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Governor releases 2022 supplemental budget proposal with UW investments

The 2022 legislative session begins Jan. 10 and will focus on the supplemental budget, which modifies the biennial budget passed last session. Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled his 2022 operating and capital budget proposals today, as a first step in the state budget process.

The Governor’s proposed operating budget emphasizes climate action and poverty reduction. His climate package devotes $626 million to decarbonization, successful implementation of the Climate Commitment Act, and building Washington’s clean energy future. An additional $187 million is allocated for salmon protection and recovery. Inslee also dedicates $800 million to help find solutions to the state’s homelessness and housing emergency. The funding will provide permanent affordable housing, resources to help people retain their housing, and support services for individuals with behavioral health needs.

The Governor’s proposals funded all the University of Washington’s legislative priorities and a few additional items including:

  • $11.1M for salary adjustments for faculty and staff, who are currently not scheduled to receive wage increases in the biennial budget and are critical to the continued success of students and the UW.
  • $2M to expand computer science and engineering enrollment for underrepresented students by an additional 100 per year to meet high student and employer demand.
  • $505K to create two behavioral health pharmacy residencies housed at the new Behavioral Health Teaching Facility to address the state’s critical behavioral health patient and workforce needs. This request is in partnership with Washington State University, who is requesting additional funds for two pharmacy residents in Eastern Washington.
  • $800K for a three-year research program led by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Spokane focused on community health metrics to help proactively address health disparities in rural and tribal communities in Eastern Washington.
  • $621K for maintenance and operation (M&O) for Milgard Hall at UW Tacoma, which expects occupancy in Winter 2022 instead of mid-2023.
  • $500K for the UW School of Medicine to collaborate with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide mentoring, preparation, and career awareness for students of color in grades 6+.
  • $3.5M in operating funding for the Clean Energy Institute testbeds.
  • $10M in capital funds for UW Seattle facilities to improve seismic preparedness, reduce safety risks, and extend the life cycle of the facilities.
  • $7.5M in capital funds for the Clean Energy Institute for a modular dry room, electrical upgrades, and equipment for an open-access battery fabrication testbed facility to enhance material, imaging, and analysis capabilities.

The Office of State Relations is thrilled to see the investments the Governor proposed for the University and students. The House of Representatives and Senate will introduce their budget proposals during the upcoming 60-day legislative session.

The proposal also puts $600 million back into the state’s “Rainy Day” fund, which was utilized to bolster services and the state’s economy during the pandemic. Washington’s economy is rebounding with the most recent revenue forecast showing strong 2021-23 Near General Fund budget collections. The state’s reserves are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels over the next four years.

For additional details, see the Washington State Office of Financial Management’s budget and policy highlights and the brief prepared by the UW Office of Planning & Budgeting on their Briefs page.

State revenue sees growth prior to legislative session

Washington state’s 2021-23 budget collections are projected to increase by nearly $898 million according to the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council’s November quarterly report. The state’s Near General Fund revenues are now projected at $60.2 billion for the 2021-23 budget cycle, which began July 1.

Washington’s budget is benefitting from strong growth in the state’s biggest revenue drivers – sales tax, property tax, and business & occupation tax – as well as the Real Estate Excise Tax. Employment is also seeing strong growth, although it hasn’t yet surpassed pre-pandemic levels, and is expected to remain robust through 2025. Washington’s unemployment rate has declined to 5% from the all-time high of 16.3% recorded in April 2020.

New to this forecast, consumer prices have jumped 6.2% marking the largest inflation seen in the state and nation since 1990. However, inflation is expected to gradually decrease starting in 2022 as supply chain and logistics issues are resolved.

The November quarterly economic and revenue forecast is the last prior to the release of Gov. Jay Inslee’s supplemental budget proposal in early to mid-December and the start of legislative session on Jan. 10. Both the governor and legislature will use the forecast to guide their budget proposals.

First 2021-23 economic and revenue forecast shows strong budget collections

The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council projects 2021-23 state budget collections will increase by more than $927 in their newly published September quarterly report. The report is the first since the end of the 2019-21 biennium. The state’s General Fund revenue is now projected at $59.3 billion for the current two-year budget cycle, which began July 1.

Real estate excise taxes are the main driver of the improved revenue collections with residential real estate sales remaining strong and commercial sales seeing a significant increase. Retail sales tax collections were also stronger than forecasted in the June quarterly report.

