Inslee Names Staffers; Schumacher to leave COP to head OFM

Governor-elect Jay Inslee announced 5 new cabinet members during the AP Legislative Briefing hearing this morning on the Capitol campus. Touting their work with “lean management” practices, Inslee aid he wants to focus on making government more efficient to get more results out of the resources that the state currently has.

Among the members announced are:

First Five Cabinet Members:

  • Former state Sen. Kevin Quigley will lead the state Department of Social and Health Services
  • Joel Sacks will lead the Department of Labor & Industries
  • Dale Peinecke will take over the Employment Security Department
  • Marcie Frost will head up the Department of Retirement Systems
  • Alfie Alvarado-Ramos will lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Legislative Priorities:

During the AP legislative briefing Inslee spoke to several of his legislative priorities for the coming session. He plans to focus this year on stirring job growth, through mechanisms such as a tax credit for research and development and policies to boost the clean energy industry. Additionally, Inslee spoke of taking advantage of more Department of Defense contracts and stressed the need to align employer demand with areas of educational study. Specifically, he spoke for the need of an educational “strategic plan” that will identify where gaps exist in “high demand” STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) areas so policy makers can appropriate funds efficiently and effectively.

New Budget Director

Yesterday it was also reported David Schumacher, current Executive Director to the Council of Presidents (COP), has been tapped to serve as Inslee’s new Office of Financial Management’s (OFM) Budget Director. Former Staff Director for the Senate Ways & Means Committee, Schumacher has also worked for Boeing and OFM. Schumacher replaces Stan Marshburn and before him, Marty Brown.

Other Gubernatorial Appointments:

Finally, last week Inslee named his first staffers to join his team. Included is Ted Sturdevant, current Director of the Department of Ecology. Sturdevant will serve as Executive Director for Legislative Affairs and Policy for.  

David Postman, former journalist  for the Tacoma News Tribune and Seattle Times, and former Director of Communications and Media for Paul Allen’s Vulcan, has been tapped as Inslee’s Executive Director of Communications.

Finally, Joby Shimomura will serve as Senior Advisor. Shimomura managed Inslee’s gubernatorial campaign and served as Inslee’s chief of staff from 1999-2005.

Washington Legislative Session Kicks Off Next Week

The 2013 biennial session will begin on Monday in Olympia. A quick “101” regarding the Washington Legislature. Each odd-numbered year the Washington State Legislature meets for 105-days to pass biennial operating, capital and transportation budgets and enact policy bills.

In addition to these tasks, the Washington Legislature will also tackle a response to the K-12 McCleary decision and implementation of Obamacare at the state level. All of which are the focus of next week’s committee hearings in both the Senate and the House.

Next week the focus of the appropriations committees will be a review of the Governor’s proposed 2013-15 biennial budget, released in mid-December. Higher education will have an opportunity to testify with regard to the proposed budget on January 15 in House Appropriations.

In addition, the higher education policy committees plan to focus on the higher education priorities of stakeholders. On January 16 the Council of Presidents and the six public baccalaureate institutions will present their priorities to the Committee. Other stakeholders including students, faculty, and the Washington Achievement Council will present on Tuesday and Thursday.

Stay tune for the latest news from The Hill…..

Washington’s Public Four Year Institutions Release Proposal for Investment in Higher Education

Today Washington’s public four-year universities are asking the Legislature to bolster sagging state investment in higher education in order to freeze resident undergraduate tuition for the first time in a quarter century.

The proposal asks for a $225 million investment in state funding for the 2013-15 biennium to sustain current enrollment levels and build capacity to expand access in the state’s public baccalaureate system.  In exchange the institutions would implement a tuition freeze for resident undergraduate tuition for the next two years.

This investment would support Evergreen’s basic needs and make an initial investment in sustaining and building capacity for student success. This would also provide Evergreen the necessary funds to build upon the quality of academic programs and improve student success, sustain and improve student recruitment and retention efforts through improved research capacity and investments in academic advising and financial aid as well as targeted support for entering students. In addition these funds would provide support to establish a dedicated Veterans Center at the College and increase support for the College’s science curriculum.

The investment by the state would be disbursed to the institutions on a pro-rata basis. Evergreen’s portionwould be $8.3 million.

Governor Gregoire’s Proposed 2013-15 Biennial Budgets

On Tuesday Governor Gregoire released her proposed 2013-15 Operating and Capital budgets. As required by law, Governor Gregoire submitted an all-cuts budget that reflects existing revenues.

