Category: 2018 Interim

Gov. Jay Inslee released his proposed 2019-21 biennial operating and capital budgets on Thursday, Dec. 13. The proposal provides significant funding for student financial aid and the University of Washington, recognizing critical needs for foundational support, employee wage increases and student resources. The Governor’s budgets also invest heavily in the state’s behavioral health system, including planning a partnership with UW’s health science schools to increase the workforce and expand care.

Major operating and capital budget investments for the UW include:

• $25.5M for Foundational Support to offset compensation and central services costs that exceed undergraduate operation fee revenue;
• $16.9M for Employee Compensation;
• $8.8M for Academic Program Enhancements and Student Support Services;
• $2M for the Center for Advanced Materials and Clean Energy Technologies (CAMCET) facility; and
• $70M for construction of the Health Sciences Education Building, which will be a modern, shared instructional facility for the six health sciences schools to meet demand and support innovative teaching methods.

The Governor’s budget proposal also recognized critical funding for UW Medicine:

• $14M for UW Hospital Support to ensure Harborview and UW Medicine can continue their mission as the state’s primary teaching hospitals and “safety-net” health care providers;
• $2M for UW Dental Support so UW Dental Clinics can also continue in their role as “safety-net” providers;
• $2M for Mental Health Residencies; and
• $2M to plan a state partnership with UW’s health science schools aimed at expanding the state’s workforce and clinical capacity through telemedicine and new clinical facilities.

Other notable components of the Governor’s budget include:

• Fully funding the Washington College Promise (formerly State Need Grant) by FY22;
• Statewide expansion of Career Connected Learning;
• Ocean acidification response and sampling funding in connection with UW; and
• ShakeAlert (i.e. Seismic) Monitoring Stations in coordination with UW.

The release of the Governor’s budget proposals represents the first step in a lengthy budget process. The Washington state House of Representatives and Senate will introduce their biennial budget proposals during legislative session. The 2019 legislative session begins on Monday, Jan. 14, and will end on or before Apr. 28, with the option of one or more 30-day special sessions.

To get additional details on the Governor’s budgets, click here to view the Office of Planning and Budgeting’s review.

The 2018 General Election was held on Nov. 6 and certified by the Secretary of State on Dec. 6. There are almost 4.4 million registered voters in Washington State and voter turnout for this midterm election hit a historic high at almost 72 percent.

In Washington State, there are 98 House of Representative seats and 49 Senate seats. Since Nov. 2016, Democrats have controlled both the House (50-48) and Senate (25-24) by slim majorities. This election cycle, all 98 House seats were up for election and 25 of the Senate seats.

With the General Election results now certified, Democrats have gained seats in both state chambers and will therefore maintain control of the legislature. In the Senate, Democrats have picked up three seats, which brings the party division to 28 Democrats and 21 Republicans. In the House, Democrats have picked up seven seats, which brings the party division to 57 Democrats and 41 Republicans.

The General Election has also impacted legislative leadership and committee chairs. Rep. Frank Chopp (LD 43) will serve his last term as the Speaker of the House; a position he has held since 1999. Rep. Timm Ormsby (LD 3) will continue to serve as the chair of the Appropriations Committee and Rep. Drew Hansen (LD 23) will once again serve as the chair of the College & Workforce Development Committee. In the Senate, Sen. Andy Billig (LD 3-Spokane) will now serve as the Senate Majority Leader. Sen. Christine Rolfes (LD 23) will continue to serve as the chair of the Ways & Means Committee and Sen. Guy Palumbo (LD 1) has been selected to serve as the new chair of the Higher Education & Workforce Committee.

To view the House and Senate Democratic leadership teams and committee assignments, follow the links below:

• House Democratic leadership
• House Democratic committee assignments
• Senate Democratic leadership
• Senate Democratic committee assignments

To view the House and Senate Republican committee assignments, follow the links below:

• House Republican committee assignments
• Senate Republican committee assignments

The 2019 legislative session will being Monday, Jan. 14.

Public higher education provides the greatest opportunity for prosperity and well-being for individuals and communities, so it must be both affordable and of the highest quality. At the University of Washington, that belief is at the forefront of all we do.

The Washington State 2019 legislative session begins Jan. 14 and is scheduled to last 105 days to consider biennial operating and capital budgets for the state. During session, the Office of State Relations will work with our campus partners to advance the UW’s legislative priorities. Our 2019 legislative agenda focuses on investments that are critical to our ability to provide both access and excellence to students and communities across the state.

To view the UW’s 2019 legislative agenda in its entirety, click here. These priorities have been determined through an extensive process led by the Office of the President and Office of the Provost.

The 2018 General Election was held on Nov. 6. Washington is one of the few states that votes entirely by mail, so ballots are still being tabulated. The final election results will be certified by the Secretary of State on Nov. 30.

There are almost 4.4 million registered voters in Washington State. At this time, more than two million ballots have been tallied, with an estimated 723,500 ballots left to be counted. This is a midterm election and voter turnout is high.

In Washington State, there are 98 House of Representative seats and 49 Senate seats. Since Nov. 2016, Democrats have controlled both the House (50-48) and Senate (25-24) by slim majorities. This election cycle, all 98 House seats were up for election and 25 of the Senate seats.

Washington State’s early results indicate that the Democrats will gain seats in both state chambers, which means they will maintain control of the legislature. In the House, Democrats are likely to gain six or seven seats, with 9 races currently too close to call. In the Senate, Democrats are likely to gain two or three seats, with three races too close to call. For the races too close to call, it may take days or weeks before the final outcomes are clear.

To track the legislative races in our state, click here.

There were also four statewide measures on the ballot:

• Initiative 1631, which concerns pollution and proposes to enact a carbon emissions fee, is failing with 56 percent of the vote.
• Initiative 1634, which would prohibit local governments from enacting taxes on certain grocery items, is passing with almost 55 percent of the vote.
• Initiative 1639, which concerns firearms and would change gun ownership and purchase requirements, is passing with 60 percent of the vote.
• Initiative 940, which concerns law enforcement and proposes additional police training and criminal liability in cases of deadly force, is passing with 59 percent of the vote.

To track Washington State’s 2018 General Election results, click here.