In what is now week 4 of the special legislative session, House Democrats released a new operating and capital budget Wednesday morning, April 4. House Majority Leader Representative Pat Sullivan stressed that the operating budget proposal does not represent an agreement between the House and Senate, but it does include elements and changes that were requested specifically by Senate Republicans.

“If we are to have any chance at all of getting a budget finished on time, we have to get something moving,” he said. “We will continue to meet, continue to talk, and continue to negotiate, but we also have to get a budget in motion.”

What the budget means to Evergreen

Like several of the previous budgets released this year, this new budget does not cut higher education or financial aid.

This afternoon the House Ways & Means committee will meet to hold a public hearing on several bills considered “necessary to implement the budget” (NTIB). The budget bill was pulled to the House floor yesterday and now it is a waiting game on whether they will bring it up for a vote. If the budget does pass in the House it will move to the Senate for the same process.

Special session is due to end Tuesday, April 10. With Easter this Sunday, there are very few days to get a budget proposed and passed, but it is still possible.

We are now in week 4 of the 2012 1st special legislative session and finally it looks like there is movement on the hill. Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 4, House members are scheduled to return to the capitol for public hearings in the Ways & Means, Capital Budget and the General Government Appropriations & Oversight committees.

Up for public hearing are several reform bills members are insisting pass before they will vote for a budget. Among them are:

1. HB 2824– Addressing comprehensive funding for education by developing a plan for full funding and by freeing certain existing revenues for support of the basic education program.
2. HB 2825– Addressing the benefits and contributions for new members of the public employees’ retirement system, the teachers’ retirement system, and the school employees’ retirement system.
3. HB 2827– Improving state budgeting and planning by requiring a balanced state operating budget for the current biennium and developing a process for balancing the budget over a two-biennium period.
4. HB 2829– Addressing public school employees’ insurance benefits.

The passage of these reforms is the first step in the right direction, but a budget also needs to surface that has the votes to seal the deal. The House meeting is good first step, but negotiations are  rumored to still be shaky. At this point the Senate is not scheduled to meet and a quote from Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown responding to Gubernatorial Candidate Rob McKenna’s latest opinion on budget negotiations paints a more tenuous situation.  Brown said, “… The truth is this: the last offer on the table was one we made on Friday at 8pm.  There’s been no counter offer.  That’s the real hold up and we’re sorely disappointed.” 

With only 7 days left until the end of the 30 day special legislative session, and the Easter holiday this weekend, lawmakers will need to move quickly in order to finish on time.

On Friday, March 30, Governor Gregoire signed two pieces of legislation the public baccalaureate institutions worked on together throughout the legislative session. Check out the news release here or read it below:

The Evergreen State College supports the passage of two “efficiency” bills – House Bill 2259 and House Bill 2585. These bills provide for regulatory relief in Evergreen’s campus operations, and are welcome developments in support of our college’s efforts to operate more efficiently.

House Bill 2259 specifically eliminates a duplicative crime statistics report our institution has been required to report at both the state and federal levels. This one change will ease increased workload on staff, allowing them to focus on the day-to-day duties required to ensure Evergreen is running as efficiently as possible.

House Bill 2585 provides for increased flexibility and reduction in procedural steps in purchasing and competitive bidding for purchases of $100,000 or less, advanced payments for equipment maintenance, travel arrangements, and more direct negotiation authority on purchasing. 

“Our support for these bills is entirely consistent with our continuing efforts at increasing efficiency and providing value in higher education for Washington,” says Evergreen President, Dr. Thomas L. Purce. “We applaud the efforts of the legislature to provide our institution with greater flexibility in difficult economic times and look forward to moving forward.”

Governor Gregoire signed a slew of higher education bills today, Friday, March 30th. Bill sponsors Representative Larry Seaquist, Representative Larry Springer, Representative Hans Zeiger and Senator David Frockt joined Governor Gregoire and representatives of the higher education institutions for the bill signing ceremony. 

In total, Governor Gregoire signed 4 pieces of legislation that affect Evergreen. They are:

Substitute House Bill No. 2259 – Relating to higher education reporting requirements.

• House Bill 2259 was sponsored by Representative Hans Zeiger in the House. It specifically eliminates a duplicative crime statistics report our institution has been required to report at both the state and federal levels. This one change will ease increased workload on staff, allowing them to focus on the day-to-day duties required to ensure Evergreen is running as efficiently as possible.

Substitute House Bill No. 2313 – Relating to meeting procedures of the boards of trustees and boards of regents of institutions of higher education.

• House Bill 2313 was sponsored by Representative Hans Zeiger in the House. It requires governing boards of higher education institutions to provide time for public comment at meetings and requires governing boards of four-year institutions of higher education to make public their proposals for tuition and fee increases 21 days before considering adoption, and also to allow opportunity for public comment.

Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill No. 2483 – Relating to higher education coordination.

• House Bill 2483 was sponsored by Representative Larry Seaquist in the House and Senator’s Derek Kilmer and Randi Becker in the Senate. It creates the Student Achievement Council (SAC) which will replace the Higher Education Coordinating Board on July 1. Among its various functions, SAC will make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature related to educational attainment and work with various education stakeholders, including, the Office of Superintendant of Public Instruction, the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, the Workforce Board, the public baccalaureate institutions and the independent schools and colleges to further higher education in Washington. The SAC will be required to produce a 10-year strategic plan for higher education, submit recommendations on budget priorities that support the 10-year plan and oversee the Office of Student Financial Assistance.  