The all-cuts budget would reduce levy equalization by $100 million and eliminate the State Food Assistance Program and other services. In addition, higher education would receive a $52 million across-the-board cut to public universities and colleges. For Evergreen this is a reduction of $836,000 for the two-year budget.

Governor Gregoire in releasing the all-cuts budget stated it  “would have unacceptable consequences for our state and its people”. Given the drastic nature of an all-cuts budget the Governor also proposed a new revenue budget.

The new revenue operating budget proposed by the Governor relies on a combination of new revenues, program reductions, reform savings, and one-time transfers to address an anticipated $900 million shortfall in the next biennium and to take the first step towards  meeting the state’s basic education needs identified by the state Supreme Court in the McCleary decision.

Governor’s Proposed Biennial Operating Budget

The Governor’s proposed new revenue budget addresses the anticipated $900 million shortfall in 2013-15 through a combination of spending reductions, reform savings, and revenue.

The new revenue budget is balanced in large part by spending reductions and reform savings. The budget:

  • Suspends teacher cost-of-living pay raises required under Initiative 732 – $360 million
  • Delays implementation of the state’s paid family leave law – $14 million
  • Reduces funds to dozens of state programs
  • Trims funding for local government programs – $57 million
  • Assumes savings from the consolidation of “back office” functions via the consolidation of five agencies into a single agency – Department of Enterprise Services – $20 million
  • Assumes savings under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) $140 million

In addition the budget assumes new revenue. This includes new or increased user fees, the repeal of a use tax exemption for fuel produced and used internally by extractors and manufacturers, and extends the Hospital Safety Net Assessment which is an inpatient fee that leverages increased Medicaid matching funds. Finally, the budget assumes $172 million in one-time transfers to the General Fund from a variety of accounts.

Though the new revenue budget holds the line on spending for state agencies, the budget does include some targeted investments. Among the investments is $50 million to add enrollment slots to the state’s early childhood education system, $20 million to expand STEM opportunities in higher education, and $8 million to improve prison safety.

The largest investment, however, is in K-12. The Governor’s budget represents a 12.3% increase to K-12 over the current biennium. This investment includes $1 billion – a first installment- to phase in legislation that will meet the requirements for basic education identified through the McCleary decision.

Under this legislation (HB 2776 passed in 2010) funding for K-12 would be provided to:

  • Reduce class sizes in grades K-2
  • Continue the phase-in of full-day kindergarten programs
  • Improve instructional practice through improved teacher and principal evaluations
  • Increase funding for maintenance, supplies, and operating costs
  • Fund 100% of the state’s new pupil transportation funding formula

To fund the investment in K-12, Gregoire proposes a balance between reductions in other services combined with new revenue. This would include a wholesale excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuel dedicated to pay the costs of pupil transportation services for the next three biennia and the extension of two temporary tax surcharges: (1) A 0.3% increase to the B&O tax paid by professionals (i.e. doctors, lawyers, accountants) and (2) a 50 cent per gallon beer tax.

Higher Education

The new revenue budget proposed by the Governor Gregoire provides a good starting point for budget discussions this session. Her budget builds on the momentum of the Washington Legislature in the 2012 supplemental session to stop any further erosion of state funding for higher education. The budget does not reduce funding for higher education and prohibits tuition increases for Washington’s universities and colleges. In addition the proposed budget maintains funding for the State Need Grant program.

The budget also makes a handful of investments in higher education. Among these investments is the creation of a competitive STEM enrollment pool for the public baccalaureates to compete for enrollment funds in STEM fields – $11 million; expansion of aerospace and STEM offerings at the community and technical colleges – $5 million; support for the colleges of engineering at WSU and UW – $4 million; and an increase in funding for the College Bound Scholarship program – $35 million.

The challenge for higher education under the Governor’s proposed new revenue budget is the total level of funding that is provided. While the budget proposes no reductions or ability to raise tuition, the level of funding for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions does not meet the basic maintenance funding levels.

Evergreen

Although the Governor fully restores the temporary 3% compensation base reduction, there are no new resources provided to support increases in costs.

Under the new revenue budget, Evergreen is funded at a level that is below the maintenance level needed for the 2013-15 biennium. This means while the budget reflects the restoration of one-time transfers and reductions taken in the 2011-13 biennium, it does not reflect increases in operating costs (i.e. utility rates and collective bargaining agreements).

In addition the Governor’s proposed budget does not provide any funds to support investments requested by the College for IT and business infrastructure; student recruitment, retention and success; and faculty and staff recruitment and retention.

Capital Budget
Governor Gregoire also proposed a biennial capital budget for higher education. The Governor provided funding for a small number of projects across higher education. This includes funding for two projects at Evergreen – the renovation of the Science Lab 1 Basement and the Science Lab 2 second floor.

