The Senate Health Care & Wellness committee held a work session on the COVID-19 pandemic this morning, including a presentation from WSU professor Guy Palmer for his insight on where we’ve gone through the pandemic as a state and where we might be heading. Palmer, Regents Professor of Pathology and Infectious Disease at WSU in […]
A number of bills seeking to address college affordability were heard in front of the House College & Workforce Development committee this morning. Among these was HB 1659, which WSU supported with public testimony during the hearing. HB 1659 would expand access to the Washington College Grant program by expanding the income eligibility thresholds and […]
In the second day of legislative activity, the House Capital Budget committee heard Governor Inslee’s proposed capital budget, which would provide $8 million to WSU to install compact shelving in Holland Library on the Pullman campus. The renovation would allow WSU to install high-density compact shelving and consolidate space in Holland and centralize library collections […]
In its first committee hearing of the legislative session, the House College & Workforce Development committee heard a bill that seeks to expand important educational opportunities for nurses addressing sexual assault situations in Washington. HB 1622, introduced by Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, would require the WSU College of Nursing to establish a sexual assault nurse examiner, […]
The Legislature convened for the 2022 legislative session today, beginning a 60-day supplemental session in a fully remote setting. While the state Senate had previously planned to include some in-person activity, it reverted course last week with the rise of COVID-19 cases. In testimony before the House Appropriations committee this afternoon, state budget director David […]
The governor’s supplemental operating budget proposal released this afternoon would fund WSU legislative priorities to enhance employee compensation, develop two new academic programs in cybersecurity, and build a psychiatric pharmacy residency program. The governor’s budget provided $7.3 million for compensation enhancements. After a 3.25 percent increase for classified staff is fully funded under the proposal, […]
Washington State University is advancing to the Legislature three primary priorities to support faculty and staff and workforce needs in cybersecurity and behavioral and mental health. The Legislature is set to convene its mostly virtual 2022 legislative session on Jan. 10th, with a hybrid of in-person and remote activities. The university’s largest request in the […]
The quarterly state economic and revenue forecast was adopted this morning during the November meeting of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The forecast will be used by the governor as he crafts his 2022 supplemental budget proposal to be released in mid-December, ahead of the 2022 legislative session. The revenue report estimated an increase […]
State revenues continue to improve in both the current and future biennial budgets, according to a new outlook report on Friday. The September revenue forecast projected an increase of $927 million in the current 2021-23 biennium and $931 million in the next biennium, 2023-25, during a presentation to the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast […]
Priority capital projects for WSU campuses in Vancouver, Pullman and Spokane as well as high priority facility preservation funding for the entire university system are included in a compromise capital budget unveiled by legislative leaders. This comes as the Legislature seeks to wrap up its 2021 session in time for Sunday’s scheduled adjournment. An operating […]