Tag Archives: state legislature

House Releases Revenue Package

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This afternoon the House released their proposed 2010 supplemental revenue package.

The House’s revenue package generates $758 million in new revenue for the remainder of the 2009-11 biennium and anticipates another $100 million to be generated from anticipated budget actions this session.

The House’s package resembles both the Governor and Senate’s proposed package. All three include closing tax loophooles and increases in sin taxes and both the House and Senate include savings from legislation to be enacted this session.

The largest difference among the revenue packages proposed is either the presence or absence of a sales tax. The Senate revenue package is the only one that includes a temporary increase in the sales tax.

Highlights of the House’s revenue package are below.

Highlights of Revenue Package

  • Narrows or eliminates numerous current tax preferences or “tax loopholes” ($385.31 million).
  • Removes sales tax exemptions for bottled water, elective cosmetic surgery, candy & gum, custom software, and janitorial services ($163.2million).
  • The cigarette tax is increased by $1 per package and taxes on other tobacco products are equalized ($111.6 million)
  • Increases taxes by 0.5% on lawyers, accountants, agends, marketing and management consultants ($21.7 million).
  • Repeals exemptions on investment earlings for nonfinancial firms ($58 million).
  • Implements savings from the Convention Center Tax Recovery (HB 3027) ($10.1 million)
  • Limits exemption to the wind M&E ($7.8 million)
  • Restores the PUD privilege tax to original legislative intent ($1.2 million).
  • Implements SB 6409 ($30 million)
  • Transfers funds from the captal budget ($70 million).

Details on the House’s proposed revenue package can be found on the House Democratic Caucus website.  

A public hearing on the revenue package (HB 3191) is scheduled for tomorrow, March 2, at 9:00 a.m. before the House Finance Committee.

Legislature Week 8: What is Happening

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The eighth week of the 2010 supplemental session will be focused on budget and revenue.

Both the House and Senate released their proposed 2010 supplemental operating budgets this past week. The Senate has yet to release its proposed 2010 supplemental capital budget and the House has yet to release a revenue package.

Fiscal committees will be busy through Monday of next week moving the proposed budget and revenue packages forward as well as any remaining bills in their committees. Both committees must have moved bills from the opposite chamber to the floor by end of day Monday, March 1.

Tuesday through the adjournment of the 2010 supplemental session will be focused on finalizing budgets and revenue packages. So the floors of both chambers will be the center of legislative action from here on out.

Having said that it is worth keeping an eye on the House and Senate fiscal committees for a conference budget and bills (i.e. fiscal and policy) that are Necessary to Implement the Budget (NITB) (i.e. Senate Ways & Means and House Ways & Means).

It is also worth watching legislative policy committees (i.e. House Higher Education and Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development) . Many of the policy committees will hold work sessions next week on hot issues or plans for the Interim.

Thursday on The Hill

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Thursday morning students, trustees, faculty, and presidents from the six public baccalaureate institutions met for breakfast with over a dozen legislators, from both chambers and both sides of the aisle, to discuss the proposed supplemental budgets, the interim, and what the tea leaves have to say about higher education in Washington.

The hour with legislators focused on appreciation for the investment in student state financial aid proposed in the 2010 budgets, the need to maintain this investment and the investment in institutions, and what the public baccalaureate sector needs to do to prepare for the 2011 session.

Legislators commented on the need to both increase collaboration among institutions  in order to ease the process of earning a degree for students. Others commented on the need to provide leadership on higher education funding at the state level and not leave the full responsibility on the shoulders of the Legislature.  

In the afternoon the House Education Appropriations took action on Senate Bill 6357. SB 6357 tasks the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), in consultation with numerous other persons and entities, with developing policies for awarding academic credit for learning from work and military experience, military and law enforcement training, career college training, internships and externships, and apprenticeships. The bill now moves to the Floor for further consideration.

House Ways and Means Committee Considers Proposed Amendments to Operating Budget

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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.

Analysis of Governor and Senate Revenue Packages

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To date the Governor and the Senate have each proposed a revenue package to accompany their proposed 2010 supplemental operating budgets. The House’s revenue package is expected any day.

The Governor was first out of the gate with her revenue package last week (February 17) for $605 million.  The Governor’s revenue package is a two-pronged approach: (1) Closing tax loopholes ($112.35 million) and (2) Increasing “sin” taxes ($493.1 million).

Governor Revenue Package

The Governor’s revenue package restores funding to a variety of public services and programs in the areas of education, health care and human services.  Specific to higher education, the Governor restores full funding to the State Need Grant.

Governor's Restoration

The Senate’s revenue package is $313 million dollars larger than the Governor’s proposed package (Total revenue increase of $918 million).

The Senate, like the Governor, targets closing tax loopholes and increasing “sin” taxes. However, the Senate only raises a single “sin” tax (i.e. cigarette tax) and also incorporates revenue from a  temporaray sales tax increase and savings from the implementation of various Senate Bills.