In addition the budget includes funding for minor works preservation and preventative maintenance.

Though the  Governor’s budget does provide some funding for minor works preservation it does not fully fund the College’s request. In addition, the proposed budget does not fund the design phase of the Lecture Hall Renovation, the predesign for the renovation of Seminar I, and the acquisition of land and design for the Tacoma Campus.

Next Steps

The Governor’s budget is the first of many budgets that will be released to address the 2013-15 biennium. While the Governor’s budget is the first step in the budget development process, there will be at least four more legislative budgets to review as the legislative session progresses.

The next budget is expected to be proposed by Governor-Elect Jay Inslee after he takes office in mid-January.

The Washington Legislature will convene on January 14 to begin its work to develop a biennial budget.  Over the next 105 days, the House and Senate will hold work sessions and public hearings on the gubernatorial proposed budgets as well as the budgets put forth by each chamber before finalizing a conference budget in late-April.

 

Ed Funding Taskforce Announces K-12 Recommendations

The Joint Task Force on Education Funding announced K-12 spending enhancements Monday after meeting throughout the interim tackling the issue. House Bill 2824 created the Taskforce during the 2012 legislative session to come up with a plan on how to fully-fund K-12 after the Washington State Supreme Court found the State in violation of its constitutional duty to do so. The Taskforce had been given the difficult assignment of tackling the following issues:

  • Make recommendations for how the Legislature can meet the requirements of ESHB 2261 (2009) and SHB 2776 (2010).
  • Develop a proposal for a reliable and dependable funding mechanism to support basic education programs.
  • At a minimum, the funding mechanism must support full implementation of the programmatic enhancements of 2261 and 2776, including full-day kindergarten; reduced K-3 class size; increased allocations for maintenance, supplies, and operating costs (MSOC); and a new pupil transportation formula.
  • Task force may recommend multiple options, but must recommend one preferred alternative, including an outline of necessary implementing legislation.
  • Consider the 2012 Quality Education Council (QEC) recommendations for the Bilingual funding formula and make recommendations.

According to the Washington State School Directors’ Association,  the taskforce proposes funding for K-12 transportation, maintenance, supplies and operating costs (MSOC) , K-3 class size, full-day kindergarten, 80 hours of increased instructional time, a 24-credit diploma, increased allocation for classified and administrative salaries, and accountability, evaluation and common core systems. The cost in the 2013-15 biennium would be $1.4 billion.

While the Democrats’ proposal would use the schedule in statute for prioritizing funding, with transportation funded in 2013-15, MSOC by fiscal year 2016, and all others by the 2017-19 biennium, it included a caveat that “amounts may vary depending on the phase-in of the components.”

To see a short description of their final proposal click here.

How this might all be funded

Democrats on the taskforce proposed several revenue options which would offset the costs associated. These include:

  • Use Rainy Day Fund
  • Retain existing taxes set to expire
  • Additional budget efficiencies and savings
  • Eliminate tax exemptions
  • Transfer pupil transportation costs to the state transportation budget with revenue increases to cover costs
  • Add an excise tax on capital gains (excluding first $10,000, residence, and retirement distributions, retains same exclusions in federal law for mortgage-derived gains; 5 percent rate; possible circuit breaker)

And according to the School Directors’ Association, Democrats kept property tax options on the table for discussion, although no specific recommendation was made. Without detail, options included revising the state school levy growth factor, increasing the state school levy, or using the state school levy to replace local levies.

The Joint Taskforce, comprised of democrats, republicans and citizen stakeholders, voted 6-2 in favor of the measure. Voting in favor were Sens. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, and David Frockt, D-Seattle, Reps. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, and Marcie Maxwell, D-Renton, Mary Lindquist of the WEA, and Highline School District Superintendent Susan Enfield. Voting against were Reps. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia, and Susan Fagan, R-Pullman. Task Force Chair Jeff Vincent, and Sens. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island, and Joe Fain, R-Auburn, were absent.

House Republican’s Announce Committee Membership

The House Republican’s appointed members to committees earlier this week. On the higher education committee Representative Larry Haler will remain the Ranking Minority Member while Representative Hans Zeiger will assume the role of Assistant Ranking member. Additionally, Representative Susan Fagan will reprise her role on the committee. A slew of new members, however, will be welcomed. These members include, current Representative’s Mark Hargrove, Norm Johnson, Maureen Walsh and Norma Smith and newly elected members, Chad Magendanz and Elizabeth Scott.