Washington state employment stays steady with the unemployment rate unchanged at 5.1%. An increase of 2.4% in the state’s employment is expected this year, with average growth between 2022-25 projected at 2.2% per year.

The forecast also shows higher personal income and inflation in the state since the June report. The state’s inflation numbers match the national average, while personal income is expected to begin slowing next year due to decreasing federal stimulus dollars meant to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared to this time last year, Washington state’s economy is in a much better position. The 2022 legislative session is approaching, beginning on January 10, with state legislators focused on making fixes to the 21-22 biennial budget. While the September outlook shows strong budget collections, the ongoing pandemic’s impacts on the economy and economic growth mean state revenues will remain fragile and uncertain.

For more information, view the Council’s September economic and revenue forecast documents here.

News from Olympia: Legislative Session Day 12

The 2017 legislative session is in full swing in Olympia. Here are a few highlights from the past twelve days:

New director, Joe Dacca, updated the Senate Higher Education committee about the UW’s legislative priorities.

Joe Dacca presenting to the Senate Higher Education Committee
Joe Dacca presenting to the Senate Higher Education Committee

New associate director, Jillian Kilby, testified in support of HB 1107 to remove the term “branch” as an identifying factor for extension campuses in the House Higher Education Committee.

Jillian Kilby testifying in the House Higher Education Committee
Jillian Kilby testifying in the House Higher Education Committee

Dr. Nephi Stella provided the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports committee with an update on the new cannabis research center being developed at UW.

Dr. Nephi Stella Cannabis Research
Dr. Nephi Stella presenting to the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports committee

Dr. Caleb Banta-Green, from the School of Public Health, provided information about opioid addiction treatment options to the Senate and House Health Care committees.

Dr. Caleb Banta-Green presenting to the House Health Care committee

Dr. David Tauben, from UW Medicine, presented to the Senate Health Care committee on pain and opioid addiction.

Dr. David Tauben presenting to the House Health Care committee
Dr. David Tauben presenting to the Senate Health Care committee

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.  

UW releases 2017 state legislative agenda

Just in time for the start of the 2017 legislative session, the University of Washington released its legislative priorities. Here’s an overview of key priorities from the agenda:

Operating Budget Priorities

Competing for excellence:

As a world-class academic and research institution, the UW is dedicated to retaining and attracting the best faculty and staff who provide a world-class educational experience to our students. As a means of investing in talented educators, the UW requests funding for competitive compensation.

Investing in proven strategies to ensure student success:

It is critical that historically underserved students are supported to boost retention, graduation, and career preparation in high demand fields. Delivered through a tri-campus initiative, UW requests $5.1 million to expand programming and bolster support to underserved students.

Additionally, the UW supports full funding of the State Need Grant, which provides financial assistance to low-income students pursuing a higher education in Washington. More than 24,000 students who are eligible for the State Need Grant have not had access due to lack of funding.

Targeted investments to serve the needs of the state:

Washington currently faces severe workforce shortages in areas related to healthcare, computer science, and engineering. To combat this problem, UW is requesting $9.3 million to invest in rural health care professionals and another $16 million to invest in engineering, computer science, and ocean engineering and cyber operations.

Key Capital Investments

Seismic improvements

The safety of our students, faculty, and staff are of paramount importance at the UW. At the Seattle campus, there are masonry buildings in need of major reinforced upgrades to reduce the risk of collapse in case of an earthquake. The UW seeks $25 million to upgrade multiple buildings in critical need of repair.

Population Health sciences

In an effort to support and improve the health and well-being of communities both in Washington and globally, the UW requests $20 million for a Population Health research building. An additional $10 million is requested for the design of a shared Health Sciences classroom facility to replace the Magnuson Health Sciences Teaching Center (T-wing).

Accommodating growth

UW Bothell and UW Tacoma are experiencing rapid student enrollment in high-demand programs. In response to the increasing growth, UW requests $3.5 million in predesign and design funding to accommodate the academic needs of students.

Parrington Hall renovation

Enrollment has doubled in the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Parrington Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus and home of the Evans School, is in need of maintenance and renovation. The UW requests $10 million for construction.

Burke Museum

The Burke Museum provides diverse science and cultural programming to schools, communities, and families. In an effort to increase programming and access, the Burke Museum is in the process of constructing a new facility on campus. To complete construction, $24.2 million is requested by UW.