As eluded to above, the Senate used a four-pronged approach in the development of its revenue package: (1) Closing tax loopholes ($518 million); (2) Temporary 0.3%  increase in sales tax ($313 million); (3) Increase cigarette tax by $1 per pack ($85.7 million); and Enactment of various Senate Bills ($1.3 million).Senate Revenue SummaryThe Senate restores funding to many of the same public services and programs that the Governor’s revenue package identifies. Specific to higher education, the Senate restores full funding to the State Need Grant, restores partial funding to the State Work Study program, and maintains commitments to recipients of several smaller financial aid programs that are suspended for the second year of the biennium.

Any revenue increase proposal still has a long way to go in the legislative process before it is law. The Senate and the House must first move their revenue proposals through the appropriate committees in their respective chambers as well as the committees in the opposite chamber.

Any differences between the House and Senate proposals, after the process has been conducted, will need to be settled through conference committee and both chambers will have to concur on any final legislative revenue package.

Analysis of State Financial Aid in Budget Proposals

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The release of the House and Senate proposed 2010 supplemental budgets earlier this week reflected the hard work of the higher education sector in Washington (i.e. students, faculty, and institutions) to lobby the Washington Legislature on the importance of state financial aid to access and affordability of higher education and the state’s dedication to funding these programs.

Both chambers restored funding for the State Need Grant, restored partial funding for the State Work Study program, and maintained commitments to current recipients of several smaller grant programs.

Though the overall outcome is a positive one for state financial aid in Washington, the details between the House and Senate proposal are worth noting. 

Below is a table that summarizes the impact of the proposed operating budgets on the financial aid programs managed by the Higher Education Coordinating Board. In addition, what follows is a brief definition of the lesser known financial aid programs and the details behind the numbers for each proposal on the table. Please note that the Table is sparse regarding the Governor’s proposal. Detals are provided in the narrative that follows.

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State Work Study

 Governor
Suspends funding for this program.

Senate
Maintains average student earnings at current levels. Increases required employer share of wages to approx. 50% (formerly 35%)for proprietary employers and 30% (formerly 20%)  for non-profits . Discontinues eligibility to non-resident students.

 House
Reduces the amount of money students can earn for college in an academic year through part-time work with their wages subsidized by the state.

Washington Scholars
Provides four-year scholarships equivalent to approximately 90 percent of full tuition for three outstanding high school graduates from each legislative district each year.

Governor
Suspends funding for this program.

Senate
Does not award new scholarships for 2010 high school graduates. Freezes current award grant levels for current recipients.

Passport to College
The program includes college awareness, preparation, and mentoring for young people currently in foster care to encourage them to pursue higher education; scholarships for those who enroll in college; and incentives for their college and university to provide counseling and other supports that will enhance the young person’s success in college.

Senate
Reduces funding by one-third.

State-Funded GEAR-UP Projects
Provides pre-collegiate preparation services to students in school districts without structured college access programs.

Senate
Reduces funding by one-third.

House
Reduces funding for this program by reducing the number of school districts served by the state GEAR UP program.

WAVE (Washington Award for Vocational Excellence)
Provides two-year scholarships equivalent to full tuition for three outstanding high school vocational/technical graduates from each legislative district each year.

Senate
Does not award new scholarships for 2010 high school graduates. Freezes current award grant levels for current recipients.

Health Professional Loans & Scholarships
The loan repayment provides loan payment assistance to licensed primary care health professionals. The scholarship provides conditional scholarships to students training to become primary care health professionals. In return, program participants agree to provide primary care health care in rural or underserved urban areas with designated shortages.

Senate
Suspends funding for this program. Funding continues to be available for scholarships and three-year loan re-payment commitments awarded in previous years.

House
Reduces funding for this program. Individuals currently receiving scholarships or loan repayment benefits will continue to receive them, the number of new scholarships and loan repayment awards is reduced.

Future Teachers Scholarships
In return for conditional scholarships or loan repayments, participants agree to teach in Washington K-12 public schools. Selection criteria include academic ability, contributions to the public school system, potential to serve as a positive role model for students, length of time until completion of the education program, and commitment to serve as a Washington classroom teacher.

Governor
Suspends funding for this program.

Senate
Suspends funding for this program. Funding continues to be available for current recipients who were awarded scholarships in previous years to complete their studies.

House
Suspends funding for this program. Students currently receiving scholarships or loan repayment benefits will continue to receive them, the number of new scholarship and loan repayment awards is reduced.

Community School Matching Grants
Provides $2,000 matching awards as an incentive for non-profit, community-based organizations to raise local dollars for college student scholarships.

House
Reduces funding for this program.

Western Interstate Compact for Higher Education (WICHE) Professional Student Exchange

Senate
Suspends funding for this program. Funding is available to continue scholarship commitments to current recipients and to pay dues for Washington’s continued participating in the compact so that Washington residents may continue to receive reduced non-resident tuition rates at participating universities in other western states.

