The Legislature convened its 2020 legislative session Monday, with transportation funding, homelessness and other issues taking center stage.
Washington State University’s legislative agenda for the 2020 session contains three priorities:
The university is requesting $4 million in the supplemental capital budget for the Life Sciences Building in Vancouver. The project was previously funded for pre-design. This year’s request would design the facility, teeing it up for construction in the 2021-23 biennium. The $4 million was funded in Gov. Jay Inslee’s capital budget proposal introduced last month.
The building is needed to provide additional space for teaching and research space. Virtually all WSU Vancouver students would use the facility, either for elective courses in disciplines such as chemistry, biology and physics or coursework in their major. It would further provide enhanced space for existing teaching and research programs in neuroscience, nursing and molecular biology.
WSU is also requesting $788,000 in the supplemental operating budget to continue the development and distribution of next generation soil health strategies in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the Washington Conservation Coalition.
Finally, in collaboration with partners at the University of Washington, Western Washington University and others, WSU is pursuing the reauthorization of the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI). The Center funds seed grants for research projects brought by industry. JCATI is fully funded but its authorization is scheduled to sunset in June. Senate Bill 6139 would reauthorize it for another 10 years through 2030.
You can read more about our legislative agenda here.