News and Updates

Last Thursday marked the end of the 2017 State Legislative Session, which included three special sessions and lasted a record 193 days in total.  While the session included a number of victories for the UW, the Legislature adjourned last night without passing a compromise 2017-19 capital budget. To read more about the session and impacts to the UW, please visit President Cauce’s blog here.

Until a 2017-2019 capital budget is passed, the University will only have funding for ongoing projects that were included in previous capital budgets, as designated with the passage of PSSB 5965 last month.  As detailed in a brief published by our Office of Planning and Budgeting, this bill “reappropriates” unspent funding from the 2015-17 biennium, which will allow currently-funded projects to continue as planned. Without a new capital budget for the upcoming biennium, a number of proposed capital requests may be delayed, including the new Burke Museum.

The path forward remains unclear at this time, but the State Relations team will continue to engage with members and staff in Olympia and update this page as more information becomes available.

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

Late Friday night, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the 17-19 biennial compromise state operating budget (SSB 5883). Given the historic challenge in this session to fully fund basic education across the state of Washington, we’re proud that many of the legislative priorities of the University of Washington are reflected in the final budget. For detailed analysis of the budget, check out this brief published by the University’s Office of Planning and Budgeting.

Important investments of the final budget include:

Competitive Faculty/Staff Compensation

$13.1 million for general wage increases to partially fund three 2% increases (one in FY18 and two in FY19).

UW’s collective bargaining agreements are fully funded.

State Need Grant Expansion

$12 million is provided to expand SNG access to 900 additional eligible students across the state annually. $38 million is provided to adjust for resident undergraduate tuition increases for SNG recipients.

Funding High Demand Degrees

$2 million is included for the UW to increase resident undergraduate enrollment of students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).  The UW is expected to increase STEM enrollment by approximately 60 students.

WWAMI Continuation

$5 million in new funding is provided to continue WWAMI programming for 20 additional students in their third and fourth years in Spokane and eastern Washington, in partnership with Gonzaga University. This funding increases third and fourth year cohorts to 60 students.

Sustainable Tuition Policy

The final budget maintains current policy and allows a 2.2% increase in FY18 and a 2.0% increase in FY19.

Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research

$4.5 million in funding is provided to the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) for faculty, core support, training programs, pilot grants, and Translational Bridge Awards.

Worker Safety Outreach and Research

The final budget restored $6 million in proposed cuts to UW’s Department of Environment and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS), which coordinates research, training, teaching, and consulting to prevent workplace related diseases and injuries in Washington state.

Special Olympics

$3.2 million in one-time funding is provided to help cover the UW’s costs associated with the 2018 Special Olympics USA games being held in Seattle in July 2018.

Passage of LET Tax Credit Legislation

Legislation passed on Friday, June 30 that will reinstate the leasehold excise tax (LET) credit for UW’s Metro Tract property beginning in 2022, which will increase revenues by approximately $2 million per year.

Despite making significant progress in a challenging session, we are concerned about the following items that are included in the final budget:

OFM Central Service Charge

The legislature passed along a charge for Office of Financial Management (OFM) central services, which means the UW will have to use $3 million in student tuition revenue to support OFM instead of the University’s academic mission

Tuition Wavier Authority

The budget reduces the UW’s state funding allocation by $2.59 million over the biennium, which is assumed to be offset by the UW reducing overall tuition waiver activity for graduate students, excluding veteran-related waivers

Now that the operating budget has been finalized, we’ll continue to work with members on our capital budget priorities. In the meantime, the Legislature recently passed PSSB 5965 also known as a capital reappropriations for the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium. This will fund ongoing capital projects from the previous biennium to ensure continuation of contracts and construction.

We’ll keep you posted on highlights of the final capital budget which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

Last, but certainly not least, the Office of State Relations would like to express our appreciation to President Ana Mari Cauce, the Board of Regents, the Office of Planning and Budgeting (OPB), UW Impact, UW Faculty Senate, our Tacoma and Bothell campuses, the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW), Graduate & Professional Student Senate (GPSS), and other faculty, students, and alumni who helped make the 2017 legislative session a success. Thank you for your advocacy and support!

