A group of UW Regents were in Olympia this week to advocate for UW and public higher education. Regents met with a bi-partisan cross-section of state legislators in both the House and Senate.
Discussions centered on the state budget and the need for reinvestment in public higher education, as well as medical education and UW’s capital funding requests.
The meetings come at a key time in Olympia, as legislators are in the midst of floor action, considering a wide range of proposals that have been passed out of policy and fiscal committees.
In the coming week, legislative members will continue apace with floor action, debating and voting on bills.
For more detail on the state’s recently released revenue forecast, read this brief from UW’s Office of Planning & Budgeting.
Now that decision-makers have a better idea of the state’s fiscal picture following the forecast, in terms of a timeline for the state budget, the House goes first this year in releasing its plan. At present, the House is anticipated to release its plan sometime later this month (March). As a reminder, the House’s proposal will be the second step in a lengthy state budget process; the first being the Governor’s budget plan released in December (Read OPB’s brief on that proposal here). Following the House plan, the Senate will then likely respond with its plan, and then negotiations will ensue to find a compromise.
State Relations and OPB will continue to monitor developments in Olympia as House and Senate leadership in fiscal committees work toward release of their initial budget proposals.
Check the Session Cutoff Calendar for other important dates coming up. For a refresher on the legislative process, read more about how a bill becomes a law in the Washington State Legislature.
