The Legislature has approved a supplemental operating and capital budget, and adjourned.
A House-Senate compromise budget (EHB 2487) was released early Thursday morning and passed the state House of Representatives 86-12 (within two hours of the budget language being made public).; The Senate passed the bill 33-13.
-- The WSU requested enrollment level is fully funded for all campuses without any "hold and release language." That language did apply to other campuses, but not WSU because of its decision to voluntarily lower its target levels in Pullman, Spokane and Vancouver.
-- Full funding of WSU Tri-Cities at the revised 616 FTE rate recommended by WSU. ($5.325 million)
-- $3.6 million for the Pullman steam boiler, one of the first higher education projects ever funded by Initiative 601`s "education construction account."
-- $450,000 for the Spokane Health Sciences Initiative and Cancer Prevention Research Center with House proviso language.
-- The technical fund shift to keep the Spokane Health Sciences Building construction on schedule (Section 1024).
-- Enhanced funding for the Washington Promise Program, expanding eligibility from 2,200 students to 3,600 students in the second year of the biennium. Maximum annual grants for the program will increase from $1,200 to $1,500.
-- WSU Pullman enrollment is set at 17,549 for next year. WSU`s overall budget is revised to $196.92 million in general fund-state monies for fiscal year 2001.
-- WSU Spokane enrollment is set at 551 for next year. ($7.51 million.)
--- WSU Vancouver enrollment is set at 1,071 for next year. ($9.67 million)
-- There is study language to consider shifting WSU from the semester to the quarter system. The study is not funded, however.
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