February 12, 2004
Bills of interest to UW survive committee test
Feb. 6 marked a legislative cutoff, requiring that bills be passed out of the policy committee of origin to survive. Bills of major importance to the UW are still in play.
The bill exempting high technology research and development construction from sales tax is still alive, with language that specifically exempts privately-financed facilities built for the UW or WSU.
Minor differences exist between the House and Senate versions of the bill, but UW Director of State Relations Randy Hodgins is optimistic that a bill could pass both houses this week.
Bills that would create a pilot state program for performance contracts between the state and higher education institutions are alive in both houses.
“There was considerable discussion in the House about who would participate,” Hodgins says. “The House finally settled on one research university, one comprehensive institution and one community college.”
The House bill allows discussions over tuition in the agreements but the ability to negotiate tuition increases will be limited. The bill also contains safeguards that current financial aid policies will continue to be enforced.
A bill to turn UW Bothell into a four year institution is still alive. The current version of the bill would set up a work group at the UW to discuss implementation, with a report due by Dec. 15.
“It would take several years for this institution, if it was created, to offer a full menu of four-year options,” Hodgins says, “and then only if sufficient resources were provided.”
Because the sponsor of this bill chairs the House Appropriations Committee, and because the chair’s counterpart in the Senate has interest in creating a four-year institution in Vancouver, this issue is likely to remain a matter of discussion until the very end of the session, Hodgins says.
A bill concerned with the “new” campuses of UW and WSU, in its current form, contains language recognizing the uniqueness of each institution, and that they are not full-fledged research institutions but neither are they the same as comprehensive schools in their offerings and financial needs. The bill requires that each institution report back within a year on what direction it intends to take in its future growth and development.
A bill that recently was filed could have a negative effect on several aspects of UW operations by prohibiting employers in the state, and public institutions, from contracting for services with non-U.S. citizens.
The intent of the bill is to prevent jobs that could be performed in Washington from going overseas. But consequences could affect UW research employment, and the UW’s ability to operate the Rome Center, among other things. Hodgins and other UW officials are working to have the bill amended.
A bill proposed by Gov. Locke would grant some powers currently held by cities and counties to higher education institutions. This bill would remove some of the current limits on the price an institution could pay for property acquisition without going back to state government for special legislation and would grant universities greater authority for other kinds of financial transactions.
“This bill may have been filed too late in the process to be discussed thoroughly,” Hodgins says, “but it could well become part of performance contracts negotiated over the coming year. Implementation of a contract could revive the subject of granting a university more autonomy in its financial dealings.”
Yet to be considered is the supplemental budget, which could contain funds for additional enrollments. There was some good financial news, as small savings from reduced K-12 enrollments could free up a limited pool of funds. But the supplemental budget will begin to take shape only after the Feb. 19 state revenue forecast.
