WILL THERE BE A SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET?
That's the most frequently asked question in Olympia this
morning as negotiations over a supplemental operating budget became
bogged down Monday in bickering between the House and the Senate.
Some legislative leaders were threatening to simply adjourn the
Legislature this week without a budget, or perhaps pass a "light
budget" to deal with flood disaster relief but little else
if negotiations do not succeed. Such threats are considered to
be far more serious this session than some of the more idle threats
of past years. It appears that with or without a supplemental
budget, state spending will remain set at the 1995 biennial budget
level of $17.6 billion. As tempers flare in election year budget
deliberations, legislators are keeping the option open to adjourn
without a supplemental operating or capital budget.
Whether the House or Senate prevails in negotiations,
Washington State University and its students will benefit from
some resolution of legislative differences to produce a supplemental
operating budget. Not including its share
of the one-time funding provided for the WHEN system, the supplemental
budget could mean between $3.8 million to $5.28 million more in
state resources to WSU.
- Both House and Senate negotiating positions call
for substantial increases in enrollments at WSU, including
full and expanded funding of the Extended Degree Program and new
WSU Learning Centers. We estimate the House conference proposal
will mean approximately 800 new full-time students or about $3
million for the WSU system. The latest $4.176 million Senate
proposal for WSU means 970 enrollments in Pullman plus 50 in Spokane
and 45 in Tri-Cities. The House is rumored to be proposing a
new compromise today.
- Both the House and Senate budget versions fully
fund $1.525 million for pesticide and wine grape research
mandated - but not funded - by the 1995 Legislature. Failure
to pass a supplemental budget will result in cuts to the university
of this amount.
- Both House and Senate negotiating positions call
for $450,000 for WSUís share of the cooperative library
project, linking the on-line catalog systems of the stateís
four-year institutions..
- Both House and Senate negotiating positions provide
$25,000 in state monies and other funding to assist in the transfer
of some state Energy Office functions to WSU. This is
among the issues that might be considered in a "light"
budget proposal.
- Both House and Senate negotiating positions could
provide significant new funding opportunities for the Washington
Higher Education Network (WHEN), a fiber optic and microwave
network that extends the WSU WHETS system to all four-year universities
and the community colleges. The latest positions call for also
including the K-12 system through connections to Educational Service
Districts (ESDs.) The exact amount of money that will be available
to apply toward the $40 million university WHEN system - and how
much will be available to K-12 - is not always clear from the
results of conference committee deliberations. But it appears
that the Senate is still holding firm to its position of providing
$34.7 million of its $54.7 million K-20 proposal to the WHEN system.
The House has suggested a $44 million K-20 plan. The latest
House proposal gave no specifics as to how much of the $44 million
might be available to higher education, but this is a substantial
improvement over its earlier position of providing $5 million
for the project. Both houses call on the capital budget (SHB
2284) to provide some of the funding. Specifics may be left up
to SB 6705, a separate WHEN bill which moved into conference committee
Monday.
Senate Passes Revised Supplemental Operating Budget
- But No House Agreement
Apparently to bring favorable publicity to its negotiating
position, the state Senate voted Monday to pass a revised supplemental
operating budget bill (Substitute Senate Bill 6069) which included
its latest negotiating positions. The vote was 30-19, with some
Republicans joining majority Democrats to vote for the revised
budget.
This update is shared by broadcast fax and electronic
mail to friends of Washington State University as state government
developments occur. Contact Karen Fischer, WSU State-wide
Affairs, 509/335-6665. Larry Ganders is at 360/438-7552; Fax:
360/438-8104. Internet address is ganders@wsunix.wsu.edu. Visit
our web page at www.wsu.edu/IR/wsulegis/olympia.html.