Representative Gary Alexander will remain the Ranking on Appropriations, while Bruce Chandler and JT Wilcox (Yelm)will serve as Ranking members.  Additionally, while Higher Education will lose Representative Judy Warnick, she will continue to serve as Ranking on the Capital Budget committee.

For a full list of committee membership click here.

Senate Shake Up

Two Democratic Senators shook up the Washington State Senate yesterday with the announcement of a “majority power-sharing coalition.” Democrats Rodney Tom (Medina) and Tim Sheldon (Shelton) joined Republican’s in a move to take power in the closely-split chamber.  Currently the Democrats hold a slim majority (26 seats to the Republican’s 23), but Tom and Sheldon’s move throw that majority into question.

The proposed “coalition government” would name Tom as the new Senate Majority Leader and Sheldon as Speaker Pro Tempore. Last week Senate Democrats elected Democrat Ed Murray (Seattle) as Majority Leader and Sheldon as Speaker Pro Tempore. Additionally, the coalition suggests an even split of committee chairmanships, with the Republican’s taking the eagerly sought-after Ways & Means committee.  They also suggest dual-chairmanship of three committees; Transportation, Human Services & Corrections and Energy & Telecommunications.

As expected, Democrats were not thrilled with the proposal. Long-time Education Chair, Rosemary McAuliffe (D, Bothell) was quoted in the Seattle Times as saying ” This is not a coalition, it’s a takeover.” “If Senator Tom and Senator Sheldon want to go over to the Republican side, they should just become Republicans.” Additionally, Democratic State Party Chairman Dwight Pelz went even further, calling the renegades “a couple of lonely men that feel this need to be important.” He called the plan risky and a “recipe for gridlock in Olympia.”

How it might work

According to the Seattle Times the proposal “would effectively eliminate the Republican Caucus when the Legislature convenes Jan. 14. In its place would be the Majority Coalition Caucus, composed of all 23 Republicans and Tom and Sheldon. Democrats would constitute the minority caucus. Democrats and Republicans would chair six committees each, with a majority of just one vote. Three committees would be evenly split and co-chaired by one Republican and one Democrat.”

Several Democrat’s, however, were quick to cry foul on the plan pointing most of  the power and “important committees” are going to Republicans, as well as Senator Majority Leader and Majority Floor Leader who designates which bills go to which committee.

Where is Higher Education in all this?

Under the current proposal Senate Democrats would retain control of the Higher Education committee, but at this time a chair has not been named. Remember, Senator Tom has been Chair of Higher Education, so that position would most certainly change.

What’s Next?

The Senate Democratic Caucus is planning to meet to decide how to respond to the Majority Coalition Caucus proposal. The Government Relations Office at Evergreen will continue to monitor developments and provide updates to the blog as soon as they are available.

House Democrats Appoint Chairs

The Washington House Democratic Caucus appointed committee structures and  the Chairs and Vice Chairs for the upcoming 2013 legislative session.

Higher Education

Representative Larry Seaquist will remain chair of Higher Education, but former Vice Chair, Reuven Carlyle, will step down from this position to chair the newly formed Finance committee. Taking his place as Vice Chair is Gerry Pollett (Seattle). Pollett has served on the higher education committee during the 2012 legislative session.

Higher Education will have a bit of a different makeup as well. Several members will stay on, but a slew of new members have been appointed. Those to remain are Representative’s Seaquist, Pollett, Reykdal, Wylie, and Sells. New members include veteran Representative’s Drew Hansen and Jamie Pedersen, and newly elected Representative’s Marcus Riccelli, David Sawyer and  Gael Tarleton

Appropriations

Representative Ross Hunter (Bellevue) will remain chair of the powerful  budget committee, while Timm Ormsby (Spokane) will remain as Vice Chair. The budget committee, formally known as Ways & Means, has undergone a name change and will now by known as “Appropriations.”  Additionally, Hans Dunshee (Everett) will remain as Chair of Capital Budget.

