The House and Senate released each chamber’s supplemental operating and capital budget proposals this week.  The Senate operating proposal includes $1.8 million per biennium to transition Western on the Peninsulas degree programs from a self-supported funding model to a state-funded model.  This funding would align tuition rates for students attending WWU on the Peninsulas with tuition rates for most other resident undergraduate degree programs at Western. The Senate operating budget proposal also includes funding for the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to conduct a study that identifies the extent to which employees or students at postsecondary institutions in other states have access to peer-reviewed journals, pursuant to ESSB 5504.

The House operating proposal includes $430,000 per biennium to offer courses in American Sign Language (ASL), deaf studies and deaf education as part of an effort to address the statewide need for teachers of the deaf and ASL interpreters.  The House proposal also includes funding for a study to be completed by the William D. Ruckelshaus Center to assess the feasibility of, and barriers to, expanding and integrating district energy systems in the City of Bellingham.   If adopted, the study will likely include representatives from WWU.

The supplemental capital budget proposals did not include any changes to the 2019-21 biennial capital budget for Western.

Negotiations are now underway as budget leaders in the House and Senate work to develop the final supplemental budgets before the legislature adjourns on March 12th.

This weekend 15 WWU students majoring in political science traveled to Olympia for a firsthand look at state government in action during the Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education “Day on the Hill.”  The students, along with the Institute’s Director, Dr. Vernon Johnson, and Dr. Kate Destler, Assistant Professor of Political Science, joined Former Secretary of State and WWU alumnus Ralph Munro for two days of action-packed meetings with state government leaders.

Click here to read more.

The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released the State’s quarterly revenue forecast today, projecting a $606 million increase in Near General Fund revenue for the current 2019-21 biennium, which brings the total Near General Fund projected revenues to over $52.3 billion for the current two-year state budget cycle.  Projected revenues for the 2021-23 budget cycle are also up by $536 million for the State’s Near General Fund.

The House and Senate proposals for the 2019-21 supplemental operating, transportation and capital budgets are expected to be released in the next few days.

Yesterday Sienna Reid, Grey Webster and Deviney Wynecoop from WWU’s Native American Student Union (NASU) traveled to the Washington State Capitol in Olympia to meet with state lawmakers about a proposed Coast Salish Longhouse on Western’s campus and to testify in support of House Bill 2551, legislation that would ensure students are permitted to wear traditional tribal regalia or objects of Native American cultural significance at graduation ceremonies or related school events.

Click here to read more.

WWU’s priority bills— HB 1755 and SB 6139/HB 2721—have advanced in the legislative process in Olympia.

Last week the House of Representatives passed HB 1755—WWU’s top policy priority for the 2020 legislative session that authorizes Western to offer applied doctorate level degrees in education (Ed.Ds).  The bill is now in the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee.

In other good news, legislation to reauthorize the state’s Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI) is also moving through the Legislature.  JCATI supports economic development and job creation in our state’s aerospace industry through collaborative research between business and academic partners. Western and other public higher education institutions receive state funds, which leverage private dollars, to conduct research projects that address aerospace industry challenges and further workforce development. This funding will sunset June 30, 2020, without reauthorizing legislation.  The Senate Committee on Financial Institutions, Economic Development and Trade held a public hearing on SB 6139 last week, and this week, the companion bill, HB 2721, is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Innovation, Technology & Economic Development.

Today is the first day of the Washington State Legislature’s 2020 session.  During the “short,” 60-day session, legislators will adopt supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets with modifications to the 2019-21 biennial budgets that were adopted during the 2019 session.  Legislators will also be tasked with considering thousands of bills with proposed changes to state law.

Western’s top supplemental budget priority is to increase access and improve the success of current and future students attending Western on the Peninsulas— WWU’s locations on the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas.  Under WWU’s proposal, WWU would transition all degree programs from tuition-funded, also known as self-supported, to state-funded to reduce the tuition rate for a student attending Western on the Peninsulas by more than $12,000 over two years. This request would also enable WWU to improve four-year degree pathways for the residents of the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas through targeted recruitment and student support strategies.

WWU’s top policy priority is the passage of HB 1755—legislation that would authorize WWU to offer applied doctorate degrees in education (Ed.Ds).  The bill would provide the same authorization to Eastern Washington University and Central Washington University.  Click here to read more about the importance of passing HB 1755.

Last month Congress passed and the president signed into law, the FUTURE Act, which provides permanent funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), including Northwest Indian College in Bellingham.  The bill also simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by eliminating duplicative paperwork between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education.  You can read Senator Patty Murray’s statement about the legislation here.

Congress also passed an omnibus appropriations bill for FY20 that increased the maximum Pell Grant award by $150 to $6,345.  Funding was also increased for the Federal Work Study ($50 million increase), TRIO ($30 million increase), and GEAR-UP ($5 million increase) programs.  The FY20 spending bill also increased funding for many federal agencies that award grants to WWU and other higher education institutions across the country, including the National Institute of Health ($2.6 billion increase), National Science Foundation ($203 million increase), NASA ($1.1 billion increase), and the Department of Energy ($2.9 billion increase, including a $411 million increase for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs).

With a total enrollment of 16,151 students, Western has the largest student enrollment in the University’s history.  This fall, Western is welcoming 3,116 first-year students, along with 1,156 transfer students.  Among 2019 fall first-year students, 30.8 percent are students of color and 29 percent of first-year and 42.2 percent of transfer students are students who are the first from their families to attend college.

Click here to learn more.

The nine justices of the Washington State Supreme Court will be on campus at Western Washington University on Oct. 9 and 10 to meet with the campus community, answer questions about their role in the state’s judicial system, and hear oral arguments on three cases.  All events are free and open to the public in the Wilson Library Reading Room.  Click here for more information.

Yesterday the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released quarterly projections for state revenues, showing an increase of $432 million in the state’s near general fund for the 2019-21 biennium, which begins on July 1st. According to the Forecast Council, legislation passed during the 2019 legislative session accounts for most of the forecasted increase in the 2019-21 biennium.

Steve Lerch, Executive Director & Chief Economist of the Forecast Council, summarized the forecast, saying “not a lot of big changes” have occurred since the March forecast.  He also noted that economic trends continue show “slowing growth as we go forward, but no recession.”

The Forecast Council voted yesterday to start including a forecast of the newly created Workforce Education Investment Account beginning in the next quarterly forecast in September.  The Account is a new separate fund for state higher education investments that was created as a result of the passage of the Workforce Education Investment Act (ESHB 2158) during the 2019 legislative session. Click here to read more about the Workforce Education Investment Act.

Click here to read yesterday’s full revenue review.