A total of 40 civically engaged WSU students made their way to the Capitol yesterday to meet legislators and discuss the student perspective on funding for higher education. The large student presence was received well and left a positive impression. The Tri-City Herald covered the discussions that 14 students from the WSU Tri-Cities campus had […]
Compared to the last quarterly revenue forecast released in November, the general fund revenue for the 2011-13 biennium is up by $96 million, now sitting at about $30.3 billion, according to a new report issued this morning Coming on the heels of news that lower than expanded demand for state services will produce $340 million […]
According to news reports here and here, the anticipated savings from last week’s lower than expected caseloads forecast have grown from about $200 million to $340 million. In plain speaking terms, there is a bit less demand for some state services than previously expected. The news reduces the state’s billion-dollar-plus budget shortfall. And tomorrow, the […]
The Legislature reached the first floor cutoff of this year’s session at 5 p.m. today, having approved two key higher education regulatory reform bills before doing so. There remains one vehicle for each bill going forward. On Monday night the House approved House Bill 2735 97-1 to provide more flexibility and efficiency in getting minor […]
Tax collections due to new economic activity since the November revenue forecast have exceeded expectations by $37.5 million, or 1 percent. That might just bode well for Thursday’s revenue forecast, which budget writers in the Legislature will use to draft their rewrite of the current two-year budget. Total collections are up by $44.8 million, though […]
Three of WSU’s priority bills concerning regulatory reform for the university have passed through the Senate and will now move to the House. Senate Bill 5576 to give the university more freedom over the use of its building fees passed on Saturday, while Senate Bill 6468 and Senate Joint Resolution 8223 regarding the investment of […]
The presidents of Washington’s six four-year public baccalaureate institutions co-authored a column in The News Tribune Sunday highlighting the progress our universities have made given economic hardship, and the Legislature’s important role in allowing us to do so. You can read the column here. Addressing the study by the University of Pennsylvania, which criticized the […]
House Bill 2422 concerning the production of aviation biofuels passed out of the House last night on an 86-11 vote. The bill is a spinoff from the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest project, of which WSU was one of six sponsoring organizations. The group also brought in Boeing, Alaska Airlines, the ports of Seattle and Portland, […]
The state’s Caseload Forecast Council issued a new report today indicating demand for some state services is falling short of expectations, which could reduce the state’s budget shortfall by some $200 million. The Seattle Times has the story here. That’s the first sign of good budget news in months. Even as economic indicators have pointed […]
With both houses of the Legislature now meeting for daylong and evening floor sessions, the higher education community’s regulatory reform agenda remains largely intact. House Bill 2585 and Senate Bill 6401 are the largest measures. Each seek to ease restrictions on business practices relating to procurement, travel, direct deposit and advance purchasing of maintenance agreements. […]