Last night the Washington House passed a biennial capital budget and bond bill. The vote was strongly bipartisan -96-2.
The budget now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
The Washington House spent the afternoon debating a proposed biennial operating budget. Thirty-two amendments were proposed and less than ten passed. The final budget passed with a vote of 51-47.
The budget now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
Yesterday marked the deadline for policy bills. All policy bills, unless they are deemed necessary to implement the budget (NTIB), must have moved from their respective policy committees to either an appropriation committee or the floor in the opposite chamber.
Both the Senate and House higher education committees have spent the last few weeks advancing bills to the next stage in the process.
Below is a brief glimpse of some of the bills that have advanced past today’s deadline.
The bills that advanced this week from the policy committees, if moved to a fisacl committee, must move from committee to the floor by the end of the day on April 7. Stay tuned!
Last night the Senate Ways & Means committee took executive action to advance a proposed biennial operating budget to the Senate floor.
The committee passed a substitute bill which mostly made technical changes to the original bill. The substitute includes a technical change to reporting language for Evergreen. The original language included reference to engineering, a program that the College does not offer. The substitute reflects this change and focuses the reporting language on computer science. A correction Evergreen highlighted in testimony.
The Senate’s proposed operating budget now moves to the floor for further consideration.
This evening the House Appropriations committee took executive action to advance a proposed biennial operating budget to the House floor.
The committee passed a substitute bill which makes several changes to investments in higher education. The substitute reallocates funds for Evergreen by reducing the $750,000 appropriated for student success and degree completion appropriations by $300,000 and reallocating these funds to support the computer science program and meet student demand at the College. The total investment for Evergreen remains $750,000.
The substitute also:
Finally the substitute bill allows the Department of Corrections to implement postsecondary education degree programs within funding provided in the appropriation for offender change and programming. Evergreen supported similar policy legislation this session
The House’s proposed operating budget now moves to the floor for further consideration.
This afternoon Evergreen testified before the Senate Ways & Means Committee on the proposed biennial operating budget.
The Senate’s proposed budget reduces resident undergraduate tuition to a percentage of the state average wage. The budget would reduce the research institutions by 18% in 2016 and 14% in 2017 and the comprehensive institutions and Evergreen by 12% in 2016 and 10% in 2017. The budget provides dollars to offset the loss revenue from a tuition reduction for institutions. The budget provides $5.659 million to Evergreen to offset this reduction.
The budget provides $22 million to the Washington Opportunity Scholarship Program for the state’s match. The budget also suspends the Washington Scholars Program, Washington Award for Vocational Excellence, and Future Teachers Loan Repayment and Conditional Scholarship Program.
Finally the budget makes investments in other key areas including medical education; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); and compensation. The budget appropriates $3 million to increase the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded for STEM and $1.518 million for employee compensation.
Evergreen spoke to the investments for higher education. In particular Evergreen shared its support for investments that will directly impact and support Evergreen students, including funding to support the tuition reduction policy and recognition for the need to make an investment in employee compensation.
The budget also makes an investment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for Evergreen. These funds will be used to eliminate the current wait list for computer science at the College.
While Evergreen expressed support for funding for the College Bound Scholarship program and the Opportunity Scholarship, Evergreen expressed strong concern about the lack of investment for the State Need Grant.
Finally, Evergreen asked to work with policymakers regarding policy language in the budget and the impact of proposed LEAN efficiencies.
The Senate Ways & Means committee will take executive action on the budget tomorrow afternoon.
This afternoon the Washington Senate released a proposed 2015-17 biennial operating budget. The budget provides a $4.1 billion increase from current spending levels. The net increase represents policy level additions, savings and transfers. The budget leaves $487 million in the ending fund balance.
The budget makes several investments including funding for K-12 education ($1.3 billion), enhancements for higher education ($300 million), general government compensation increases ($113 million), expanded preschool and funding for the Early Start Act ($95 million), and mental health related programs ($90 million).
The budget includes savings by maximizing the Hospital Safety net funding mechanism ($190 million), implementing additional LEAN management efforts ($49 million), and reducing state employee health care spousal coverage and lowering the retiree subsidy payment ($53 million).
Higher Education
The Senate’s proposed budget reduces resident undergraduate tuition to a percentage of the state average wage. The budget would reduce the research institutions by 18% in 2016 and 14% in 2017 and the comprehensive institutions and Evergreen by 12% in 2016 and 10% in 2017. The budget provides dollars to offset the loss revenue from a tuition reduction for institutions.
The budget provides $22 million to the Washington Opportunity Scholarship Program for the state’s match. The budget also suspends the Washington Scholars Program, Washington Award for Vocational Excellence, and Future Teachers Loan Repayment and Conditional Scholarship Program.
Finally the budget makes investments in other key areas:
Evergreen
The Senate’s budget reduces tuition for undergraduate, resident students for the biennium at Evergreen. The budget provides $5.659 million to Evergreen to offset the tuition reduction.
In addition the budget provides The Evergreen College $3 million to increase the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The budget provides for an increase in employee compensation ($506,000 FY2016 and $1.012 million FY2017).
Finally, the budget does not provide new funds for student support services.
Next Steps
The Senate Ways & Means Committee will continue the public hearing tomorrow, April 1 at 1:00 and take executive action on the bill later in the day.
Today marked the last meetings of the higher education policy committees. Tomorrow, April 1 marks the deadline for policy bills to move to either a fiscal committee or the floor of the opposite chamber.
The Senate Higher Education committee finished its work last week. The House Higher Education completed its work this morning.
The committee advanced five bills including legislation to study cost drivers at public higher education institutions (SB 5133), align state residency requirements with federal requirements (SB 5355), establish a certified public accounting scholarship program (SB 5534), create a task force on sexual violence prevention (SB 5719), and add Everett Community College to the list of approved aerospace training/educational programs (SB 5746).
Policy bills advanced to a fiscal committee must move out of those committees by end of day on April 7.
This morning the House Capital Committee met and took executive action to advance a proposed biennial capital budget to the House floor.
The committee passed a substitute bill which makes new appropriations for 2015-17 totaling ($3.77 billion). The majority of the increase is financed from state general bonds ($2.17 billion) and the remaining from other funds ($1.6 billion). The increase authorizes state agencies to enter into alternative financing contracts ($313 million). The substitute also authorizes reappropriations for uncompleted projects approved in the prior biennia ($2.9 billion).
No changes were made to Evergreen’s appropriation in the capital budget.
The House’s proposed capital budget now moves to the floor for further consideration.
The Washington Senate is scheduled to release a proposed biennial operating budget tomorrow, March 31 at noon.
The Senate Ways & Means Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed operating budget at 3:30 the same day.