The state’s Economic and Forecast Council published a new report today indicating that tax collections over the past month have exceeded expectations by $10.6 million. The main take away: It didn’t get worse. You can find the report here. It indicates the state economy is likely to outperform the national economy in the near term. […]
Several hundred turned out Wednesday for the official groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the beginning of construction of the Biomedical and Health Sciences Building at WSU’s Riverpoint campus in Spokane. Spirited onlookers packed the atrium of the Student Academic Center and students lined the stairways to catch a glimpse of the proceedings. You can check out […]
The Seattle Times editorial board wrote Sunday that budget writers looking for cuts to help solve a $2 billion problem in the state budget shouldn’t look again to higher education. You can check it out here. The editorial refers to a “historic disinvestment” in state universities and community colleges since 2008. WSU has seen its […]
After two days in Spokane and then Ellensburg, House Higher Education Committee Chairman Larry Seaquist, ranking minority member Larry Haler and committee member Susan Fagan visited WSU Tri-Cities Thursday and it generated this news story. While discussion certainly turned to the state’s budget problems, the visit served as a bit of a 101 session for […]
Please see excerpts from the Washington DC activities update, by McBee Strategic prepared for Washington State University. Covered in the document are: 2012 fiscal year appropriations and the introduction of a Continuing Resolution, and President Obama’s deficit reduction proposal, related to agriculture and biofuels Please contact Kristi Growdon in Federal Relations with any questions you […]
We’re on the road again today – more on that later – so we’re late to getting to the news that Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday called for a 30-day special legislative session to commence Nov. 28. That would come 11 days after the next quarterly forecast of state tax collections. The most recent one […]
The House Higher Education Committee kicked off its interim road show Tuesday at WSU Spokane and is meeting today at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Under the dark cloud of additional budget reductions on the horizon, the committee is using its so-called Chautauqua Series to learn about how the various higher education sectors are meeting […]
The state anticipates $1.4 billion less in tax revenue through July 1, 2013, than previously thought, opening a new deficit close to $1.3 billion just months after the Legislature balanced the budget with widespread cuts. That’s according to this report released this morning by the state’s Revenue and Forecast Council. It remains to be seen […]
The state’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission released a quartet of proposals – one from each of the Legislature’s four caucuses – this week as part of its once-a-decade efforts to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative district boundaries. Lines are redrawn after every U.S. Census to ensure that each district is of roughly equal size to […]
The state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council reported today that tax collections for the past month came in just $9.5 million below expectations but hinted that a significant downturn in expected revenue is in the offing. The Council is due to release its quarterly revenue forecast at 10 a.m. Thursday. It is thought that it […]