News & Updates

It’s day 51 of the 60-day legislative session.

Yesterday, March 3, was the opposite house fiscal committee cutoff, meaning any bill not voted out of a fiscal committee in the opposite chamber from which it originated is dead unless necessary to implement the budget (NTIB). At this stage in the legislative process, the number of bills still being considered is dwindling.

One bill UW Medicine is advocating for is Senate Bill (SB) 5981, concerning the 340B drug pricing program. The 340B Drug Pricing Program was created by Congress in 1992 to ensure drug manufacturers participating in Medicaid are providing outpatient drugs at reduced prices to eligible healthcare organizations, such as safety-net hospitals and community clinics. A primary goal of the program is to reinvest the savings from the reduced drug prices back into patient care.

SB 5981 preserves the 340B program in Washington. Both Harborview Medical Center and UW Medical Center are safety-net hospitals that receive the drug pricing discounts and rely on the savings to maintain essential financial assistance for patients in need. Annually, UW Medicine provides over $454 million of uncompensated care to uninsured and underinsured patients. The 340B program helps cover approximately $85 million of that total, which is why UW Medicine is encouraging the bill’s passage.

Some of the other active bills that the UW continues to monitor or engage on include:

• House Bill (HB) 2353, concerning predesign thresholds.
• HB 2420, increasing small works roster contract limits.
• SB 5931, concerning Workforce Education Investment Accountability and Oversight Board administrative changes.
• SB 6137, concerning the regulated sports wagering industry.
• SB 5963, modifying funding for the passport to careers program and eligibility for the Washington College Grant.
• SB 6113, concerning taxes administered by the department of revenue.

The next cutoff deadline is this Friday, March 6. Bills must pass out of the opposite chamber from where they originated to remain alive and have a chance at becoming law.

Budget leaders in both the House and Senate are also working to finalize the 2026 supplemental operating and capital budgets. As a reminder, the House and Senate released separate budget proposals last week and now must reconcile them. The final budgets must be voted on by both chambers by the end of legislative session on Thursday, March 12.

Questions?

For questions about policy or UW’s advocacy efforts in Olympia, please contact Morgan Hickel at mhickel@uw.edu and Kevin Chang at kchang28@uw.edu.

It’s day 37 of the 60-day legislative session.

This week saw many milestones and new developments in the legislative process. On Monday, Feb. 16, the Washington State Economic & Revenue Forecast Council released its February revenue forecast, which projected a modest revenue increase through 2029. This forecast indicated that the Legislature has an additional $438 million to appropriate during this legislative session. While positive, this does not fully solve the state’s budget deficit this year. More information about the February forecast can be found here: UW Office of Finance, Planning & Budgeting brief, and here: UW Office of State Relations February Revenue Forecast Blog Post.

Tuesday, Feb. 17, was the house-of-origin cutoff. Bills that were not passed out of the chamber they were introduced in are now considered dead unless they are necessary to implement the budget (NTIB). Bills that cleared this significant step now head to the opposite chamber for hearings in policy committees and possible executive sessions. The UW continues to monitor or engage on bills, including:

• House Bill (HB) 2251, concerning Climate Commitment Act accounts.
• HB 2353, concerning predesign thresholds.
• HB 2420, increasing small works roster contract limits.
• Senate Bill (SB) 5931, concerning Workforce Education Investment Accountability and Oversight Board administrative changes.
• SB 5981, concerning the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
• SB 6137, concerning the regulated sports wagering industry.
• SB 5963, modifying funding for the passport to careers program and eligibility for the Washington College Grant.
• SB 6113, concerning taxes administered by the department of revenue.

Lastly, the House and Senate plan to release their operating and capital budget proposals next week. Both chambers will then work to reconcile the budgets before the end of session on March 12. Details about the House and Senate budget proposals will be posted under News & Updates on this website.

For questions about specific policy or UW’s advocacy efforts in Olympia, please contact Morgan Hickel at mhickel@uw.edu and Kevin Chang at kchang28@uw.edu.

