Apr
11
Posted by Office of State Relations on April 11, 2012 at 10:52 am
The legislature finished their work in Olympia after being called back into a one-day second special session.
The Office of Planning and Budgeting will have updated budget information.
Check out the Seattle Times for an overview of the legislature’s action.
Mar
19
Posted by Office of State Relations on March 19, 2012 at 12:44 pm
The state legislature began a 30-day special session last Monday. Legislators continue to work on a budget compromise—currently, neither proposal makes further cuts to higher education. However, many decisions are still in flux. Check out the the P&B blog for up-to-date budget information.
Three priority bills passed during the regular session.
- House Bill 2585 provides colleges and universities more operational flexibility in order to improve efficiency. It would give the UW administrative and operational flexibility for purchasing, procurement, human resources and reporting. It is estimated the UW could save over $1 million annually. HB 2585 awaits Governor Gregoire’s signature.
- SJR8223 and SB 6468 would allow investment diversification of UW and WSU operating investments. These measures could eventually generate $10-20M additional revenue annually for the UW without raising taxes. The State Investment Board, which currently manages the state’s pension system, would have management and oversight authority over new investments. SB 6468 awaits Governor Gregoire’s signature, while SJR 8223 will appear on the November ballot.
Feb
28
Posted by Office of State Relations on February 28, 2012 at 2:54 pm
UW President Michael Young released this statement regarding the Senate’s budget proposal:
“The Senate budget proposal released today puts a halt to four years of public disinvestment in higher education. The Senate is to be commended to taking this bold stance. Investing in students and their futures charts a course towards sustainable economic recovery and is the best possible form of securing our economic future. Higher education sets people on the path that provides a lifetime of benefits for themselves, their families, and our communities. The Legislature needs to adopt this budget for higher education.”
Feb
16
Posted by Office of State Relations on February 16, 2012 at 4:08 pm
The February revenue forecast shows a turn upward for the next biennium. The forecast for expected revenue for 2011-13 is up by $95.7 million with a total expected revenue of about $30.3 billion. While this revenue increase of 0.3 percent represents a modest boost for the current biennium, this is the first positive forecast since June 2010.
The forecast for the 2013-15 biennium is predicted to be about $32.3 billion, an increase of about 6.6 percent from the current biennium. This is the first forecast adopted by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council for the next biennium.
Read more analysis from the Office of Planning and Budgeting.
Feb
15
Posted by Office of State Relations on February 15, 2012 at 11:17 am
The operational flexibility proposals introduced in Olympia this session moved forward on Tuesday. February 14 was the cutoff for non-budget legislation to pass out the chamber of origin.
HB 2585 passed in the House with 98 yea votes to move to the Senate. The bill amends contract rules for institutions of higher learning in order to improve efficiency. It would provide the University of Washington administrative and operational flexibility in areas of purchasing and procurement, capital projects, human resources and information technology. As a result, the university would save over $1 million annually.
SB 6468 and SJR 8223 were passed out of the Senate on Monday. These bills will allow diversification of the University of Washington and Washington State University operating investments. Since 1889, UW operating fund investments have been restricted to government-backed securities. This restriction limits the ability to diversify university assets and reduce risk. Annual returns have been negatively impacted by 0.8% annually over the last twenty years – approximately $11 million per year (at the current fund level). Investment diversification would reduce the concentration of risk in a single investment instrument and allow the UW to react in a more timely way to opportunity and risk in the global economy. It would also provide the university with an opportunity to raise additional revenue overtime, which would make available additional funding for UW’s education mission without raising taxes. SB 6468 and SJR 8223 were referred to the House Higher Education committee and are scheduled for a hearing on Thursday.
SB 5576 would permit local management of capital fee resources – building fees, timber revenues and the metro tract – which are currently appropriated by the legislature for maintenance projects. The current management system creates inefficiencies in the UW’s maintenance programs. This affects the university’s ability to leverage its own bond capacity in a strategic way. Allowing local management would create a more nimble, cost-effective maintenance program, provide the UW with additional local bonding authority to improve our credit worthiness, reduce the state’s cost of borrowing and complete capital projects. SB 5576 passed the Senate on Saturday.
Feb
2
Posted by Office of State Relations on February 2, 2012 at 3:41 pm
On Wednesday night presidents of Washington’s six public colleges and universities gathered to discuss funding for higher education. Among the concerns expressed by the presidents was the ability to retain faculty and providing access to low and middle-income students. Business leaders from REI, Boeing and Microsoft also spoke about their concern about the future of Washington’s workforce – if the state does not have the capacity to educate its citizens, companies may be forced to search elsewhere for educated workers.
Video of the forum is available from TVW.
Jan
30
Posted by Office of State Relations on January 30, 2012 at 10:18 am
The Greater Good Campaign is hosting a conversation with six Washington public university and college presidents on Wednesday at Town Hall. The talk is titled “Six Presidents: An Unprecedented Conversation on Higher Education Funding in Washington State.” Read more about it here.
Jan
17
Posted by Office of State Relations on January 17, 2012 at 5:11 pm
Governor Gregoire announced appointments to the University of Washington Board of Regents. Read the press release here.
Jan
12
Posted by Office of State Relations on January 12, 2012 at 4:09 pm
In November legislators visited iLabs – see what they learned about and hear what they had to say.
Legislative visit to iLabs
Jan
11
Posted by Office of State Relations on January 11, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Washington’s chief economist, Dr. Arun Raha, announced today that he is resigning after three years effective Jan. 31.
Steve Lerch, who previously served as interim chief economic before Raha came on board, will fill the position temporarily during the search for a replacement.
More details are available from The Seattle Times, Tacoma News Tribune and PublicCola.
Jan
10
Posted by Office of State Relations on January 10, 2012 at 11:30 am
Yesterday The Seattle Times published an article about a new report on higher education in Washington state. The report focuses on the number of Washington students graduating college and concluded that the system does not produce enough bachelor’s degrees. You can read the article here.
The press release, executive summary and full report are available from the Institute for Research on Higher Education.
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