Third Substitute House Bill No. 2585 – Relating to creating efficiencies for institutions of higher education.

•  House Bill 2585 was sponsored by Representative Larry Springer in the House and Senator Rodney Tom in the Senate. It provides for increased flexibility and reduction in procedural steps in purchasing and competitive bidding for purchases of $100,000 or less, advanced payments for equipment maintenance, travel arrangements, and more direct negotiation authority on purchasing. 

House Bill’s 2259 and 2585 are two pieces of legislation the public baccalaureate’s worked specifically hard on during the regular legislative session. A part of a package of “efficiencies’ legislation,” these two bills were an effort to streamline business practices within our institutions. According to Evergreen President Les Purce, “Our support for these bills is entirely consistent with our continuing efforts at increasing efficiency and providing value in higher education for Washington, we applaud the efforts of the legislature to provide our institution with greater flexibility in difficult economic times and look forward to moving forward.”

The Council of President’s, the voluntary Washington association comprised of the Presidents for the six public baccalaureate degree granting college and universities, announced yesterday that Michael Reilly is stepping down as Executive Director to become Executive Director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) headquartered in Washington D.C.

Reilly has been with the Council of Presidents (COP) since August 2008. In July 2010 he assumed the role of Executive Director. While with COP, Reilly worked with the six public baccalaureate institutions  navigating difficult legislative session after difficult legislative session. He has worked particularly close with the legislative officers of the institutions, bringing them together as one voice in front of the legislature.  “Mike has done a stellar job as Executive Director, leading COP through some of Washington’s toughest legislative sessions in recent memory,” said Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard. “Though higher ed has been particularly hard-hit in the two sessions, we’ve been increasingly successful in getting legislators and others to recognize the vital role we play in creating brighter futures for all. Mike has been an integral part of that turnaround, and we thank him for his service and leadership.”

Succeeding Reilly in an interim capacity will be Jane Sherman. Sherman, Vice Provost for Academic Policy and Evaluation at Washington State University, will be on leave from her position to serve. As Vice Provost at Washington State Sherman directs the institutional planning for internal and external accountability and accreditations initiatives and academic program planning and approval. She also oversees several academic areas including transfer policy and community college relationships. Sherman has worked extensively with the legislative officers of the Council of President’s in policy analysis and implementation.

“The Council of Presidents is delighted that Jane has agreed to serve as Interim Executive Director and we look forward to the continuity and leadership that she will provide during the national search for a permanent replacement,” said current COP Chair, University of Washington President Michael Young.

Sherman will begin as interim on April 2. A national search will begin immediately, with a goal of hiring a permanent Director this fall.

It’s week three of the 1st special session of the 2012 legislature and only small developments have taken place to date. Last Friday, March 23, The Olympian reported both the House Democratic and Senate Republican budget “gimmicks” are no longer being considered in budget negotiations.

During the regular legislative session House Democrats proposed a budget that delayed paymnet to K-12 schools  by one day freeing up around $300 million. Senate Republicans responded with a budget that skips a pension. Both proposals were dubbed as budget “felony gimmicks” by State Treasurer Jim McIntire.

These “gimmicks,” along with the differing budget proposals, have created a stalemate between lawmakers and pushed the 2012 legislature into special session. At the beginning of week 3 little progress seems to have been made. As a result, Governor Gregoire says she isn’t doing more bill signings until she sees more progress. “So I will sign no bills on Monday. I had planned to and I will not,” Gregoire said. Her office is not saying which specific bills are put in limbo. Governor Gregoire has until March 31 to sign bills before they automatically become law.

Late last week a “third” budget option was proposed that seems to be the most viable to date.  It would let the state spend $238 million in sales-tax money in the 2011-13 budget cycle that otherwise would sit idle before being shipped out to local governments. Governor Gregoire is quoted in The Olympian as saying, “I can characterize that by saying no one has said no” to the new idea, Gregoire said. “But you need to understand that in budget language that means no one is prepared to say yes till the final deal is over. So the fact that no one has said no is important at this point.” Lawmakers are thought to have stayed in Olympia throughout the past weekend continuing budget negotiations and may be meeting with Governor Gregoire early this week (March 26) to report on whether progress has been made.

As of Monday morning no announcements have been made on whether rank and file members have been asked to return to the capitol. If that happens, it may indicate lawmakers have reached a compromise.

Yesterday, Thursday, March 22, Governor Gregoire put forth a new option to balance the budget and end the special legislative session. Earlier this month House Democrats proposed a budget that would delay a payment to schools by one day, pushing it into the next budget period. Senate Republicans disagreed and wrote a budget that would skip a payment into the state’s pension system. Both parties have heavily criticized one another calling their colleagues’ moves budget “trickery” and “gimmicks.”

According to the Olympian, this new “third option” would keep sales-tax revenue collected on behalf of local governments in the state’s general fund longer. This could free up $238 million for spending elsewhere. “It’s a permanent process change, not a one-time change,” said Wolfgang Opitz, the assistant state treasurer. He goes on to state that local governments would still get their money at the same time, and thus far, local governments have said they are ok with the idea.

Currently the day after sales tax collections are deposited into the general fund local governments’ share of that revenue is transferred to a special account. However, it is not distributed until the end of each month. This proposal would keep the money in the general fund until the end of the month, transferring it into the other account just before it needs to be sent out to local governments. That would provide about $238 million more cash on the state’s balance sheet at the end of the month. At this point Democrats and Republicans have not publicly embraced the idea, but according to Senate Democratic Ways & Means Chair, Ed Murray, “no one is rejecting it either.”