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

Time has flown by as the State Relations team has finished the 2017 regular session, which officially concluded Sunday, April 23. Here are a few highlights as we head into special session:

We are excited to announce that Governor Jay Inslee signed into law our “critical care roster” legislation (SB 5631) on Tuesday. To read more about the bill, please check out our previous blog post.

The Senate and House released their proposed capital budgets. As noted in the Senate and House 2017-19 biennial budget briefs prepared by the UW Office of Planning & Budgeting (OPB), the Senate capital budget (SB 5086) appropriates $80.7 million in new funding to the university, while the House capital budget (HB 1075) currently appropriates $57.7 million.

In comparing both capital budgets, highlights include funding for:

Seismic improvements

UW request: $25 million

Senate proposed: $10 million

*House proposed: $3 million

*The House capital budget directs an additional $11.5 million from the UW Building Account to fund Seismic Improvements on campus.

Population Health Science Building

UW request: $20 million

Senate proposed: $15 million

House proposed: $10 million

Population Health Academic Facility (T-wing)

UW request: $10 million

Senate proposed: $10 million

House proposed: $5 million

UW Bothell Building Design

UW request: $3 million

Senate proposed: $0

House proposed: $3 million

UW Tacoma Building Predesign

UW request: $500,000

Senate proposed: $500,000

House proposed: $0

Parrington Hall Renovation

UW request: $10 million

Senate proposed: $10 million

House proposed: $0

Center for Advanced Materials and Clean Energy Technology (CAMCET)

UW request: $10 million

Senate proposed: $10 million

House proposed: $12.5 million

Burke Museum

UW request: $24.2 million

Senate proposed: $24.2 million

House proposed: $24.2 million

Additionally, the proposed House capital budget directs $7.5 million of UW Building Account funds to the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) II building.

In response to the proposed operating and capital budgets, President Cauce submitted what is known as a conference letter to key Senate and House leadership to reinforce the university’s legislative priorities.  The letter also advocated for sustainable tuition policy, raised concerns about proposed cuts to the Department of Environmental and Occupation Health Services, and for additional funding for the State Need Grant.

Next week, State Relations, in partnership with the Office of Planning & Budgeting and UW Medicine, will host a post-session update to campus on May 3 from 3:15PM-4:15PM in Gerberding 142. If you are faculty, staff, or a student, we would love for you to join us to engage in further discussion about the proposed budgets and other legislative info!

While we wait for the final operating and capital budgets to be negotiated, the State Relations team will be in contact with legislators and staff in Olympia as needed. We’ll also be preparing for upcoming summer and fall events, engaging with faculty and staff on campus, and trying to get more than five hours of sleep.

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

Following the release of the Senate operating budget, the House released their operating budget (HB 1067) proposal yesterday afternoon. For further details about the House proposed budget and its impact on the university, read the House Operating Budget brief prepared by the UW Office of Planning & Budgeting.

Key investments in the House budget proposal include:

Faculty and Staff Compensation

Similar to the Governor’s proposed budget, the House allocated funding to address both represented staff and non-represented faculty & professional staff compensation. This investment will help our employees keep up with the rising cost of living and will help the university in its efforts to recruit & retain world-class faculty and staff.

School of Medicine

The House proposed $5 million in funding for the continuation of our UW School of Medicine partnership with Gonzaga University in Spokane.

School of Dentistry

To help address the gap in access to dental care in rural and underserved areas, the House allocated nearly $2 million in funds to add a second year of dental curriculum in Spokane for the RIDE program.

State Need Grant (SNG)

Due to lack of funding, 24,000 eligible students are currently unable to receive SNG support. The House proposed funding to expand SNG aid to an additional 6,000 students statewide, including a significant number at the UW.

Computer Science and Engineering

To expand degrees to meet workforce demands in computer science, the House proposed $6 million to expand enrollment at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.

Tuition Freeze with Backfill

Tuition would remain frozen in the 2017-19 biennium. Additional funding was provided to backfill the estimated revenue from 2.2 percent increases in the 2017-18 academic year and 2 percent increases in the 2018-19 academic year.

