Professional Staff Organization

December 3, 2020

Recap of the 2021 Legislative Session Preview

The Washington state budget has direct implications for UW and professional staff. The Legislative Preview gives professional staff an opportunity to learn about the state budget, the impact on UW and professional staff, and the UW Legislative Agenda.

On November 19th, PSO hosted the 2021 Legislative Session Preview with special guest, University of Washington Director of State Relations, Joe Dacca. Joe thanked staff from across UW for providing subject matter expertise when he receives legislative inquiries. Here are some of the major takeaways from the session:

  • The upcoming session will be very unique – many meetings and hearings will take place remotely. Removing this geographic barrier to participation will likely increase the number of people wanting to testify in committees and may make it more difficult to get meetings with elected officials.
  • Increases in support for higher education and UW are unlikely. However, since UW has just returned to pre-Great Recession state funding, we hope that UW will not face major state funding cuts.
  • UW Medicine will seek more funding to support the charity care it provides (especially in light of the financial difficulties COVID-19 has placed on hospital finances).
  • Legislators see three UW efforts as of particular importance: UW Medicine’s proposed Behavioral Health Teaching Facility, Center for an Informed Public, and serving first generation students.

If you’re interested in engaging more directly in the 2021 session, contact PSO’s  Legislative Committee Chair Alex Bolton at psoboard@gmail.com during personal time on a personal device. You can learn more about how PSO advocates for professional staff through legislative engagement and outreach on our Advocacy page.