It’s week five and just like Winter Quarter, session is halfway over. Today is the last day for bills to pass out of the fiscal committee in their house of origin. Bills must move out of their house of origin and into the opposite chamber by 5 p.m. next Wednesday, Feb. 19 in order to continue through the policy making process.
Yesterday, Senate Bill 6492 was the first bill signed into law this year by Gov. Jay Inslee. This bill applies funding fixes to the Workforce Education Investment Act, which made critical investments in higher education and student financial aid last session. The Act guarantees the full cost of tuition at any in-state public college or university through the Washington College Grant for resident students from a family of four making $50,000 or less per year. It also establishes partial grants for students from families making up to the state’s median family income, currently $97,000 per year.
Late last year, forecasts showed that more Washington students than anticipated plan to take advantage of the Washington College Grant, creating a funding gap. Senate Bill 6492 addresses that expected shortfall and ensures funding for the investments is secure and easy to collect.
During the bill signing, the Governor thanked the bill sponsor, Sen. Jaime Pedersen, as well as Sen. Emily Randall and Reps. Drew Hansen and Frank Chopp for their leadership on this issue.
It’s week three and the legislature is quickly approaching policy committee cutoff. Next Friday, Feb. 7, is the last day to pass bills out of policy committee in their house of origin.
Here are some highlights from the past two weeks:
UW Regents visit Olympia for public higher education’s Regents & Trustees Day
On Wednesday, along with dozens of regents and trustees from our state’s public four-year and community and technical colleges, UW’s Regents thanked legislators for the historic investments made in public higher education and financial aid last session. Throughout the day, they engaged legislators on the importance of higher education and emphasized critical topics such as increasing Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion. This day served as another terrific example of the public higher education community’s partnership to better serve students, our local communities, and our growing economy.
Confirmation hearing for Regent Suarez
The confirmation hearing for Regent Daniela Suarez was held in the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee on Jan. 21.
Regent Suarez provided testimony about her journey to higher education, her previous legislative engagement, and her goals for continuing excellence at the UW. She also thanked the committee for making higher education more accessible and inclusive to all individuals.
She was unanimously confirmed by the committee. Her appointment now waits to be heard on the Senate floor for a confirmation vote. The UW community is proud to have the leadership of Regent Suarez!
Dr. Robert Sweet, UW Medicine, encourages funding for the Magnuson Health Sciences Center
Dr. Robert Sweet, executive director of the WWAMI Institute for Simulation in Healthcare (WISH), and his team met with legislators to ask for their support of the UW’s request of $1 million in pre-design funding for phase 2 of the Magnuson Health Sciences Center replacement and renovation. The Center was originally built in 1973 and currently operates with mostly original infrastructure and well beyond capacity. During his meetings, Dr. Sweet emphasized the need for new flexible learning space to train Washington’s health science workforce to better serve patients and local communities.
UW faculty and students advocate for the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation
UW faculty and students traveled to testify in support of reauthorizing funding for the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI), which is part of the UW’s 2020 legislative agenda. JCATI supports economic and workforce development through collaborative research between business and academic partners. Without reauthorization, this program will sunset June 30, 2020.
Washington State’s 2020 legislative session started on Monday, Jan. 13 and took off running. This 60-day (short) session is scheduled to last until March 12 and is focused on the supplemental budget, which applies fixes to the biennial budget passed last legislative session. Some of the big legislative topics will include transportation, homelessness, behavioral health, and data privacy.
A “Democratic Trifecta” holds in Olympia, with Democrats controlling the House of Representatives, Senate, and Governor’s Mansion. However, some key leadership and committee chair positions have changed. Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D–Legislative District 27) was sworn in on Monday as the new Speaker of the House. She is the first woman and first out lesbian to hold the position. Sen. Andy Billig (D–LD 3), Sen. Mark Schoesler (R–LD 9), and Rep. J.T. Wilcox (R–LD 2) remain in their caucus leadership roles. In the Senate, Sen. Emily Randall (D–LD 26) now serves as Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee Chair, with Rep. Drew Hansen (D–LD 23) continuing in his role as the House College & Workforce Development Committee Chair.
Yesterday, President Ana Mari Cauce traveled to Olympia to meet with legislators to discuss the UW’s 2020 legislative priorities. She also participated in a meeting with Gov. Jay Inslee with the presidents of Washington’s other public four-year higher education institutions. During this meeting, they thanked the Governor for the historic investments made in higher education last session and discussed common goals moving forward.
Earlier in the week, Morgan Hickel, Associate Director of State Relations, testified before the House and Senate fiscal committees on the Governor’s proposed operating budget. She encouraged legislators to invest in the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, which is scheduled to open later this year and will be an innovative convening space to advance population health locally and globally.
Throughout session, the Office of State Relations will work with campus partners to advance the UW’s legislative agenda.
Stay tuned for updates from the state relations team. Updates can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Yesterday, Governor Jay Inslee released his proposed supplemental budgets, which focus on making fixes to the biennial operating and capital budgets passed last legislative session.
