News and Updates

The 2022 legislative session adjourned on time yesterday after the House and Senate passed the supplemental operating, capital, and transportation budgets. Due to improved state revenue and the availability of one-time federal COVID-19 relief funds, the supplemental operating budget includes significant investments in housing, social supports, health care and behavioral health, and climate policy, in addition to fixes to the two-year budget.

The operating budget also reflects the strongest compensation package the University has received since before the Great Recession. This year’s budget boosts state support for compensation, meaning fewer tuition dollars will be put towards faculty and staff salary increases.

Major investments for the UW in the operating budget include:

• $12.9M for compensation increases for faculty and staff. The state funded 58% of the total cost of compensation for employees paid by state funding—the largest portion covered by the state in over a decade.
• $2M for the Paul G. Allen School for Computer Science to expand degree capacity among underrepresented students. An additional $455,000 (one-time) is included for The Allen School Startup Program.
• $505,000 to establish a new behavioral health pharmacy residency program at the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility at UW Medical Center–Northwest.
• $621,000 for UW Tacoma’s Milgard Hall for maintenance and operations.
• $3.25M for the Clean Energy Institute to staff and maintain clean energy battery fabrication testbeds and to facilitate clean energy technology transitions alongside community partners.
• $1.24M for the UW Seattle School of Nursing and UW Tacoma School of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership to increase enrollments to address the state’s health care workforce shortages.
• $500,000 (one-time) for UW Bothell for monthly stipends for students in a Business Certificate Program established in partnership with the MLK Gandhi empowerment initiative.

Overall, the University’s section of the operating budget included funding for 29 provisos and new legislation. The budget also funded House Bill 1659, which expands the Washington College Grant by $34.27M, and House Bill 1736, which establishes a state student loan program with $150M in one-time funding. House Bill 1051, which adds a faculty member to the UW Board of Regents, passed as well but did not have a fiscal impact.

Major capital investments for the UW include:

• $10M for the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility to address increased construction costs caused by pandemic-related supply chain issues and impacts from the King County concrete drivers’ strike.
• $2M for deferred maintenance to improve seismic preparedness for facilities on the Seattle campus.
• $4M for the Rainier Valley Early Learning Center for a site study and predesign of two Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program classrooms (funding provided via the City of Seattle).
• $8M for Coronavirus Contingency Fund Grants that state agencies, including the UW, may apply for to support active construction projects experiencing cost increases caused by inflation and supply chain delays.

The 2022 compromise budgets include substantial investments in the University. The Office of State Relations sincerely thanks the legislature for the continued support of the UW.

For a comprehensive summary of the budgets, visit the UW Office of Planning & Budget’s briefs page.

Over the past week, the House and Senate each released their 2022 operating and capital supplemental budget proposals. The proposals fully fund the University of Washington’s legislative requests and include significant support for student financial aid.

Major investments for the UW in the operating budget proposals include:

• $14.6M (Senate) | $11.2M (House) for compensation increases for faculty and staff.
• $2M for the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science to expand degree capacity focused on underrepresented students (Senate & House).
• $505,000 to create a new behavioral health pharmacy residency program at the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility at UW Medical Center–Northwest (Senate & House).
• $800,000 for the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation to complete research on health disparities in Spokane and eastern Washington (Senate only).
• $607,000 (Senate) | $621,000 (House) for UW Tacoma’s Milgard Hall for maintenance and operations.
• $3.25M for the Clean Energy Institute to maintain clean energy battery fabrication testbeds and to facilitate clean energy technology transitions through community partnerships and engagement (Senate & House).
• $1.2M for the School of Nursing to increase enrollments to help address the state’s health care workforce shortages (House only).

Yesterday, both operating budgets were heard in committee. Joe Dacca and Morgan Hickel testified in support, emphasizing the UW’s appreciation for increased funds for faculty and staff compensation.