State Work Study Math and Science
Targets state work study experience for students considering careers in math and science instruction.

Senate
Suspends funding for this program.

Foster Care Endowment Scholarship
Scholarships come from the earnings from an endowment which are expected to eventually be sufficient to support college scholarships for former foster care recipients.

Senate
No contribution is made in the second year of the biennium toward an endowment fund

Leadership 1000
A College Success Foundation program that recruits private donors to sponsor scholarships and provide mentorship to financially needy students. State funding is leveraged with private donations.

Senate
Suspends funding for this program.

House
Reduces funding for this program.

Educational Opportunity Grants
Provides additional financial assistance for community and technical college graduates who would otherwise b unable to attend a distant public baccalaureate institution because of work or financial obligations in their home community.

Senate
Suspends funding for this program.  Funding continues to be available to complete scholarship commitments to current recipients, but no new applicants will be selected for the 2010-11 academic year.

State Need Grant

Governor
Reduces  Median Family Income to 50%. Prorates grant awards to serve students eligible under 50% MFI.

Senate
Proposed revenue package directs $136 million into the Education Legacy Trust Account to maintain enrollment and grant levels.

House
Reduces funding for the State Need Grant. Due to higher than anticipated federal aid allocations, the program needs less state funding in FY 2011 than previously estimated. Eligibility and grant awards are not changed. Maintains policy enacted in the 2009-11 biennial budget.

Evergreen Testifies on Proposed Senate and House Operating Budgets

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John Hurley, Vice President for Finance and Administration, testified before the Senate Ways & Means Committee this afternoon on the Senate’s proposed 2010 supplemental operating budget.

This was  followed by testimony at an evening committee meeting on the 2010 supplemental operating budget proposed by the House.

Hurley provided similar testimony to both committees. He expressed a heartfelt thank you on behalf of the College for the restoration of the State Need Grant and investments in State Work study and other state financial aid programs. In addition, Hurley recognized the difficult climate  we as a sector and as a state find ourselves in and the work policymakers have done to maintain access and affordability for our students. Finally, he expresssed one concern regarding the shift of capital funds to the operating budget and stated that Evergreen would work with legislative staff to clarify.

Evergreen Testifies in House Capital Budget Committee on Budget Proposal

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Dr. John Hurley, Vice President for Finance and Administration, testified during an evening committee meeting on the Capital Budget proposed by the House of Representatives.

After conveying his appreciation for the hard work the committee did in drafting the budget proposal, Dr. Hurley expressed support for the $200 million appropriated to create jobs in the K-12 sector and conveyed the institution’s hope that the investment would eventually benefit higher education. He also mentioned the halting of capital projects on Evergreen’s campus, but assured the committee that the institution would do its best to handle the cut. Before closing, Dr. Hurley took the opportunity to remind the committee of the biomass gasification investment that Evergreen requested the legislature partner with students on.

House Releases 2010 Capital Budget Proposal

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Later this afternoon, the House released their proposed 2010 supplemental capital budget.  The Senate’s proposed capital budget is expected later this week.

Highlights of the proposed budget are below. Details regarding the specific impact to Evergreen will follow soon.

House Capital Budget Highlights

  • Avoids exceeding the 9 percent constitutional debt limit should general state revenues decline, interest rates rise, and potential emergencies occur.
  • Reduces the overall bond appropriations by $31 million.
  • Directs the Office of Financial Management to work with state agencies to achieve savings in the amount of $42 million by reducing allotments or by withholding allotment approval for those projects that have not demonstrated substantial progress towarwd contract execution by November 30, 20010.
  • Provides $200 million to create jobs through energy efficiency improvements in K-12 public schools.
  • Provides $100 million towards housing assistance.

Details of the House proposed 2010 capital budget can be found on the Washington State Legislative Evaluation & Accountability Program Committee Website.

     

House Releases Operating Budget

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This afternoon the House released their proposed 2010 supplemental operating budget.

Highlights of the proposed operating budget are below. A more detailed account of the impact of the House’s proposed 2010 supplemental budget on Evergreen will be in a blog later today.

Highlights Higher Education Budget

  • Reduces state funding for colleges and universities by $40.8 million.
  • Maintains eligibility, grant awards, and the number of students anticipated to be served by the program.
  • Reduces funding for the State Work Study by $7.7 million. To achieve this savings the money a student can earn in an academic year is reduced.
  • Reduces funding for State-funded GEAR UP projects.
  • Reduces funding for the Health Professions scholarship and loan repayment program.
  • Suspends funding for the Future Teachers Scholarship program. Continues commitment to students currently recipients of this grant.
  • Reduces funding for the Community Scholarship Matching Grant Program.
  • Reduces funding for the Leadership 1000 Scholarship Programs.

Details on the House’s proposed 2010 supplemental operating budget is located on the House Ways & Means Committee website. The House did not release a revenue package today.