News & Updates

First, I’d like to offer my sincere appreciation for your patience while the blog sat quiet.  A combination of my short-tenure and a non-stop 60 days made for less than stellar work/blog balance this session.  It’s a task I’m determined to master moving forward.  A huge “Thank You!” to my campus-stationed colleagues for their amazing efforts in keeping the campus informed and up-to-date on major legislative items of interest.

The 2010 legislature did Sine Die Thursday night with fanfare and some unfinished business. Both the operating and capital budgets (and related revenue packages) have yet to be reconciled, which means that the UW budget and funding for student financial aid are still in limbo.

In individual operating budget proposals, both chambers restored significant funding for financial aid programs (including the State Need Grant) that were targeted for reduction or elimination in the Governor’s “no new revenue” budget proposal.  This was the UW’s number one budget priority going into the session because of the impact on UW students and families.  We are hopeful that the final budget will maintain this commitment.

On the budget reduction front, the Senate budget proposes a 6% cut to the UW and all higher education institutions which is about the same dollar amount proposed in the Governor’s original supplemental budget proposal.  The House budget cuts the UW state budget by 4%, but also transfers $18 million in building account revenue (student tuition) to the state general fund for a total cut of $30 million.  We are working hard to minimize operating cuts to the University and ensure that tuition revenue continues to benefit the students who pay it.

Yesterday, the Governor issued a Special Session Proclamation calling the legislature back at Noon on Monday, March 15th to finalize unfinished business.  Democrats anticipate the special session will probably last a little over a week, depending on how revenue talks continue.

Stay tuned.  I’ll be back with an update on the University’s legislative agenda as soon as budgets are finalized.

One of the top priorities on the UW’s 2010 legislative agenda is the ability to manage tuition during this time of limited state resources.  Any conversation about tuition is tough (remember last year?), and this time is no exception.  This year, though, the University wants to have a more realistic and reasonable conversation around higher education finance. 

Local authority isn’t just about raising tuition, it’s about keeping tuition manageable and more predictable for students.  That’s why, in addition to tuition caps, the UW’s legislative agenda also proposes an increased commitment to student financial aid and other accountability measures.

President Emmert testified before the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee on Jan 20th in favor of granting the ability to manage tuition to the state’s public universities. Here are excerpts:

The funding model is broken:

Is there a floor to state support, which is now less than tuition revenue in the university’s budget?

Current bills in the Senate related to tuition: SB 6562/HB 2946 (Kilmer), SB 6276(Jacobsen), SB 6625(Zarelli) and SB 6509 (Shin-HECB).

Other items of note:

*Editorial in the Everett Herald , Seattle Times, and the Olympian support allowing institutions more flexibility in managing tuition.

*Worried about furloughs?  SB 6503 has been moving quickly through the legislature over the past week. The University has been fully engaged in this conversation.  The University’s mission and unique funding structure make furloughs expensive and difficult to administer.  Several changes were made to the original bill that provide additional flexibility for the University to make additional budget cuts without using furloughs.   We continue to follow the bill closely.

Week one of the 2010 legislative session has been intense.  Thanks for your patience as I’ve settled into my groove as the new Director of State Relations.  I hit the ground running in Olympia on January 11th and haven’t stopped since.  Here are some updates.

Not surprisingly, concerns about the budget have dominated most conversations in Olympia. The legislature has just 60 days to balance a $2.6 billion shortfall in the 2010 state’s operating budget. This week, Governor Gregoire laid out her priorities in her annual State of the State Address . She called specifically for restoration of critical funding for the State Need Grant program and for competitive tuition flexibility for our public universities. The Seattle Times article this week sets the stage for those discussions.  More on this later in the week.

Senator Randy Gordon, from the 40th district, was recently sworn in to replace former Senator Fred Jarrett.  Senator Jarrett left the Senate to fill the No. 2 spot in County Executive Dow Constantine’s office.

The Office of Planning and Budgeting has developed a new bill tracking system with information on legislation of interest to the UW. Kudos to the OPB team that has been working feverishly to put this together.  You can try out the bill tracker at the Office of Planning and Budget website. Let us know what you think!

Also, you can find out about my 9th grade political accomplishments and the University’s 2010 agenda in last week’s University Weekly.

It’s great to be here.  More to come soon!

All good things must come to an end, and so today I sign off as Director of State Relations for the University of Washington and chief blogger for all things Olympia.  Our new director, Margaret Shepherd, started work with the UW yesterday and I now officially turn the blog over to her.

This blog started out as an internal communications experiment and my sense is that it has been a big success in helping this office keep the campus community informed about issues in state government, particularly those that will or may impact the UW.  I’m a writer and communicator by nature and I found this an easy and very conversational tool for keeping in touch with a very big and diverse organization.  I’ve truly enjoyed the state relations role for the past six years but I’m also very excited about the new challenges and projects that my position as Vice President for External Affairs will involve.

I know devoted State Relations Blog readers will appreciate Margaret’s take on state government and higher education issues and I’m confident she will bring her own personality to the blog in a fun and informative way.

So, I’m signing off……..but not checking out.

