The Washington Legislature convened at noon today to kick off its 105-day session. Legislators were sworn in during opening ceremonies and the first committee meetings of the year commenced. Issues taking center stage include compensation, housing, behavioral health, workforce shortages, early learning and public safety among other topics facing lawmakers. The governor’s proposed operating and […]
An appropriations bill that would provide $1.7 trillion for the federal government through the fiscal year 2023 was put forward Tuesday morning, proposing funding for a number of WSU priorities. The Senate hopes to consider the bill by Thursday with time for the House to consider it before the end of the week. WSU was […]
Metrics depicting the impacts of the cost of education at WSU have improved considerably since 2014, updated figures show. The Great Recession not only ripped through university budgets, it also left an unprecedented mark on affordability. Tuition at WSU —assumed by the Legislature in its cuts-laden budgets — jumped by 75 percent over four years […]
Operating and capital budget proposals introduced by Gov. Jay Inslee Wednesday would fund compensation enhancements, support nursing reaccreditation, a new energy research center at WSU Tri-Cities and fully fund the university’s request to build a new engineering student services building on the Pullman campus, among other priorities. The proposal is just the first of three […]
In a press conference this afternoon, Governor Jay Inslee expressed his support for the Institute for Northwest Energy Futures (INEF) which WSU Tri-Cities would operate. The governor is previewing his budget priorities for the 2023-2025 biennium this week, culminating in his budget proposal to state lawmakers later in the week. He shared his intent to […]
Legislators descended on Olympia this week to convene a series of work sessions, meeting in person for committee activity for the first time since March 2020. In the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee, Washington State University presented during a discussion on the nursing workforce shortage regarding a funding ask to support the College […]
Washington State University has identified cost-of-living adjustments for faculty, staff and graduate students as its top priority in advance of the 2023 legislative session and has submitted a number of other requests to support high demand degree production and the university’s physical infrastructure. You can find WSU’s 2023 legislative agenda here. WSU has requested $34.5 […]
The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released its quarterly revenue forecast this afternoon, which projects where state revenues are potentially heading as state lawmakers get ready to reconvene for the 2023 legislative session in January. In the current 2021-23 biennial budget, forecasters projected revenues to increase by $762 million above their most recent […]
Background In August of this year, President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, which provides direct funding to 1) increase semiconductor fabrication capacity in the United States and ensure future leadership in semiconductor technology and 2) authorize historic levels of funding for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), National […]
Following September’s revenue forecast which projected a shrinking of the upcoming 2023-25 biennial budget, state tax collections for the month of September came in slightly higher than expected. State revenues for the period of September 11th to October 10th came in $126 million or 6.3 percent higher than expected in last month’s forecast, according to […]