February 10, 2005
Higher ed a focus in Olympia
Attention to issues surrounding the UW and higher education in general is at a “fever pitch” in Olympia, according to Randy Hodgins, UW director of state relations.
“Most of the bills dealing with higher education policy and research would have a positive impact,” he says.
However, the fiscal realities for the state have become grimmer as a result of a Supreme Court decision which invalidated the state’s estate tax and ordered the state to repay about $152 million already collected. This will cost the state treasury about $431 million in the coming biennium, likely offsetting any revenue gains realized by a revived state economy.
“There appears to be growing sentiment among some leaders that a revenue increase will be necessary,” Hodgins says, “although there is no consensus at this point about what the size and the sources for that revenue might be.”
One source of additional revenue, from the national tobacco settlement that will begin flowing into the state in 2008, has been proposed for the governor’s Life Science Discovery Fund. This would provide
$35 million a year for 10 years, and would be used as seed money for promising life sciences research in the state. Hearings on the governor’s proposal will be held this week.
Several bills have been filed regarding the future of the “branch” campuses. The Higher Education Coordinating Board has recommended that all of the newer campuses be able to offer lower division classes, but that only WSU Vancouver and UW Tacoma be allowed to admit freshmen. A bill enacting the HEC Board recommendations has been filed, as has another bill which would grant four-year status to all campuses except WSU’s Tri-Cities facility. Representatives of community and technical colleges in the South Puget Sound region have testified against granting four-year status to UW Tacoma.
The scope of performance contract legislation has narrowed. As now proposed, the agreement with the state would set a six-year goal for per-student funding of the UW, which now lags peer institutions by about $4,000 per student. In return, the UW would agree to a limited and focused set of promised outcomes from the state’s investment. Gov. Gregoire has had discussions with higher education representatives about including a version of performance contracts in her budget proposal, which will be issued some time in March.
The House Capital Committee is having hearings this week on the capital budget, focusing on the process that established joint capital priorities among all four-year institutions.
A bill that would require all public buildings to be built using high-performance “green” building standards has been filed. UW officials have testified on this bill, supporting its goals but urging modifications that are less prescriptive and less burdensome financially.
A bill has been filed to modify the State Ethics Act, separating issues of technology transfer at the research universities from state law, and having them governed either by federal law or by university policies.
A bill to create a Washington Academy of Sciences has been filed. The academy, which would be modeled on the National Academy of Sciences, would be an impartial scientific body that would provide objective information on pending state policy issues, especially those dealing with the environment. The current version of the bill would instruct the research universities to create a conceptual framework for this academy and report back to the governor’s office next year.
A subcommittee of the Senate Education Committee has been holding hearings on financing of the education system, from preschool through higher education. The possible outcomes of those hearings is unclear, Hodgins says. Some legislators believe that one scenario would result in a smaller version of Initiative 884, which would have provided $1 billion for education by increasing the state sales tax and was defeated last November. The package from the subcommittee, if one emerges, is likely to be funded by a different source of revenue and could possibly take the form of a referendum to the people.
Bills to modify Initiative 200 and to permit affirmative action in higher education admissions have been filed in both houses. If either one passes, Gov. Gregoire has indicated her willingness to sign such legislation, Hodgins says.