See below for a complete list of Committees:

Policy Committees

  • Agriculture and Natural Resources: Rep. Brian Blake (Aberdeen), chair; Rep. Kris Lytton (Anacortes), vice-chair
  • Business and Financial Services: Rep. Steve Kirby (Tacoma), chair; Rep. Cindy Ryu (Shoreline), vice-chair
  • Community Development, Housing, and Tribal Affairs: Rep. John McCoy (Tulalip), chair; Rep. Sherry Appleton (Poulsbo), vice-chair
  • Early Learning and Human Services: Rep. Ruth Kagi (Lake Forest Park), chair; Rep. Roger Freeman (Federal Way), vice-chair
  • Education: Rep. Sharon Santos (Seattle), chair; Rep. Monica Stonier (Vancouver), vice-chair
  • Environment: Rep. Dave Upthegrove (Des Moines), chair; Rep. John McCoy (Tulalip), vice-chair
  • Government Accountability and Oversight: Rep. Chris Hurst (Enumclaw), chair; Rep. Sharon Wylie (Vancouver), vice-chair
  • Government Operations and Elections: Rep. Sam Hunt (Olympia), chair; Rep. Steve Bergquist (Renton), vice-chair
  • Health Care and Wellness: Rep. Eileen Cody (West Seattle), chair; Rep. Laurie Jinkins (Tacoma), vice-chair
  • Higher Education: Rep. Larry Seaquist (Gig Harbor), chair; Rep. Gerry Pollet (Seattle), vice-chair
  • Judiciary: Rep. Jamie Pedersen (Seattle), chair; Rep. Drew Hansen (Bainbridge Island), vice-chair
  • Labor and Workforce Development: Rep. Mike Sells (Everett), chair; Rep. Chris Reykdahl (Olympia), vice-chair
  • Local Government: Rep. Dean Takko (Longview), chair; Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (Burien), vice-chair
  • Public Safety: Rep. Roger Goodman (Kirkland), chair; Rep. Mary Helen Roberts (Lynnwood), vice-chair
  • Technology and Economic Development: Rep. Jeff Morris (Mount Vernon), chair; Rep. Cyrus Habib (Bellevue), vice-chair

Fiscal Committees

  • Appropriations: Rep. Ross Hunter (Medina), chair; Rep. Timm Ormsby (Spokane), vice-chair
  • Capital Budget: Rep. Hans Dunshee (Snohomish), chair; Rep. Derek Stanford (Bothell), vice-chair
  • Finance: Rep. Reuven Carlyle (Seattle), chair; Rep. Steve Tharinger (Sequim), vice-chair
  • Transportation: Rep. Judy Clibborn (Mercer Island), chair; Rep. Jake Fey (Tacoma), vice-chair; Rep. Marko Liias (Edmonds), vice-chair; Rep. Luis Moscoso (Mountlake Terrace), vice-chair
  • Appropriations Subcommittee on Education: Rep. Kathy Haigh (Shelton), chair
  • Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government: Rep. Zack Hudgins (Tukwila), chair
  • Appropriations Subcommittee on health and Human Services: Rep. Dawn Morrell (Puyallup), chair

WSAC Issues “Call for Action”

The newly formed Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) issued its first major action yesterday, November 29th. In its “Call for Action” the WSAC urges improvements in five areas that represent critical obstacles to student achievement, but also provide opportunities for implementing fundamental change.

Entitled “Critical Crossroads: A Call for Action,” the plan was endorsed Wednesday, November 28th by the Council and will now be sent to the Legislature and Governor.  The council hopes the plan will “serve as a foundation for public discussion leading to a 10-year education “roadmap” to be developed in 2013. The roadmap will contain specific recommendations to enhance educational attainment.”

Council Chairman, Brian Baird, said the action plan is a starting point for a more comprehensive assessment of the state’s educational needs and resources.

The five critical areas cited by the WSAC as critical obstacles to student achievement, but which also provide opportunities for implementing fundamental change, are:

  • Readiness:   What barriers to successful learning exist within the education system, and what more can be done to address those barriers.
  • Affordability:  How can the price of education be reduced for students and families. Possibilities include providing college credit for work completed in high school, online, or through work experience.
  • Institutional Capacity and Student Success: What measurable targets and milestones can be established to meet demand for postsecondary education, including greater participation by returning adults.
  • Capturing the Potential of Technology:  What efforts already are under way to integrate online learning, and what would be feasible and required to fully integrate online learning into institutions’ instructional programs.
  • Stable and Accountable Funding: In conjunction with institutions, state executive and legislative entities, develop a public higher education plan of financing that includes sustainable funding sources and defensible funding benchmarks that the Governor and Legislature can use in making resource allocation decisions. 

Inslee Names Chief of Staff

In an announcement today, Governor-elect Jay Inslee named Renton Schools Superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel as his chief of staff.

Heuschel, one of three co-chairs of Inslee’s transition team, led Renton schools for seven years and last year was a finalist for national superintendent of the year. She also served as deputy superintendent of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for six years.

Inslee pointed to Heuschel’s experience in Renton, particularly her leadership style and use of metrics, as reasons for the choice. He described the selection as “about as far away from status quo as you can get.”