The Legislature put the finishing touches on its special session and adjourned sine die this afternoon, sending a $480 million early savings bill to the governor. As was reported earlier, it contained no general cuts to higher education and left the most difficult choices for the 2012 regular session. That 60-day session is scheduled to […]
Anyone hoping for good news out of today’s monthly report of tax collections didn’t get it. Collections over the past month are largely flat. Collections are actually up by $19.7 million but only due to the timing of property tax payments, not economic factors. Without that factor, collections would have been down by $14.2 million. […]
The House and Senate have released details of the early cuts legislation will consider starting today and they contain no general cuts for higher education. You can find details here. Both bills will be heard this afternoon in the House and Senate. If either were to be approved it would save $480 million through administrative […]
The Legislature convened its special session on Monday and got right to work. That’s especially true in the House, where the Ways and Means Committee heard testimony on the governor’s proposed budget for seven hours. It’s worth noting that, on the eve of the session’s first day, two major newspapers editorialized in favor of maintaining […]
A budget proposal issued by Gov. Chris Gregoire today would cut Washington State University’s state appropriation by 17 percent in the second year of the biennium. But a separate revenue package, if approved by voters, would buy it all back. You can find the budget proposal here and the revenue proposal here. President Elson S. […]
Anticipated state tax collections for the rest of the current two-year budget cycle fell by $122 million this morning, a relatively small variance from previous expectations. The state’s anticipated budget shortfall is still in the neighborhood of $2 billion. You can find the new forecast here, produced by the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. […]
Washington State University and the University of Washington would increase engineering enrollments by 775 students to bolster the state’s aerospace industry under a plan announced today by Gov. Chris Gregoire. You can read the press release here and the Seattle Times story here. The two universities would split $7.6 million a year to support a […]