Over the past week, the House and Senate each released their 2022 operating and capital supplemental budget proposals. The proposals fully fund the University of Washington’s legislative requests and include significant support for student financial aid.
Major investments for the UW in the operating budget proposals include:
- $14.6M (Senate) | $11.2M (House) for compensation increases for faculty and staff.
- $2M for the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science to expand degree capacity focused on underrepresented students (Senate & House).
- $505,000 to create a new behavioral health pharmacy residency program at the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility at UW Medical Center–Northwest (Senate & House).
- $800,000 for the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation to complete research on health disparities in Spokane and eastern Washington (Senate only).
- $607,000 (Senate) | $621,000 (House) for UW Tacoma’s Milgard Hall for maintenance and operations.
- $3.25M for the Clean Energy Institute to maintain clean energy battery fabrication testbeds and to facilitate clean energy technology transitions through community partnerships and engagement (Senate & House).
- $1.2M for the School of Nursing to increase enrollments to help address the state’s health care workforce shortages (House only).
Yesterday, both operating budgets were heard in committee. Joe Dacca and Morgan Hickel testified in support, emphasizing the UW’s appreciation for increased funds for faculty and staff compensation.
The House and Senate capital budget proposals released this week also provided funding for the University, including:
- $10M (Senate) |$6.2 million (House) for the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility to address increased construction costs caused by inflation and supply chain delays.
- $7.5M for the Clean Energy Institute to construct an open-access battery testbed facility and for equipment to enhance material, imaging, and analysis capabilities.
- $2M for deferred maintenance to improve seismic preparedness for facilities on the Seattle campus.
House and Senate budget leaders will now work toward a final compromise budget. The last day of the 2022 legislative session is March 10. To read more about each budget proposal, visit the Office of Planning & Budgeting’s briefs page here.