The House and Senate released their 2026 supplemental operating and capital budgets yesterday and today respectively. Washington state operates on a two-year budget cycle, with biennial budgets passed in odd-numbered years (e.g., 2025) and supplemental budgets in even-numbered years (e.g., 2026). Supplemental budgets are meant to adjust or apply fixes to the biennial budgets.
Operating Budgets
Overall, both House and Senate operating budgets are positive, especially in light of the state’s $1+ billion operating budget deficit.
While both proposals include an ongoing administrative reduction of 1.5% (approximately $1.3 million in the Senate and $1.2 million in the House), they also incorporate a net-neutral budget shift for the UW. This creative approach prevents additional cuts to the University’s budget beyond the administrative reduction. The 1.5% administrative reduction and net-neutral budget shift were included for the state’s other two- and four-year public higher education institutions as well.
The Office of State Relations testified in support of the proposals today in the Senate Ways & Means Committee and House Appropriations Committee.
In addition, the House and Senate included $15 million for the Center for Behavioral Health & Learning in their proposals. However, the House appropriation is one-time while the Senate’s is ongoing. UW Medicine requested $18.339 in ongoing funding and is asking for the final 2026 supplemental operating budget to reflect the Senate approach.
Capital Budgets
The House’s capital budget proposal fully funds at $47.5 million (CCA) phase 1 of the Seattle campus Power Plant decarbonization project, which was the University’s only capital request for this legislative session. The Senate proposal did not include funding for the project, so the chambers will have to reconcile the final budget.
Funding for this project will immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10,100 metric tons per year and supports compliance with the Climate Commitment Act and Clean Building Performance Standard.
The Office of State Relations will testify in support of the House’s budget proposal and advocate for the project’s inclusion in the final supplemental capital budget.
Next Steps
The two chambers will now work to reconcile their budget proposals. The 2026 supplemental operating and capital budget bills will need to pass out of both the House and Senate by the last day of legislative session on March 12.
More details on the budget proposals can be found here in the coming days: UW Finance, Planning & Budgeting briefs.
Questions?
For questions about the budget proposals or UW’s advocacy efforts, please contact Morgan Hickel at mhickel@uw.edu and Kevin Chang at kchang28@uw.edu.