Monday will mark the 90th Day That The 2000 Legislature is in session.
GOVERNOR RELEASES "COMMON GROUND" BUDGET
CALLS SECOND SPECIAL SESSION MONDAY
Gov. Gary Locke released a budget Wednesday morning that he says he hopes will end the budget stalemate between House and Senate budget negotiators. It is a budget proposal for higher education that WSU supports. Locke called for a second special session to begin at the capitol on Monday, April 24 at noon. The Legislature has failed to produce a budget in regular session, a first special session, and in private talks since the April 7 adjournment of the first special session. If legislators do not reach an agreement by Monday, the governor said he would insist that they vote his proposal "up or down." Present at the governor`s press conference were House Co-speakers Clyde Ballard, R-Wenatchee, and Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, where the governor praised the work of Republicans and Democrats in the House for reaching a compromise budget. It appears that institutional differences between the House and Senate are the roadblocks to a final budget. For the most part, higher education issues have not been major points of contention.
Governor`s budget proposal adopts Senate approach to enrollment, addresses WSU Tri-Cities problems. The
governor adopted the Senate`s version of enrollment funding, allowing campuses to keep funding for any portion of the
students it enrolls but cutting the budget for any campus that fails to grow to at least the current enrollment targets. It will allow for significant enrollment growth at WSU Pullman, WSU Vancouver, and WSU Spokane. WSU Pullman is funded
for up to 724 more students. WSU Spokane is funded for up to 169 more students. WSU Vancouver is funded for up to 151
more students. The budget could grow by up to $3.9 million if enrollment grows to the target, but could be cut by up to
$2.2 million if enrollment fails to grow.
The House budget took a different approach, by providing funding for overall system growth of 2 percent, rather than 2.5 percent as originally budgeted. In the governor`s first budget, funding for only the Pullman campus was tied to actual enrollment. The governor also adopted the House and Senate`s solution to a funding inequity problem at WSU Tri-Cities. The campus` enrollment target was adjusted to allow the campus to grow by twenty students, for a total enrollment of 616 students. By adjusting the enrollment target to a reasonable number, the campus` base funding per student FTE is brought up to a level which is more comparable to other branch campuses. The budget would be cut if enrollment falls short of the 616 student target.
Pullman Power Plant Improvements and Spokane Health Sciences Initiative Funded
The proposed budget provides $3.6 million for the power plant on the Pullman campus, the amount recommended in all budgets introduced this session.
Consistent with House and Senate recommendations, the governor`s proposal also funds $450,000 for implementation of
the health sciences initiative in Spokane, but does not contain the House version`s proviso language. The governor and
House Republicans earlier recommended $600,000. The governor`s supplemental budget also approves a technical fund
transfer to allow construction to proceed on a $36 million Health Sciences Building for WSU and EWU already underway
at Spokane`s Riverpoint Higher Education Park. This corrects an error made in the 1999 budget and has not been a
controversial item this year. WSU met with state Treasurer Mike Murphy and his staff this week and received his support
to avoid delays to the Spokane project that could be caused by further impasse on the supplemental budget bill.
WSU supports Gov. Gary Locke`s Proposal WSU supported the final versions of the House and Senate budget, and
supports the governor`s compromise budget proposal.
Session Begins Monday but it is uncertain when this is going to end. Although the governor is calling on the
Legislature to reach agreement or vote on his budget by Monday, he has no legal authority to mandate it. When legislators
return to Olympia, it is for another 30-day special session that could adjourn anytime within that time frame, or conclude
with yet another impasse. Gov. Locke urged legislators not to take it "into the summer," saying the state could not afford it. However, the continuously running session is already the second longest supplemental session in Washington state history, and there are no official reports of a breakthrough in budget negotiations to date. The longest supplemental session ended its work on July 2.
LOCKE APPOINTS TWO NEW WSU REGENTS,
BETSY COWLES AND RAFAEL STONE
Gov. Gary Lock has appointed Spokane business leader Elizabeth A. Cowles and Seattle attorney V. Rafael Stone to the
Washington State University ten-member Board of Regents. Cowles is vice president of Cowles Publishing Co. She
oversees several divisions of Cowles Publishing Co., including three television stations, a film and television production
studio, and a retail development in downtown Spokane. Stone is a member of Seattle`s Foster Pepper and Shefelman law
firm. He has served as lead counsel and partner-in-charge of the Washington State Investment Board. He also served on the
steering committee for Campaign WSU, the university`s $275 million fund-raising effort, and as a member of the university
president`s business and corporate leaders advisory group. He currently is a trustee of the WSU Foundation. Cowles and
Stone will serve in their WSU regents positions through Sept.30, 2005. They replace Carmen Otero of Issaquah and
Richard Albrecht of Seattle.
This update is shared by fax and electronic mail to friends of Washington State University as state government developments occur regarding the 2000 Legislative Session. Call Larry Ganders at 360/956-2165 or send him a short pager message via e-mail to 3607863527@page.metrocall.com. From WSU Campuses, Dial 8-2165. e-mail: Ganders@energy.wsu.edu. Call Jane Yung in Olympia at 360/956-2164 or page her at 360-956-8500. For bill status and other info, visit our web page at www.olympia.wsu.edu.
