The Washington state budget has direct implications for 91探花and professional staff. The Legislative Preview gives professional staff an opportunity to learn about the state budget, the impact on 91探花and professional staff, and the 91探花Legislative Agenda.
On November 19th, PSO hosted the 2021 Legislative Session Preview with special guest, 91探花 Director of State Relations, Joe Dacca. Joe thanked staff from across 91探花for providing subject matter expertise when he receives legislative inquiries. Here are some of the major takeaways from the session:
- The upcoming session will be very unique – many meetings and hearings will take place remotely. Removing this geographic barrier to participation will likely increase the number of people wanting to testify in committees and may make it more difficult to get meetings with elected officials.
- Increases in support for higher education and 91探花are unlikely. However, since 91探花has just returned to pre-Great Recession state funding, we hope that 91探花will not face major state funding cuts.
- 91探花Medicine will seek more funding to support the charity care it provides (especially in light of the financial difficulties COVID-19 has placed on hospital finances).
- Legislators see three 91探花efforts as of particular importance: , , and serving first generation students.
If you鈥檙e interested in engaging more directly in the 2021 session, contact PSO鈥檚聽 Legislative Committee Chair Alex Bolton at psoboard@gmail.com during personal time on a personal device. You can learn more about how PSO advocates for professional staff through legislative engagement and outreach on our Advocacy page.