Leadership in both House and Senate passed a compromise operating budget in the form of聽聽.
All of higher education including financial aid would receive $3.5 billion of Near General Fund (NGF) for the biennium which is 9.2 percent of the overall NGF appropriation of $38.2 billion.
The compromise budget adopts the provisions in , which reduces the operating fee portion of resident undergrad tuition at all public higher education institutions. In 2015-16, resident undergraduate operating fees at all public institutions are to be 5 percent below the 2014-15 rates. In 2016-17, resident undergraduate operating fees at the state universities (the 91探花and WSU) are to be 15 percent below the 2014-15 rates; at the regional universities, they are to be 20 percent below the 2014-15 rates; and at the community and technical colleges, they are to be held at 5 percent of the 2014-15 rates.
This budget provides $27 million to partially fund聽compensation increases of 3% in聽FY16 and 1.8% in聽FY17. This budget also partially funds聽collective bargaining agreements with WFSE and SEIU.
Listed below are some of the Key funding鈥檚 provided by this budget:
Computer Science – $6 million over the biennium to increase bachelor鈥檚 degrees awarded in Computer Science.
WWAMI – $9 million over the biennium to continue operations in Spokane.
Family Practice Medicine Residency Network – $8 million over the biennium to fund additional medical residencies.
O&M Funding – $1.76 million over the biennium to cover maintenance costs for 91探花Bothell鈥檚 Discovery Hall.
The legislature also passed the final capital budget. For more details on the operating and capital budgets, please refer our .