that were technical in nature. The bill now goes to the House floor for consideration as early as this afternoon.

On the Senate side, the Senate Ways & Means Committee will hold an executive session on the Senate’s early action budget proposal this afternoon.

House Higher Education Committee Meets to Discuss Range of Issues

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This afternoon the House Higher Education Committee met for both a public hearing and a work session.

Public Hearing – HB 2158

The Committee heard the first bill of the special session – House Bill 2158. The bill adds Project Lead-the-Way examinations to the examinations that may be taken in high school to demonstrate college-level skills and for the purpose of meeting certain lower division general education or postsecondary professional technical education requirements.

Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a non-profit organization that offers Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) education curricular programs used in middle and high schools across the U.S. The PLTW programs engage students in activities, projects, and problembased learning which provides hands-on classroom experiences and allows students to create, discover, collaborate and solve problems and apply what they learn in math and science.

Work Session

The Committee focused an hour long work session on two critical issues for higher education: (1) student outcomes and (2) state and federal work study programs.

Student Outcomes

Earlier in December the Washington Education Research & Data Center (ERDC), a part of the Office of Financial Management, launched a dashboard that focuses on student outcomes for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions.

This afternoon the Committee received an overview of the dashboard from the authors including staff of the ERDC and Council of Presidents.

The Committee engaged with the authors of the dashboard in a conversation about the vision legislators have for the dashboard. Legislators commented to the need to be able to view data for education from a systematic point of view, the need for data that shows the connection between student choice and institutional markets, where are students employed after graduation, and financial-related data for students, state funding, and institutional expenses.

State and Federal Work Study Programs

For the second part of the work session the Committee focused on better understanding both state and fedeal work study programs.  The Higher Education Coordinating Board provided in-depth overview of the two programs and their impact on students.

Washington House and Senate Release Early Budget Action Proposals

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After a long weekend of discussions and negotiations, the Washington House and Senate each released an early budget action proposal.

Both proposals woud reduce the current budget shortfall, estimated at $1.4 billion, by $479.7 million. Nearly $51 million in both of the proposals will come from new revenue earned from quicker conversions of unclaimed property by the Department of Revenue. In addition, the proposals reduce agency and program budgets by $96.5 million with an additional $226.4 million in policy level changes. Finally the remainder of the funds come from $23.6 million in fund tranfers and an additional $82 million in unspent money from the prior biennium.

The proposals make minor changes to higher education.  Both proposals invest $1 million in the Aerospace Training Student Loan Program for students in certain aerospace training or educational programs. In addition both proposals reduce funding to higher education institutions to reflect savings in Washington’s Workers’ Compensation program due to reform legislation that passed during the 2011 legislative session.

The early action proposals by the Legislature still leave a $1.5 billion (approx. $900 million budget shortfall/ approx. $600 million in reserves) budget problem to be resolved in the 2012 supplemental session. It is expected that to reach a balanced approach the Legislature will need to enact additional reductions and administrative reforms as well as consider a revenue package(s).

In the meantime with an eye to adjournment as early as Friday, the House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Ways & Means Committee will hold a public hearing on their respective proposals this afternoon. The House Ways & Means Committee has also scheduled an executive session on the House proposal tomorrow morning.