On Monday, Feb. 16, the Washington State Economic & Revenue Forecast Council released the February revenue forecast, which will be the last before the end of the 2026 legislative session. As a reminder, this revenue forecast will influence the state’s budget decisions as the House and Senate plan to release their operating and capital budget proposals next week and pass a reconciled budget bill before session adjournment in March.

The February forecast projects a modest revenue increase through 2029. Compared to the last quarterly forecast in November 2025, revenue is expected to grow by $827 million for the current 2025-27 biennium and $1.03 billion for 2027-29. This translates to an additional $438 million that the Legislature can appropriate during this legislative session.

For the Workforce Education Investment Account (WEIA), which is a fund that the Legislature established in 2019 specifically to support higher education, revenue is forecasted to increase by $172 million in the current biennium and by $249 million for the 2027-29 biennium.

More details about the forecast can be found here: UW Office of Finance, Planning & Budgeting brief.

While positive news, the projected increase in revenue does not fully solve the state’s $1.6 billion operating budget shortfall this year. State agency budget cuts remain likely to help solve the deficit. Additionally, the Legislature doesn’t have much of an appetite for significant new revenue since the state passed a slew of revenue bills last session.

However, the one major new revenue proposal in play is a state income tax on high earners, known as the “millionaire’s tax.” The policy imposes a 9.9% tax on earnings of more than $1 million per year. It would take effect on Jan. 1, 2028, with first payments due in April 2029, so the proposal does not help solve the near-term budget deficit. The Senate passed the policy on Monday largely along party lines, so it will now move to the House for consideration.

Governor Ferguson held a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 17, on the proposal. While he supports the concept of a millionaire’s tax and believes the Senate proposal is a good start, he wants more than half of the revenue directed to Washington families by expanding and increasing the Working Families Tax Credit and small businesses by boosting the small business tax credit.

For questions about specific policy proposals or UW’s advocacy efforts in Olympia, please contact Morgan Hickel at mhickel@uw.edu and Kevin Chang at kchang28@uw.edu.

This week, the legislature is busy hearing bills in preparation for the house-of-origin policy committee cutoff next Wednesday, February 4. Policy cutoff is the first key milestone in the legislative session, determining which bills will continue moving forward in the legislative process. Proposed legislation that are not passed out of their house-of-origin policy committee by the cutoff date will be considered dead unless they’re necessary to implement the budget (NTIB).

The State Relations team is engaging with legislators and key stakeholders on relevant legislation and continues to work to mitigate additional funding cuts impacting UW’s core operations. At the same time, the team is highlighting phase 1 of the Seattle campus’ decarbonization project. Funding this project will reduce UW’s greenhouse gas emissions and allow the University to move towards compliance with the Climate Commitment Act and Clean Building Performance Standards.

The UW Office of Spokane & Eastern Washington Relations also visited Olympia on Wednesday and Thursday as a part of Greater Spokane Inc.’s 2026 fly-in to advocate for the Spokane region’s economic priorities, which include asking the Legislature to take steps to repair and protect the state’s higher education institutions.

Questions?

For questions about specific policy proposals or UW’s advocacy efforts, please contact Morgan Hickel at mhickel@uw.edu and Kevin Chang at kchang28@uw.edu.

The State Legislature is full steam ahead during the second week of session, and the UW State Relations team welcomed several members of the UW community to Olympia for visits with legislators and government officials.

On Wednesday, UW women’s soccer team traveled to Olympia and was honored with a House Resolution sponsored by Rep. Osman Salahuddin (D-48^th Legislative District) celebrating their success and winning their first-ever Big Ten Championship and advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight. The team displayed the jersey of their late teammate, Mia Hamant, who was goalkeeper before losing her battle to kidney cancer last November. The team also met with Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs.

UW President Jones made his first official visit on Thursday and met with several key House and Senate members to discuss funding for UW’s core operations. He reiterated the need to avert any additional cuts to higher education funding so that the University can continue to offer quality education to current students and meet the ever-growing demand for enrollment. He also made an appearance on TVW for an interview.