Washington Competes

The University is committed to partnering with other statewide public baccalaureate institutions, community and technical colleges, and independent colleges to advance a jointly supported agenda focused on increasing investments in higher education to bolster student success. Read more about Washington Competes here.

You’re invited: Denny Hall re-opening Oct. 26

UW State Relations and External Affairs invites you to join us in celebrating the re-opening of the iconic Denny Hall.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | 10:30-11:30 AM
Denny Hall (MAP)
Spokane Lane
Seattle, WA 98105
Coffee, tea and assorted pastries provided.

Please RSVP:
Amanda Rich at eaevents@uw.edu or 206-221-5670.

About Denny Hall
Constructed in 1895, Denny Hall is the oldest building on the UW’s Seattle campus and is eligible to be listed in the Washington State Heritage Register. The building was named in honor of Seattle pioneers Arthur A. and Mary Denny.
Restoration of Denny Hall began in the Spring of 2014 and was completed in September, 2016. This building houses offices and programs for the College of Arts & Sciences, including the Departments of Anthropology, Classics, Germanics and Near Eastern Languages & Civilization, as well as the College’s Language Learning Center.
The renovation upgraded all major building systems, corrected seismic deficiencies, improved accessibility, and abated hazardous materials. The building now achieves Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. Hacker (previously known as THA) of Portland, Oregon, was the project architect. SiteWorkshop was the landscape architect, and BNBuilders (BNB) was the General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM). Both are located in Seattle.

That’s a wrap! 2016 session adjourned

On day 20 of the special session, just before 11:00 p.m., the legislature adjourned sine die, after passing compromise operating and capital budgets earlier in the day.

Over the past two-plus weeks, budget negotiators worked through a number of outstanding revenue and spending issues, entertaining and then abandoning a number of different tools to generate small amounts of revenue.

In the end, the members didn’t reach consensus on any new revenue components, and so the final supplemental budget made very select new investments and swept other fund sources in order to make a 4-year budget outlook pencil following a grim February forecast.

The University of Washington was successful in bringing home its top priority – backfill for the tuition reduction adopted by the legislature in 2015. Throughout session, students, staff, alumni, regents, and leadership reinforced the same message, that backfilling the tuition cut was critical to preserving access to and the quality of education at the UW.

Aside from the tuition backfill, however, the budget brought little else to celebrate. Unfortunately, the backfill was offset in part by a decision to charge state agencies for administrative functions of the Office of Financial Management. And due to overall limited resources, no new investments came to rural dentistry or computer science, the UW’s other top priorities.

In all, it truly was a supplemental budget, and the table is now set for next session, when higher education priorities will face a steep challenge in maintaining and growing the commitment from the state to access, quality, and opportunity for all students.

For more information about how the supplemental budget affects the university, check out the Office of Planning & Budgeting Brief.

 

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

Budgets are out! Here’s how they stack up on UW priorities

The most recent state revenue forecast in mid-February dealt a blow to the state and made negotiating a supplemental budget more challenging. The forecast reduced the current biennium’s revenues by $67 million and the next biennium’s by another $442 million. Read more details on the February 17 state revenue forecast here.

Both the House and the Senate released their opening budget proposals last week, and there were notable differences between the two as they impact higher education. Here are some of the highlights for UW:

Tuition Backfill

The Senate funded the tuition backfill for institutions, by and large, and the House did not provide backfill. The Senate’s budget also includes a limitation on enrollment growth that could potentially suppress the numbers of resident undergraduates—we hope that won’t make it into the final compromise budget. As part of her visit last week, President Cauce met with budget leadership in the House, and urged legislators to include backfill in the go-home budget.

Leasehold Excise Tax (LET) fix

Our LET bills, HB 2523 and SB 6462 were heard early in session. While lawmakers of all stripes indicate support the tax policy of allowing us to once again pay only the same LET as private owners pay in property tax, technically the bills are dead, as they did not move out of committee. We hope there might still be a chance to rectify this unintended consequence of a 2013 assessor bill before the current session is out.

RIDE: Rural dentistry in Spokane

We continue to work with the Spokane delegation, as well as other stakeholders, on our request to establish a simulation lab in Spokane and develop greater service-learning clinical rotations. Despite strong support, it was not funded in either budget. We hope that there may still be a chance to include the $200,000 per year that would expand our rotations and expand the RIDE mission to rural and under-served areas on both sides of the mountains.

