The average health insurance co-premium for WSU employees may decrease $15/month — or increase $26/month. It just depends on whose supplemental operating budget you look at — the House Appropriations Committee’s or the Senate Ways and Means Committee’s.
State legislative committees released their supplemental operating budgets Feb. 23, and the full chambers approved them on Feb. 25.
In addition, two important WSU building projects are recommended for funding in the House Capital Committee’s supplemental capital budget, released Feb. 25, and the Senate Ways and Means Committee’s capital budget, approved March 1.
The House and Senate are expected to resolve differences between their budgets by March 11.
Capital budgets
Both House and Senate committee budgets fund $31.6 million for construction of the Spokane Academic Center building. This exceeds the governor’s recommendation, which would have funded site work and foundation only. Not funded is $5 million needed for land purchase.
Both budgets also fund $3.4 million to start construction on the wastewater reclamation project to ease the decline of the Pullman aquifer level. The governor also had recommended $3.4 million.
In addition, the Senate funds $2 million for WSUnet, communications network infrastructure, while the House provides no funding. The governor had recommended $6 million.
A provision in the House budget settles issues related to university real estate in Puyallup and Buckley. The bill restricts WSU from selling 22 acres of approximately 40 acres adjacent to WSU Puyallup that is earmarked for sale.
In exchange the bill transfers to WSU title to 110 acres of land of comparable value near Buckley that WSU has used but has not fully owned.
Operating budgets
The House Appropriations Committee budget includes several increases for WSU, while the Senate Ways & Means Committee budget contains few.
The following list compares recommendations and funding from the House, Senate and governor that could affect WSU:
Research Funding
House: • $850,000 state match to attract/retain federal grants in high-demand and technology fields
• $270,000 for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) research
• $50,000 for burrowing shrimp control research
Senate: No funding for expanded research
Governor: $1.5 million state match to attract/retain federal grants
General Enrollment
House: $1.6 million to fund 298 student FTEs @ $5,453
Senate: No funding for expanded general enrollment
Governor: $1.4 million to fund 288 additional student FTE @ $4,906
Building Maintenance
Proposed transfer from operating to capital budget:
House: Moves $600,000 of appropriation from the operating budget to the capital budget. Since these are ongoing salary expenses, WSU prefers they remain in the operating budget.
Recommendations that affect WSU but are outside of the WSU budget include:
High Demand Enrollment
All three budgets increase the Higher Education Coordinating Board pool that funds high-demand enrollment. WSU would compete with other university’s for a portion of this pool.
House: $6.4 million to fund 582 additional student FTE @ $11,000
Senate: $2.5 million to fund 227 additional student FTEs @ $11,000
Governor: $10 million to fund 909 FTE additional student FTE @ $11,000.
Employee Health Benefits
House: State funding would be increased under this proposal. The average employee co-premium would decrease from $80/month to $65/month. (The rate had been scheduled to increase to $111/month.)
Senate: Under this proposal, the average employee co-premium would increase from $80/month to $106/month.
Vancouver Study
Senate: $90,000 would be added to the Institute for Public Policy to study the possible creation of additional baccalaureate and graduate education opportunities in Vancouver.
State financial aid
Programs to receive additional funding:
House: $7.3 million
Senate: $4.9 million
Governor: $7.5 million