The Governor’s proposal includes necessary fixes for the UW, including:
$1M in predesign funding for phase 2 of the Magnuson Health Science Center replacement/renovation;
The reappropriation of conditional wage increases to provide one-time payments to eligible represented employees at the UW, and;
The transfer of 2019-21 funding for the Dental Education in Care of Persons with Disabilities (DECOD) to the Health Care Authority to leverage federal matching funds.
The overall proposal focuses on efforts to address homelessness, expand early learning and combat climate change. It also pauses transportation projects to offset lost revenue from the passage of Initiative 976, which cut annual vehicle licensing fees to $30.
The release of the Governor’s budget proposal represents the first big step in the budget process. The House of Representatives and Senate will introduce their supplemental budget proposals during legislative session, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, Jan. 13.
The UW and UW Medicine are thankful for the historic investments the legislature made in 2019 through the biennial operating and capital budgets and the Workforce Education Investment Act. The 2019 legislative session was monumental for higher education and our students.
The Washington State 2020 legislative session begins Jan. 13 and is a 60 day (short) session focused on the supplemental budget, which applies fixes to the biennial budgets passed last session. Mindful of the short session and continuing budget challenges facing Washington State, the UW’s supplemental budget request is limited to items considered the most practical and essential.
These priorities include:
$3.8M in maintenance and operation (M&O) funding for the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health;
Reappropriation of conditional wage increases for represented employees at the UW;
$725K for increased caseload at the UW Division of the State Attorney General’s Office;
Reauthorization of funding for the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI), and;
$1M in pre-design funding for phase 2 of the Magnuson Health Science Center replacement/renovation.
To view the UW’s 2020 legislative agenda in its entirety, click here. These priorities have been determined through an extensive process led by the Office of the President and Office of the Provost.
Yesterday, legislators on the Joint Select Committee on Health Care Oversight traveled to Harborview Medical Center to participate in their final work session prior to the start of the 2020 legislative session. They received updates on the implementation of Cascade Care and transition of the All-Payer Claims Database, as well as an overview of the EMS and Trauma Care System Assessment.
The committee consists of members from the House of Representatives and Senate, and is co-chaired by Sen. Annette Cleveland and Rep. Eileen Cody. It was established in 2013 to provide oversight for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, Department of Health, Department of Social and Health Services, Health Care Authority, and Health Benefit Exchange. The committee monitors each agency’s activities to ensure they are not duplicating efforts and are working towards increased quality of service in order to reduce costs to health care consumers.
After the work session, the legislators took the opportunity to tour Harborview’s inpatient behavioral health and psych unit, the emergency department, and International Medicine Clinic. They were also able to observe Harborview’s Project ECHO telemedicine service.
Last week, legislators from around the state traveled to Olympia for their 2019 Committee Assembly days to hold work sessions and plan for the 2020 legislative session.
On Wednesday, Jacqueline Butin, Social Work Supervisor at Harborview Medical Center, joined representatives from the Washington State Hospital Association and Providence for a work session in the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee on the barriers to hospital discharge and related patient needs. The panel focused heavily on the aging population and provided an overview of current challenges and recommended solutions.
Committee Assembly days also provided the state relations team with the opportunity to meet with legislators, including the House and Senate higher education committee, to discuss opportunities for the 2020 legislative session and thank them for the historic investments made in higher education last legislative session.
The 2020 legislative session is scheduled to start on Monday, Jan. 13 and will last 60 days. During even numbered years, the focus of legislative session is the supplemental budget, which applies fixes to the biennial budget passed during odd numbered years. Gov. Jay Inslee will release his proposed supplemental budget in mid-December and the legislature will use the Governor’s proposal to guide discussions and craft their supplement budget.
Stay tuned for an overview of the Governor’s proposed supplemental budget. In the meantime, check out the UW’s recently released economic impact report here.
Legislative and security staff participated in Stop the Bleed training led by Harborview Medical Center’s Dr. Eileen Bulger and Maria Paulsen, RN. Staff were trained to become an immediate responder to bleeding injuries, which can happen anywhere and are the leading cause of preventable death in multiple casualty events. Instructors worked with staff until they gained the skills to recognize life-threatening bleeding and effectively control it using techniques such as packing and a tourniquet.
For more information about the UW’s Stop the Bleed training, click here.
Capital budget staff visit the UW
Capital budget staff from the legislature and Governor’s office traveled to the UW to receive a capital planning and development overview and participate in a discussion about the UW’s building account. They also had the opportunity to tour campus and visit the health sciences education space, the new population health building, Parrington Hall, and the Burke Museum.
Mental health stakeholders from across the state convene at the HUB
Participants at the Washington State Mental Health Summit discussed the mental health and addiction challenges facing many Washingtonians and took the opportunity to collaborate on new ideas for improving behavioral health care in the state. Hundreds of stakeholders participated with varying professional and lived experience backgrounds.