Computer Science & Engineering Building

The CSE II building was partially funded in the 2015-17 budget, and our request for $15 million in the supplemental budget (to replace the $15 million appropriation from our building fund) has come up against a meager supplemental capital budget: less than $90 million total statewide in last week’s proposals. CSE II was not funded in either budget. We continue to push for at least partial funding in 2016, critical to keeping private fundraising on track for the remaining $70+ million balance.

That’s where the big stuff stands at this moment in time. Stay tuned for more as budget writers get comfortable in their seats around the negotiating table in this final stretch.

2016 Session: It’s been a whirlwind!

The past seven weeks have flown by, filled with testimony, legislative agendas, and plenty of policy discussion. Here are a few of the things that have been going on while we’ve been here at the capitol.

President Cauce visits Olympia

President Ana Mari Cauce made three trips to Olympia to thank legislators for historic investments in higher education in 2015 and to discuss the university’s priorities for this year. Here are a few of the pictures and behind the scenes video from President Cauce’s visits.

Regents’ visit coincides with Huskies on the Hill, and Harry the Husky says hi!

On February 8, the capitol campus in Olympia could have been mistaken for UW’s Red Square–purple and gold was the theme of the day. Regents, UW Bothell Chancellor Wolf Yeigh, dozens of undergraduate and graduate students, and even Harry the Husky met with members of the House and Senate to advocate for UW. Check out photos from the day on the State Relations Facebook page.

Faculty experts present to legislators

Much like the testimony an expert witness gives in a courtroom, legislators will call on researchers to present on a wide variety of subjects. Quite often, presenters will include members of the UW community. Here are just a few of the faculty and staff who shared their expertise to assist lawmakers during the 2016 legislative session.

  • Tom DeLuca, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, in House Capital Budget and Senate Ways & Means
  • Mark Hallenbeck, UW’s Washington State Transportation Center office, in the House Transportation Committee
  • James Dorsey, Washington MESA, in the Senate Higher Education Committee

Budget update – Moving into the final stretch

By its nature–limited time and limited funds–the supplemental session offers modest opportunities for both policy and budget. The most recent state revenue forecast in mid-February dealt a blow to the state’s spending plans, and has made negotiating a supplemental budget more challenging. The forecast reduced the current biennium’s revenues by $67 million and the upcoming biennium’s by another $442 million.

Last week, both the House and the Senate released their opening budget proposals, and passed them off their respective floors. While these are a good indicator of the two majorities’ policy priorities, a lot will change as the budget writers negotiate details toward a final compromise budget. Read more about the contrasting budget proposals here. Stay tuned for details on higher education budget impacts over the next few days.

 

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

UW releases 2016 state legislative agenda

Today, the University released its legislative priorities for the 2016 session that began yesterday in Olympia. The governor delivered his State of the State address this afternoon, with Board Chair Bill Ayer representing the UW Board of Regents as one of the governor’s guests.

Here is a quick overview of what’s on the agenda:

Make the University Whole – Implementing the state’s new tuition policy

A critical piece of the state’s new tuition policy is its commitment to fully compensate institutions for the tuition revenue they will lose due to the reduction. As the tuition backfill in the adopted 2015-17 budget was based on outdated enrollment numbers, we seek $4.4 million to make the UW whole.

Expanding our Successful Rural Dentistry Program in Spokane

UW requests state funding to expand the UW School of Dentistry’s Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program in Spokane and Eastern Washington with the addition of a simulation lab and expanded clinical rotation opportunities. RIDE trains students to practice in rural and underserved areas, and partners with Eastern Washington University and others in the community to improve oral health across our state.

Restoring Fairness for Public Agencies Paying Leasehold Excise Tax

Part of the leasehold excise tax (LET) statute was deleted by a 2013 bill, and as a result the UW now pays additional excess tax out of a fund which otherwise pays for repair and maintenance projects. The UW supports the ability of public property owners to once again pay taxes equal to – not greater than– those of private property owners.

Computer Science & Engineering – Making more degrees a reality

In the 2015 legislative session, the legislature dedicated a total of $32.5 million toward our new Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) building, helping double CSE degree production. However, $15.0 million was taken from the UW’s own building account, which pays for systemwide repairs and maintenance. We ask the legislature to allocate $15.0 million in the state bonds to restore the building account funds to their intended and much-needed purpose.

Click here to view and download the 2016 Legislative Agenda document.