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Ganders |
Thousands of WSU students who are facing loss of financial aid could have much of it restored by proposed budget bills announced separately by the state House of Representatives and the state Senate this week.
In an unusual development, two proposed state operating budgets – a House version and a Senate version – were announced on the same day (Tuesday). The proposals are each house’s version of a plan to balance a state budget that is reeling from a $2.7 billion budget deficit.
Both of these bills must go through the fiscal committees and face votes on the floor of their respective houses. The two budgets likely will be reconciled into a single final budget that legislative leaders hope passes the Legislature by the scheduled March 11 adjournment.
Together, the two budget proposals (Proposed Substitute House Bill 2824 and Proposed Substitute Senate Bill 6444) appear to reject some of the worst potential cuts thought to be under consideration: cuts to student financial aid and reductions to agricultural research.
Read the rest of this legislative update here.