Senate, House budget proposals released

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.