Meeting on the campus of UCLA today, the regents of the University of California system approved a tuition hike of 32% for resident undergraduates — half of which will go into effect now and the other half next fall.  The rate hikes are in response to a 20 percent cut to the UC system adopted in the recently enacted state budget.

Meeting inside Covel Commons on the UCLA Westwood campus, hundreds of students from UC campuses across the state demonstrated against the increases.

Here’s the latest from The New York Times.

State general fund revenue collections are projected to drop another $760 million in the current biennium based on the new forecast of tax collections adopted by the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council in Olympia just minutes ago.

According to the Office of Financial Management OFM), the projected budget deficit facing the Governor and state legislature as they craft the 2010 supplemental budget is expected to be $2.6 billion.  The cumulative budget shortfall for the biennium is now $11.6 billion — almost a third of the current biennial budget according to OFM.

Dr. Arun Raha, the state’s chief revenue forecaster, said that while the economy is improving, much of the impetus has come from spending by the federal government rather than consumer spending.  Today’s forecast adjustment is a reflection of a revised estimate of when Washingtonians will regain the confidence to spend on goods and services that are subject to state taxes.

The Governor’s 2010 supplemental budget proposal is expected to be released in early December.  By law, she is required to submit a balanced budget within available revenues.  The Governor did indicate today that all options are now on the table.

Dear Colleagues:

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Margaret Shepherd as the University’s new Director of State Relations. Margaret has worked in Olympia for the past few years as the policy analyst on capital budget and transportation issues for the Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus. In this key position, she helped develop and manage the caucus’s legislative agenda, advising members and Senate leadership on a range of complex policy, budget, and political issues. She also has worked for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a Seattle nonprofit community development financial institution. Margaret is respected on both sides of the aisle for her thoughtful analysis, hard work and abundant energy. She brings a fresh perspective and new face to our representation in Olympia, and I am delighted she will be heading our presence there.

Margaret earned her B.A. in public affairs from Seattle University and is completing her master’s in public administration this December, also from Seattle University. She starts December 1 and will get out to meet many of you as quickly as possible prior to the start of the 2010 legislative session in January. Please join me in welcoming her to this position.

State Senator Fred Jarrett (D-Mercer Island) was chosen today as the new Deputy King County Executive by Dow Constantine who defeated Susan Hutchinson last week for the right to fill out the unexpired term of former county executive Ron Sims.  Here’s the story from the Seattle Times.

Jarrett, who made his own unsuccessful run for the county executive position in the August primary has served in the state legislature since 2001, including four terms in the House of Representatives.  He ran successfully for the Senate in 2008 and has been the Vice Chair of the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.  Jarrett has a long history of interest in higher education issues, prime sponsoring the “performance agreement” legislation which passed in 2008.

Jarrett’s appoint will take effect on November 24th when Constantine will assume his new County Executive position.  Democratic precinct officers will submit the names of three candidates to replace him in the state Senate to the King County Council which makes the final decision.

Exactly a week since the November 3 election and I’m now just getting around to discussing the state issues of importance but that’s still the occupational hazard of holding down two jobs.  Things are moving forward with the  process of hiring a new Director of State Relations and I hope to have some information to share in the next week or so.

By now you know the results of the statewide measures.  Initiative 1033 which would have imposed a cap on state and local property tax revenues was defeated, and Referendum 71, which has been termed the “everything but marriage” measure related to domestic partnerships was passed.

There were, however, three special elections for state representatives which were the result of the recent death of two members and the resignation of another.  First, in the 16th district, appointed incumbent Laura Grant-Herriott (D) was defeated by Terry Nealey (R) to fill out the term of Rep. Bill Grant (D) who died last winter.  Grant-Herriott was the daughter of the late House Democratic Caucus Chair.  Second, in the 9th district, Republican Susan Fagen defeated Pat Hailey (R) for the seat previously held by Rep. Steve Hailey who also passed away last year.  Former Representative Don Cox (R) held the seat during the 2009 session but decided not to run this November to fill the unexpired term.  Finally, in the 15th district, Representative David Taylor (R) defeated Democratic challenger John Gotts in the race to fill the unexpired term of former Representative Dan Newhouse who was appointed director of the state Department of Agriculture last winter.

The net result of the three state House races is that the Democratic majority dropped by one seat from 62-36 to 61-37.

I recently received a chart from the Council of President’s (COP) office that kind of left me speechless. No matter how close you are to budget issues, etc. it’s important every now and then to take a look at the bigger picture. The problem in this case, is that the bigger picture is pretty depressing.

If you wanted one image that was illustrative of the state of higher education in Washington State today, this chart from the COP would be my nominee.  What it shows is that during the past decade, while “overall” state budget funding for higher education has increased, when you look at the three major sectors of higher education — community colleges, Higher Education Coordinating Board (mostly financial aid), and four year institutions — state funding has actually decreased for the public baccalaureates during this time compared to increases for two year schools (28%) and student financial aid (102%).

If anyone is wondering why Washington lags the rest of the nation in the production of baccalaureate and graduate and professional degrees, despite having one of the most efficient and productive four year systems in the nation, I think the answer may lie in the old adage “you get what you pay for.”