The House and Senate capital budget proposals released this week also provided funding for the University, including:

• $10M (Senate) |$6.2 million (House) for the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility to address increased construction costs caused by inflation and supply chain delays.
• $7.5M for the Clean Energy Institute to construct an open-access battery testbed facility and for equipment to enhance material, imaging, and analysis capabilities.
• $2M for deferred maintenance to improve seismic preparedness for facilities on the Seattle campus.

House and Senate budget leaders will now work toward a final compromise budget. The last day of the 2022 legislative session is March 10. To read more about each budget proposal, visit the Office of Planning & Budgeting’s briefs page here.

Tomorrow marks the halfway point of the 60-day legislative session. House and Senate fiscal committees met over the weekend to hear bills and move them out of committee prior to fiscal cutoff today. Bills that did not pass out of fiscal committee are now “dead” unless considered necessary to implement the budget. The House and Senate will now convene for floor action to consider and vote on the bills that remain alive, including several that impact the higher education community:

• Financial aid:
  • HB 1659, expands the Washington College Grant by modifying the income eligibility threshold and award levels.
  • HB 1736, establishes a state student loan program.
  • HB 1835, creates outreach and student financial aid completion initiatives to increase postsecondary enrollment.
  • SB 5789, creates a career and college pathway innovation challenge program to help the state meet higher education attainment goals.
• HB 1751, prohibits hazing on and off campus and requires hazing prevention education.
• SB 5597, creates a statewide voter demographic database at the UW.
• SB 5764, studies apprenticeship opportunities and requires policies granting credit at higher education institutions for apprenticeships where possible and appropriate.
• SB 5854, concerns ethical performance of faculty duties.
• SB 5874, expands residency to students affiliated with the military.
• SB 5942, allows college athletes to receive compensation for their name, image, or likeness.

For a complete list of the bills being considered by the legislature or to look up a bill not listed above, click here.

House and Senate budget writers are currently drafting the supplemental operating and capital budgets. Budget leaders have completed their first review of the budgets and are now digging into the details. The drafts will be released later in session for consideration by the entirety of the House and Senate.

UW Regents join panel discussion with higher education and budget leaders

Last week, regents and trustees from the state’s public two- and four-year higher education institutions gathered for an annual day of advocacy to champion the Council of Presidents and State Board for Community and Technical Colleges’ joint legislative agenda. In a virtual legislative session, that meant participating in Zoom panel discussions with democratic and republican higher education and budget leaders in the House and Senate. Legislators in attendance included Senators Andy Billig, Chris Gildon, and Emily Randall, and Representatives Laurie Jinkins, J.T. Wilcox, Kelly Chambers, Debra Entenman, Mari Leavitt, Timm Ormsby, and Vandana Slatter.

Regent David Zeeck served as the University of Washington’s spokesperson, but most of the Board of Regents was in attendance. Regents and trustees spoke to legislators about the importance of improving compensation for faculty and staff, increasing high demand degree enrollment, and addressing student challenges resulting from the pandemic.

Thank you to all our Regents for participating in this important advocacy day.

Regents Forsman and Berisha testify at Senate confirmation hearing

The Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee held confirmation hearings for Regents Leonard Forsman and Djelli Berisha on Feb. 1. UW Regents are appointed to their positions by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Confirmation hearings are the first step the Senate takes before bringing the appointments to the floor for a final vote.

Regent Forsman is the chairman of the Suquamish tribe and first native regent at the UW. In his testimony, he emphasized his decades-long involvement in early learning, K-12, and higher education advocacy and leadership, which was spurred by his family and tribe. He also highlighted his past and ongoing work with the Burke Museum, including collaborating to create the Suquamish tribal archives and museum. Regent Forsman outlined his goal of continuing to improve recruitment and retention for native students and faculty in higher education, as well as his work to elevate the role of tribal liaisons at all three UW campuses. He recognized the diversity of education at the UW and underscored the importance of providing a well-rounded education that prepares students for today’s challenges.