Areas of concern include:

School of Medicine

Unfortunately, there were no additional funds to expand enrollments in our medical education partnership with Gonzaga University in Spokane. Additionally, there was no funding proposed for the Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM).

High Demand Degrees

Though funding proposed by the House supports enrollment expansion for Computer Science & Engineering at the UW, there was no funding in the budget to support degree expansion in Ocean Engineering, Cyber Operations or other Engineering programs across UW’s three campuses.

Student Success Programming Expansion

Funding was not included for the UW’s proposed tri-campus expansion of student success programs to further support the retention, graduation, and overall success among our students.

The Senate released their capital budget proposal yesterday and the House to follow soon after. Stay tuned for more news as budget negotiations continue.

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

Coming off the heels of the March revenue forecast, the Senate dropped their operating budget (SB 5048) proposal yesterday morning. To read more details about how the budget would affect UW, check out the Operating Budget brief prepared by the UW Office of Planning & Budgeting. There are notable wins and concerns to work through as we move forward in the budget negotiation process.

Key investments in the Senate budget proposal include:

UW School of Medicine

The Senate proposed $5 million in funding to sustain our UW School of Medicine partnership with Gonzaga University in Spokane. This will maintain support for 60 students per year in Spokane.

In addition, $6 million was proposed to support Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) research at the UW. Read more about ISCRM here.

Investments in High Demand Degrees

The university would receive $10.5 million to make investments in science, technology, engineering and math programs across our three campuses.

Areas of concern include:

Faculty and Staff Compensation

The budget falls short in providing fair levels of compensation for UW faculty & staff. The university is requesting additional funding to better align with peer institutions and help employees to keep up with the rising cost of living in the Puget Sound region.

State Need Grant

Unfortunately, no funding was included to cover any of the 24,000 students across the state that are eligible, but do not currently receive aid from the State Need Grant (SNG).

Tuition Waivers

The university would see cuts in tuition waivers by $5.1 million under this budget. Reductions in waiver amounts would impact student veterans, low-income resident students underserved by the SNG, and non-resident graduate and professional differential waivers that are critical for UW’s world class graduate programs and groundbreaking research activities.

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences

The Senate proposed a cut of $6.2 million used for outreach, education, and research projects that help prevent injuries and illnesses among frontline workers across the state.  This program has collaborated with the Department of Labor and Industries and employers for decades to protect the health of firefighters, agricultural workers, industrial employees, and the general public.

We expect the House operating budget proposal to come out early next week and we are still waiting for the release of capital budget proposals. Read more about all of the university’s legislative priorities here.

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

Members of both the House and Senate have wrapped up initial committee hearings and are now spending time on their respective floors debating and casting their votes on various pieces of legislation. Here are a few priority bills for the university that have passed either the Senate or House so far:

The “critical care” bill (SB 5631), as mentioned in our previous post, passed out of the Senate with strong bi-partisan support on Tuesday afternoon. SB 5631 will now move over to the House Higher Education committee.

In January, State Relations testified in support of HB 1107, which removes the term “branch” as an identifying term for extension campuses – something that the university has already eliminated from practice. On February 1, HB 1107 passed with overwhelming bi-paritsan support in the House.

The biggest news of the week came on Tuesday when the Senate chamber unanimously voted to confirm Austin Wright-Pettibone as the student regent for the university. Congratulations to Austin!

Here are two bills that we would like to keep moving after cutoff on Wednesday, March 8:

HB 1433: Decouples services and activities fees from tuition and is supported by ASUW.

SB 5525: Concerns veterans’ mental health services across higher education institutions and is strongly supported by our students.

 

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

The State Relations team has been working overtime coming off of policy cutoff last Friday and gearing up for fiscal cutoff on Friday, February 24! Here are a few highlights from our past couple of weeks:

To date, we’ve successfully passed the critical care roster reauthorization bill out of both the House and Senate Higher Education committees with bipartisan support. The “critical care” bill reinforces a commitment to public health by ensuring that renovations and project upgrades at UW Medical facilities are executed by listed firms on a “critical care roster” with proven expertise and capacity.

