There are just three weeks to go in session (adjournment is scheduled for April 26), and if any more of them are like this one the next sound you hear will be that of heads exploding on the Capitol Campus.
As reported over the last few days on the blog, both the Senate and House have released operating and capital budget proposals. For higher education, all of the budgets are substantially below those proposed by the Governor, and tuition has not been increased to a level that would provide a meaningful offset to the cuts. To get a sense of magnitude, the House proposal would roll back state support levels for the UW to that of the 1997 to 1999 biennium. We are working throughout the University, and in collaboration with the state’s other higher education institutions and supporters, to communicate how cuts of this magnitude will affect not only students but the state economy, and to look for ways we can reduce their effect.
Next week action shifts to the floor — only one Higher Education hearing is scheduled. That is the House Higher Education Committee which will meet April 9 at 9 a.m. for a briefing on workforce training efforts.
Our request legislation to protect private investment information submitted to the endowment has passed the Senate and now returns to the House for concurrence in an amendment. Our other bills on tuition policy for graduate and out-of-state students and streamlining public works contracting remain active and are awaiting committee votes.
But the big news for the rest of the session clearly will be the budget and what, if any, revenue packages will be developed to reduce the effect of budget cuts. Expect plenty of rumors to fly — we’ll do our best to separate solid facts from speculation and post updates here as they become available.