Regent Berisha is the first UW Bothell student to serve on the Board of Regents as shared in his testimony. He is grateful for the opportunity to represent and advocate for students and as the first-generation son of Albanian immigrant parents, aims to use his platform to help all students navigate higher education. He highlighted his work on the Diversity Action Plan and degree mapping initiative, and his efforts to secure resources for students during the pandemic to help with the transition to remote learning. He is currently examining narratives around admissions, higher education pathways, and the role of a public serving institution as he builds meaningful, collaborative relationships to encourage bolder visions for the University’s tri-campus system.

Regents Forsman and Berisha were unanimously confirmed by the committee. Their appointments will now go to the Senate floor for consideration and a final vote by the body. The UW is very fortunate to have their leadership.

It’s day 19 of the 2022 legislative session. The last day for bills to pass out of the policy committee in their house of origin is Feb. 3, with fiscal committee cutoff shortly thereafter on Feb. 7. If bills do not move out of their house of origin committees by the Feb. 7 deadline, they are considered dead and will not become law unless they are necessary to implement the budget (NTIB). Legislation that passes out of committee prior to cutoff moves to the Rules Committee, where members select which bills move to the floor for consideration by the full body of the House or Senate.

Yesterday, President Ana Mari Cauce met with House and Senate higher education and budget leaders to advocate for the UW’s legislative agenda. She stressed the importance of including funding for faculty and staff wage increases in the final operating budget with the state supporting at least 50% of the costs. She also provided campus updates and responded to questions from legislators on a variety of bills moving through the legislature ranging from financial aid to dual credit.

UW Tacoma Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange met with Pierce County legislators to request maintenance & operations funding for Milgard Hall, which will house the Milgard School of Business and civil and mechanical engineering programs. Construction of the 55,000 square foot building is ahead of schedule with occupancy now expected in Jan. 2023 instead of mid-2023. She also championed the UW’s faculty and staff compensation request and took the opportunity to provide an update on UW Tacoma and share her vision for the future. Chancellor Lange will continue to meet with Pierce County legislators in the upcoming weeks.

The State Relations team will continue monitoring legislation that impacts the University as the legislature moves past cutoff dates. If you have questions about the legislative process or specific bills, please contact staterel@uw.edu.

The 2022 legislative session took off at a breakneck speed on Monday, Jan. 10, once again in a virtual format. This short 60-day session is focused on the supplemental budgets, which usually make modest adjustments to the biennial budgets passed last session. However, due to improved revenue forecasts since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and considerable one-time federal funding available to the state, the legislature will consider a larger supplemental operating budget this year compared to normal.

This week, the House and Senate fiscal committees heard the Governor’s operating and capital budget proposals, which fully fund all the University of Washington’s legislative requests. Director of State Relations, Joe Dacca, testified in support of the Governor’s operating budget and Associate Director, Morgan Hickel, testified in support of the capital budget. In his remarks, Joe emphasized the importance of including a salary adjustment in the final operating budget for the UW’s vital faculty and staff with state support covering at least 50% of the costs. On the capital budget, Morgan highlighted the immediate need to reduce significant deferred-maintenance backlogs for facilities on the Seattle campus, including upgrades to improve seismic preparedness and for mission critical repairs made to the UW’s Power Plant.

Joe also testified in support of House Bill 1659, which expands financial aid availability through the Washington College Grant to Washington students. Several higher education stakeholders, including students and faculty, testified in support of this legislation. Two additional financial aid bills – HB 1835 and HB 1736 – were also introduced and supported by the higher education community.

Other bills the UW is supporting and monitoring include:

• HB 1751 – Preventing hazing on and off campus
• SB 5597 – Creating a statewide voter demographic database at UW
• HB 1051 – Adding a faculty member to the Board of Regents at UW and WSU
• SB 5614 – Concerning the Washington national guard postsecondary education grant

The last day for bills to pass out of the policy committee in their house of origin is Feb. 3. If bills do not move out of policy committee by that date, they are considered dead and will not become law unless they are necessary to implement the budget (NTIB). Visit leg.wa.gov to learn more about specific pieces of legislation and track the legislature’s progress.

If you have any questions about the UW’s legislative agenda or bills being introduced, please contact the Office of State Relations at staterel@uw.edu.