During the summit, Rep. Frank Chopp was recognized for his hard work and dedication to improving mental health care for Washington residents. Reps. Lisa Callan, Lauren Davis, Tina Orwall, Joe Schmick, and Tana Senn and Sen. Manka Dhingra also participated as presenters or panelists.
Visit wamhsummit.org/about for more information about the Washington State Mental Health Summit.
The UW School of Medicine and Gonzaga University will open a new center for medical education, health sciences and innovation on Gonzaga’s campus in Spokane in 2022. This exciting project is made possible through a public-private partnership with McKinstry, who will design, build and manage the $60 million 80,000 square foot building.
UW President Ana Mari Cauce participated in the announcement in Spokane alongside Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh, UW School of Medicine Dean Dr. Paul Ramsey, and McKinstry CEO Dean Allen. Spokane elected officials and community leaders also shared in the announcement.
On Sept. 12 and 13, the House of Representatives held their first 2019 Committee Assembly days. At the request of legislators, members of the UW faculty participated in work sessions to present their research and provide expertise on topics ranging from cannabis to water quality. Legislators will utilize this information to inform policy decisions in the future.
The Senate is scheduled to hold their Committee Assembly days Nov. 20–21 and the House will hold their second session Nov. 21–22.
Burke Museum celebrates the grand opening of their new facility
The Burke Museum hosted a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of their new facility. The Burke Museum was founded in 1885 and is formally known as The Washington State Museum of Natural History and Culture. It is operated by the UW and cares for and exhibits natural and cultural collections that help us better understand the Northwest’s past.
Thank you to State Reps. Roger Goodman, Frank Chopp, and Debra Entenman, State Sens. Mark Mullet, Jamie Pedersen, and Jim Honeyford, King County Executive Dow Constantine and Gov. Jay Inslee for attending the grand opening and continuing to support the Burke Museum.
To learn more about the Burke Museum, please visit burkemuseum.org.
President Cauce featured in Ahead of the Curve profile
Legacy Washington unveiled their Ahead of the Curve education project featuring UW President Ana Mari Cauce. The project celebrates the national suffrage centennial and highlights historical and contemporary Washington women who have helped advance women since Washington first granted women the right to vote in 1883.
The project also features other notable UW alumni, including:
Former Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire
Five-term president of the Quinault Indian Nation Fawn Sharp
Former Washington State Congresswoman Julia Butler Hansen
Sen. David Frockt helped celebrate the placing of the final beam in the UW’s new center for population health sciences – a significant milestone in a project that has consistently been on time and on budget. At the UW, we believe improving population health worldwide is a moral imperative, driven by our public mission of service to all. Scheduled for completion in 2020, this building will create space for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation to better understand and improve the factors that influence the health and well-being of Washingtonians and people around the globe.
Thank you to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Sen. Frockt, and the Washington State Legislature for providing the funding to make this center a reality.
The Healthy Energy Workers Group participates in a tour of Hanford
On Aug. 20, the UW’s Department of Environmental & Educational Health Sciences convened a work group comprised of stakeholders from the WA State Department of Labor & Industries, WA State Department of Health, multiple labor union representatives, and Harborview’s Center of Excellence for Chemical Exposures to tackle the difficult problem of Hanford workers’ exposure to chemicals and their subsequent health issues.
The day began with a tour of the Hanford site, including visiting tank farms where nuclear waste is stored, and ended with a meeting discussing barriers to appropriate health care and how to address the gap between healthcare specialists and the workers that need services. The work group will meet four more times in 2019 before presenting a report to the legislature on how to best create a Healthy Energy Workers Board.
Rep. Chopp and the King County Council visit Harborview
Rep. Frank Chopp visited Harborview Medical Center to discuss the future of Harborview’s capital infrastructure with the King County Council. Harborview’s primary mission is to provide care to the most vulnerable residents in our state and they continue to exemplify that mission as the leading provider of healthcare to Medicaid, Medicare, and uninsured patients in Washington. They work at or above capacity and never turn away a patient, hence the critical capital infrastructure needs. While at Harborview, Rep. Chopp and the King County Council had the opportunity to tour and see firsthand the needs of the emergency department, trauma center, psychiatry emergency services and burn unit.
They also discussed King County and Washington’s behavioral health challenges and the hope for a new behavioral health institute to help address these challenges.
Gov. Inslee visits the R/V Russell Davis Light
Gov. Jay Inslee participated in a ride-along on the Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) and the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory’s (APL) newest research vessel, the Russell Davis Light, to learn more about marine renewable energy technologies. Named after a late longtime APL researcher, the R/V Light is specially designed to test marine renewable energy instrumentation, robotics and other technologies in real-world conditions. Driving the vessel at various speeds simulates tides and ocean currents in order to test marine energy turbines in preparation for a turbine being placed in the Puget Sound. The turbine tested on the brief ride-along generated 1 kilowatt of energy – enough to power a space heater for one hour!
Thank you Gov. Inslee for your interest in and support of the UW’s research on marine renewable energy.
