News & Updates

While Washington begins it’s 2008 legislative session with a large budget surplus that the Governor and many legislative leaders have sworn to protect, the fiscal outlook in our large neighbor to the south is quite grim.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed 2008-09 budget was released a week ago and it calls for 10% across-the-board reductions in virtually every state funded program or service.  For higher education in California, the consequences, particularly for students, could be disastrous.

A story last week in the Los Angeles Times indicates that the University of California and California State University systems could face student fee increases, caps on enrollment, reduced class offerings and layoffs of part-time instructors if the Governor’s budget recommendations are adopted.

California faces a $14.5 billion budget gap, the result of declining revenues as a result of well-publicized problems in the housing markets as well as long-term structural budget issues which date back several years and for which only one-time fixes have been employed over the years to correct.  The Governor is also calling for immediate reductions in the current fiscal year budget and at least one major bond rating agency has intimated it might downgrade the state’s rating if the budget gap is not permanently corrected.

The Governor’s budget would reduce higher education funding in California by $1.1 billion, although his office contends that his budget proposal is consistent with the “compacts” negotiated in 2004 which were intended to provide a guarantee of funding for higher education in exchange for specified levels of performance from the institutions.

I’m happy to report that the Council of Presidents (the organization which represents the six public baccalaureate institutions) has created a new website that should prove helpful to those of you in the campus community charged with tracking legislation.  You can find the link at: 

http://www.councilofpresidents.org/index.htm

Under the “Legislative Information” section, you can find out which bills are being tracked by Council staff with information about their status and corresponding links to the state legislative website where you can download the latest version of the legislation and other related documents.

“Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, we’re so glad you could attend come inside, come inside…..”

 Good morning, and welcome to the 2008 legislative session which officially kicks off at noon today in Olympia.  Sixty days sessions are sprints — fast, furious and halfway over before a lot of folks have figured out where the new capitol gift shop is located (yes, there really is a new gift shop this year thanks to state Rep. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia).  Here’s a brief look at higher education issues in Olympia for week one.

Committee hearings are beginning this very afternoon and we will jump headlong into higher education issues this afternoon when both the Senate and House Higher Education committees meet to consider reports on high demand workforce issues and the HECB draft master plan.  Tomorrow is the Governor’s State of the State address in the House chambers.  On Wednesday morning, the dearth of child care on college campuses goes center stage in the House Higher Education Committee at 8:00 a.m. and even I get some speaking parts beginning Wednesday in a public hearing on the supplemental budget before the House Appropriations Committee at 3:30 p.m.

On Thursday morning, the Senate Higher Education committee will tackle the UW North Sound site issue with a public hearing on Sen. Paull Shin’s bill which would designate Everett’s Pacific Station site as the location for the new campus at 10:00 a.m.  At 1:30 p.m. Rep. Kathy Haigh’s House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education will a public hearing on the 2008 supplemental budget for higher education.

So let’s have a final systems check.  Shoes are polished, tie is straight (for now), shirt tucked in and two pens clipped inside the coat pocket.  Time to get started and remember, it’s always more fun when you keep your eyes open and raise up your hands during the bumpy parts of the ride.

Although 2007 was not a general election year, the beginning of the 2008 legislative session brings seven new legislators to Olympia – one new state Senator and six new state Representatives.

Here is a brief summary of the new political faces in Olympia for 2008.

Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima) from the 14th district who defeated incumbent Jim Clements in the August Republican primary and won election in November.  King is a former General Electric official who also ran a commercial cabinet company in Union Gap.  King is a graduate of the University of Washington.

Rep. Sharon Nelson (D-Maury Island) from the 34th legislative district who replaces Joe McDermott who was appointed to the state Senate to complete the unexpired term of Erik Poulsen who resigned earlier this fall.  Nelson is chief of staff to King County Councilmember Dow Constantine and a graduate of Whitman College.

Rep. Joe Schmick (R-Colfax) from the 9th legislative district who replaces David Buri who resigned this fall to become director of government relations for Eastern Washington University.  Schmick is a farmer and small-business owner and a graduate of Eastern Washington University.

Rep. Liz Loomis (D-Snohomish) from the 44th legislative district who replaces Jon Lovick who was recently elected Snohomish County Sheriff.  Loomis has been a member of the Snohomish City Council and mayor of the town.  She also operated a public affairs firm that worked with local businesses.

Rep. Marko Liias (D-Mukilteo) from the 21st legislative district who replaces Brian Sullivan who was recently elected to the Snohomish County Council.  Liias previously served on the Mukilteo City Council and is finishing work on his M.P.A. at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.

Rep. Jamie Herrera (R-Ridgefield) from the 18th legislative district who replaces Richard Curtis who resigned earlier this fall.  Herrera is a former legislative assistant for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and also served as an intern for state Senator Joe Zarelli.  She is a graduate of the University of Washington.

Rep. Norma Smith (R-Whidbey Island) from the 10th legislative district who replaces Chris Strow who resigned in December to take a job with the Puget Sound Regional Council.  Smith served as a special assistant to former Congressman Jack Metcalf and a former South Whidbey School Board member.