Additionally, there was a successful hearing on Wednesday, February 15 on the leasehold excise tax (LET) bill in the Senate Ways and Means committee. The LET bill seeks to reinstate a tax credit to restore fair and equitable tax treatment for tenants of properties publicly owned by research universities and Washington State’s major international airports.  Testimony on the LET bill was provided by Joe Dacca, Director of State Relations, and Tom Schappacher, Real Estate Director of Finance.

President Ana Mari Cauce visited Olympia on Tuesday, February 7 to participate in Huskies on the Hill and State Need Grant Advocacy Day. During her visit, she had an opportunity to meet with members, students, and alumni. Read more here.

Dean Michael Bragg from the College of Engineering came to Olympia on Thursday, February 9 to advocate for funding to expand enrollment in engineering as a part of our STEM degree request in our legislative agenda.

On Tuesday, February 14,  Ali Mokdad Professor of Global Health, Epidemiology, and Health Services, and Derek Fulwiler, Director of Project Strategy and Communications, visited Olympia to meet with members in the House and Senate to talk about the University’s Population Health Initiative. Read more about the initiative here.

Policy cutoff week wrapped with the opening of the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds facility on Thursday, February 16. The facility is housed at the Clean Energy Institute at the University. Governor Jay Inslee delivered a keynote speech and toured the facility in celebration of the University’s continued innovation and leadership.

 

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

 

President Ana Mari Cauce visited Olympia yesterday to continue her outreach to members in the House and Senate regarding the University’s 2017 legislative priorities, as well as engage with students and alumni for State Need Grant advocacy day and Huskies on the Hill. Here are highlights from President Cauce’s visit:

President Cauce participated in the Huskies on the Hill rally after a morning of meetings with members.

During the rally, President Cauce and students had an opportunity to listen to keynote speakers such as Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Washington Student Association executive director Elissa Goss.

               

After the rally, President Cauce had lunch with House and Senate interns from all three UW campuses.

President Cauce concluded her Olympia visit with additional member meetings.

 

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

We are nearing completion of our first full month in session! Here are a few highlights:

On Thursday, January 26, Dr. Chuck Murray from UW Medicine facilitated a presentation on cell regeneration to members of the Legislature.

UW faculty representative, JoAnn Taricani testified in support of HB 1561 regarding textbooks and open educational resources (OER) in the House Higher Education committee on Tuesday, January 31.

That same day, student representatives Alex Wirth from UW-Seattle and Anna Nepomuceno from UW-Tacoma testified in support of HB 1561  to the House Higher Education committee as well as provided a presentation on the impact of textbook costs on students in the Senate Higher Education committee.

Dr. Philip Reid, Vice Provost of Academic and Student Affairs, shared his perspective of teaching requirements and faculty workload to the Senate Higher Education committee on Tuesday, January 31.

February 2 was Regents and Trustees Day, with thirty representatives from four-and two-year institutions across the state of Washington traveling to the capitol to advocate for higher education. The group met with legislators from the House and Senate, concluding with a meeting with Governor Jay Inslee.

   

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

Yesterday, President Ana Mari Cauce visited Olympia to advocate for the University’s 2017 legislative priorities.

She kicked off the morning at the Senate Higher Education committee for a joint presentation with Dr. Suzanne Allen, vice dean for academic, rural and regional affairs at the UW School of Medicine, Ian Goodhew, director of government relations for UW Medicine, and Dr. Courtney Law, director of the Regional Health Partnership with Gonzaga University, to talk about the importance of increasing the number of Washington students in the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Idaho) program in Spokane and the university’s leadership in community-based medical education.

Following the presentation, President Cauce met with a bi-partisan group of House and Senate members. She also sat down with student legislative representatives from ASUW, ASUW Bothell, ASUW Tacoma and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate.

President Cauce wrapped up the afternoon with a second presentation to the Senate Ways and Means committee, along with presidents from Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions, to provide an update on higher education.

The day ended with an evening reception hosted by the Council of Presidents where President Cauce connected with other university and community college leaders, legislators and champions for higher education.

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.