Newsbeat

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012

By Darin Watkins, WSU News

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University would see an additional budget cut of $9.34 million under a proposal release Tuesday by leaders in the Washington State House of Representatives.

While the cut is substantial, it represents a figure far less than the $26 million reduction proposed in November by the governor, when the size of the budget shortfall was believed to be larger.

“The budget from the House indicates a willingness by the legislature to slow the decline in higher education funding, which has had a dramatic impact on our students,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd.  “We appreciate these efforts given the massive cuts higher education has had to endure these past four years.”

Since 2007, WSU has seen its state appropriation reduced by 52 percent.

The House budget also includes a $3.8 million enhancement for engineering degrees for WSU.  What is not yet clear is how WSU students may be impacted by a $10 million dollar reduction proposed in the State Need Grant program.

“The budget process is still evolving. We look forward to continuing these budget conversations with the Washington Senate,” said Floyd.

A total of 40 civically engaged WSU students made their way to the Capitol yesterday to meet legislators and discuss the student perspective on funding for higher education. The large student presence was received well and left a positive impression.

The Tri-City Herald covered the discussions that 14 students from the WSU Tri-Cities campus had with lawmakers concerning rising tuition and how the students would prioritize the budget.  You can read the column here.

Compared to the last quarterly revenue forecast released in November, the general fund revenue for the 2011-13 biennium is up by $96 million, now sitting at about $30.3 billion, according to a new report issued this morning

Coming on the heels of news that lower than expanded demand for state services will produce $340 million in savings, the state’s anticipated budget shortfall now drops to $855 million.

This is the first positive revenue forecast since June, 2010.  You can find media coverage here and here.

You can find the new forecast here, produced by the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. Legislative leaders now have all the numbers they need to draft their rewrite of the underlying two-year budget.

According to news reports here and here, the anticipated savings from last week’s lower than expected caseloads forecast have grown from about $200 million to $340 million.

In plain speaking terms, there is a bit less demand for some state services than previously expected. The news reduces the state’s billion-dollar-plus budget shortfall.

And tomorrow, the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council is scheduled to release its quarterly projections for state tax collections. That represents the last chance for the budget picture to brighten before the Legislature issues its rewrite of the underlying two-year budget.

The Legislature reached the first floor cutoff of this year’s session at 5 p.m. today, having approved two key higher education regulatory reform bills before doing so. There remains one vehicle for each bill going forward.

On Monday night the House approved House Bill 2735 97-1 to provide more flexibility and efficiency in getting minor capital works or intermediate projects funded.

And this morning the House approved House Bill 2585 98-0. The bill seeks to ease restrictions on an array of business practices for the university. Both bills now head to the Senate.

You can find our previous coverage of these bills here.

Tax collections due to new economic activity since the November revenue forecast have exceeded expectations by $37.5 million, or 1 percent.

That might just bode well for Thursday’s revenue forecast, which budget writers in the Legislature will use to draft their rewrite of the current two-year budget. Total collections are up by $44.8 million, though some of it is due to noneconomic reasons.

You can find today’s report here.

Three of WSU’s priority bills concerning regulatory reform for the university have passed through the Senate and will now move to the House.  Senate Bill 5576 to give the university more freedom over the use of its building fees passed on Saturday, while Senate Bill 6468 and Senate Joint Resolution 8223 regarding the investment of certain operating funds were approved just this afternoon.

Check out our previous coverage regarding these bills here.

The presidents of Washington’s six four-year public baccalaureate institutions co-authored a column in The News Tribune Sunday highlighting the progress our universities have made given economic hardship, and the Legislature’s important role in allowing us to do so.  You can read the column here.

Addressing the study by the University of Pennsylvania, which criticized the higher education system of Washington, the presidents provided specific examples of genuine progress.  That includes new enrollment records in the face to steep cuts in state support.

House Bill 2422 concerning the production of aviation biofuels passed out of the House last night on an 86-11 vote.

The bill is a spinoff from the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest project, of which WSU was one of six sponsoring organizations. The group also brought in Boeing, Alaska Airlines, the ports of Seattle and Portland, Climate Solutions and the Spokane Airport.

The bill seeks to lay the groundwork for the maturation of an aviation biofuels industry by easing the permitting of aviation biofuels productions facilities while providing potential access to low-cost financing.

The bill now heads to the Senate where a similar bill has been received favorably.

You can watch the debate and passage of House Bill 2422 below.
 

The state’s Caseload Forecast Council issued a new report today indicating demand for some state services is falling short of expectations, which could reduce the state’s budget shortfall by some $200 million.

The Seattle Times has the story here.

That’s the first sign of good budget news in months. Even as economic indicators have pointed upward, the Legislature’s anticipated shortfall has held steady.

Lawmakers will get the final piece of information they need to rewrite the state’s two-year budget on Thursday when the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issues its quarterly projection of state tax collections. Tax collections for the first two months of the quarter have come in as expected since the last forecast, suggesting a major shift is not in order.