The week ended on a high note with a visit from UW men’s soccer team and the team was honored with a Senate Resolution sponsored by Senator Marcus Riccelli (D-3^rd Legislative District) for winning their first-ever NCAA Division I National Championship on December 15, 2025. They also met with Washington State Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck and Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins.

Questions?

For questions about UW’s advocacy or engagements in Olympia, please contact Morgan Hickel at mhickel@uw.edu and Kevin Chang at kchang28@uw.edu.

Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2026 legislative session in Olympia, where lawmakers are tasked with passing the state’s 2026 operating, capital, and transportation supplemental budgets. The supplemental budgets will adjust or apply fixes to the 2025-27 biennial budgets passed last legislative session.

The most pressing issue continues to be the state’s operating budget shortfall, which is currently projected to be $1.6 billion. This is after the state entered last year’s session with a $12-16 billion budget shortfall and lawmakers voted to cut billions of dollars from the state budget while passing a $9.4 billion revenue package to help offset the deficit.

Given the ongoing fiscal challenges, the Legislature has little appetite for significant new spending. Recognizing this, the UW is not asking for any new operating budget investments and will instead focus on stabilizing funding for core operations and mitigating potential new cuts.

There has also been a renewed effort by some Democrats, who control both the House and Senate, to discuss new revenue for the 2026 legislative session. However, any new revenue will not solve the near-term budget shortfall as it would take time to implement.

During the first week, Morgan Hickel and Kevin Chang with the UW Office of State Relations will testify before the House and Senate fiscal committees to offer UW’s positions on the Governor’s operating and capital budget proposals that were released last month.

Morgan is highlighting that UW is serving more students than ever with fewer resources and will ask legislators to help ensure the University has a sustainable fiscal foundation that supports our students, local communities, and the state’s economy. Kevin will advocate for funding for phase 1 of the Power Plant decarbonization project on the Seattle campus. This project reduces the University’s greenhouse gas emissions, helps toward compliance with the Climate Commitment Act and Clean Building Performance Standard, and will serve the soon-to-be constructed, state-funded chemical sciences facility.

Questions?

The Office of State Relations is in Olympia throughout legislative session advocating on behalf of the UW. For questions about the state legislative process or the UW’s advocacy efforts, please contact Morgan Hickel at mhickel@uw.edu or Kevin Chang at kchang28@uw.edu.

Governor Ferguson’s 2026 supplemental operating and capital budgets reflect the financial constraints that Washington state is facing.

For the UW, his 2026 supplemental operating budget proposes a 3%, or $15.8 million per year, cut to the University’s base state funding and a $3.5 million cut to the University’s administrative spending all beginning in Fiscal Year 27 (FY27). Other state agencies also face base state funding reductions of up to 5%.

The budget does provide $15 million in ongoing funding for the Frank Chopp Center for Behavioral Health and Learning (CBHL), partially fulfilling the University’s $18.34 million request to fully fund CBHL operations.

In the capital budget proposal, the University would not receive any Climate Commitment Account (CCA) funding for the requested Power Plan Electrification and Campus Hot Water Loop – Phase 1 project, which is an important component of the University’s decarbonization efforts and supports compliance with the Climate Commitment Act and Clean Building Performance Standards. The University originally requested $47.5 million for this project. However, the Governor only appropriated $67 million of the CCA in his proposal with the rest going to transportation and operating budget appropriations.

As a reminder, the Governor’s budget proposal is only the first of many steps in the state’s lengthy budget process. Lawmakers in the House and the Senate will have the opportunity to release their own budget proposals during legislative session beginning on January 12, 2026. During the 60-day session, lawmakers are tasked with amending the two-year state budget set in the 2025 legislative session and are primarily focusing on FY27.

For more information about the 2026 Governor’s supplemental operating and capital budgets, please visit UW’s Office of Finance, Planning & Budgeting website.