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Olympia Update No. 4 • February
15, 2006
From: Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President
State Senate
Supplemental Capital Budget Released Today:
Senate Budget
boosts WSU Life Sciences Building
Authority to build the $63 million WSU Life
Sciences Building this year is included in the Senate’s version of the capital
construction budget, Sen. Karen Fraser, the capital budget coordinator in the
Senate Ways and Means Committee announced Feb. 15.
The Olympia Democrat said
that her trip on snowy roads to Pullman to tour existing facilities and meet
researchers played an important role in her decision to allow WSU to use trust
land revenues to finance the project. The building had also been strongly
supported by others in leadership including Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown,
D-Spokane, Sen. Mark Doumit, D-Cathlamet, and Gov. Christine Gregoire. Sen. Mark
Schoesler, R-Ritzville, continues to lead efforts on the Senate Republican side
for the building along with Sen. Dale Brandland, R-Bellingham.
The Senate capital
construction budget (Proposed Substitute Senate Bill 6384) has been heard in
committee and is expected to pass the state Senate soon. The state House of
Representatives prepares to announce its budget proposals next week.
There is widespread support
for the Life Science Building in the House, where legislators tend to like WSU’s
plan to use its own trust land moneys to fund the project and take pressure off
the rest of the capital construction budget. However, Capital Budget Chair Hans
Dunshee, who is a key decision-maker on buildings, said he is still undecided
about the Life Sciences proposal. The building is WSU’s highest legislative
priority.
WSU
Tri-Cities bills moving but funding in doubt
Separate legislation
authorizing WSU Tri-Cities to offer programs for freshmen and sophomore students
has now cleared each of the House and Senate by overwhelming margins.
Substitute Senate Bill 6464
was approved 48-0 by the Senate on Valentine’s Day, the final day for a bill to
clear its original house. The House passed Substitute House Bill 2867 97-1 on
Feb. 9. Legislators seem to only have to agree on common language and a common
bill to accomplish the objective of the two bills. However, the Senate budget
does not contain the $250,000 necessary to start up those programs in time for
the Fall Semester of 2007. There are legislators in the House seeking funding,
including House Higher Education Chair Phyllis Kenney, D-Seattle, the prime
House sponsor. House Caucus Chairman Bill Grant, D-Walla Walla; Rep. Larry
Haler, R-Richland, and Rep. Shirley Hankins, R-Richland, are among legislators
who have been leading the effort for the bill. The Senate bill is sponsored by
Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland.
Many community leaders are
working hard for the bill including those associated with the Tri-City
Industrial Development Council (TRIDEC), the Tri-City Herald, and Battelle’s
Pacific Northwest National Laboratories.
Each legislative chamber
will now prepare to take up bills from the opposite house. A Senate Education
Committee hearing on the house-passed version of the Tri-Cities legislation is
now scheduled for Friday. The committee is chaired by Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe,
D-Bothell.
Senate
Operating Budget
provides more WSU funding than the governor.
The supplemental operating
budget heard today in the Senate Ways and Means Committee (Proposed Substitute
Senate Bill 6386) provides more than $2 million in funding over the amount
recommended by Gov. Gregoire.
Programs funded by the
Senate, but not included in the governor’s budget, include the Ag Weathernet.
The Senate provided the full $800,000 requested by WSU. The Legislature provided
funding last session to expand and revamp WSU’s statewide weather stations but
did not provide money to operate the new facilities.
The Senate also provides $1
million for a collaboration in Life Sciences Research in Spokane. The research
will focus on developing and implementing new medical treatment therapies. The
budget designates WSU as the fiscal agent for the collaboration. No such funding
was included in the governor’s budget.
The Senate included some
other programs not requested by WSU. The Senate budget provides $160,000 to
conduct a feasibility assessment of the economic and technical viability of a
solar generating plant.
The Senate also excluded
WSU and other universities from a governor-proposed cut of $256,000 for “SmartBuy.”
The original biennial budget anticipated $25 million in savings in goods and
services purchases by state agencies and institutions which were never realized. While the governor called on WSU to cut
$256,000 toward that $25 million shortfall, the Senate made no reductions to WSU
for SmartBuy.
Like the governor’s budget,
the Senate provided money for WSU to deal with escalating fuel costs for its
gas-fired power plant in Pullman. The governor had provided $913,000; the Senate
budget includes $1.06 million.
However, there are some
aspects of the Senate budget that still cause some concern and it is hoped will
be addressed in future deliberations by the Legislature.
- There also was no
funding for WSU’s $800,000 request for BioAg (biologically intensive
agriculture and organic farming,) however there is significant activity in
the House on that subject which is expected to lead to its inclusion in that
version of the budget.
- The $100,000 that the
governor recommended for the University of Washington-WSU Policy Consensus
Center was not included in the Senate budget.
- Both the House and
Senate budget-writers have been looking at the possibility of funding
“high-demand” enrollments for this fall, addressing areas like engineering,
nursing, construction management, and neuroscience at WSU. The Senate budget
provides funding for 180 students at the four-year institutions. However,
the funding per student is not sufficient to cover the costs of programs
like nursing. WSU has asked the Senate to consider more flexibility for
funding these high-demand areas.
Olympia
Updates will be moving to a listserv distribution method for 2006. For more
information call: Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President, 360-956-2165. From
WSU campuses, dial 8-2165.
