Gov. Jay Inslee, flanked by legislative leaders from all four caucuses, announced late this morning that an agreement has been reached on a new, two-year state operating budget. Details have not yet been released as caucuses have yet to be briefed but are likely to be made available later today. Inslee reported a final budget […]
The House Wednesday passed Substitute House Bill 1866 off the floor with a vote of 84-3 and the bill now goes to the Senate. The legislation would extend the life of the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation. The Center was created in 2012 and operates under the joint authority of the University of Washington […]
Following the surprise of the Farm Bill coming up short of votes on the House floor last week, House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor (R-VA) had originally scheduled a vote of the Agriculture Departments FY 2014 budget, however it was pulled from the schedule on Monday and it is unclear if he will put it back […]
The Spokesman-Review this week published a guest column authored by WSU Spokane Chancellor Lisa Brown and Paul Ramsey, dean of the University of Washington School of Medicine, outlining the success and bright future of the WWAMI program on the Spokane campus. Becoming a first-year medical education WWAMI site in 2008, WSU Spokane has strengthened and […]
Focus this week is shifting to the House. Members of the House will be busy on the floor considering a five-year $939 billion farm bill (H.R.1947), including a large list of amendments that were submitted yesterday. The White House has already released a statement that the President would veto the House version of farm bill […]
The state will collect $231 million more through the end of the next two year budget cycle than previously thought, according to this morning’s quarterly forecast of tax collections by the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The Legislature, now in its second special session, will use this forecast and this afternoon’s forecast of demand […]
Seattle Times editorial board member Lynne Varner called on the Legislature Friday to sufficiently fund higher education in the state’s next two-year budget. You can find her post here. As House and Senate budget writers continue negotiations, Varner emphasized the need for an operating budget that provides maintenance-level funding and preserves tuition-setting authority for Washington’s […]
A study released last week by national health care and higher education consulting firm Tripp Umbach details how the WSU Spokane Riverpoint campus is exceeding expectations with an annual economic impact of $350 million on the greater Spokane community The Spokesman-Review has the story here Paul Umbach, president and CEO of the consulting firm, highlights […]
The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC) Tuesday released a revenue update report stating tax collections for the May 11 through June 10 collection period were higher than expected in March, though an early Public Utility District (PUD) tax payment added to that increase and will detract from next month’s collections. Without including the $10 […]
In a press conference Tuesday Gov. Jay Inslee called for a second 30-day special legislative session to begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. Today marks the end of the first special session without compromise between the House of Representatives and the Senate on the state’s next two-year operating budget. As budget writers in the House and […]