Legislators making progress on state capital budget

OLYMPIA -- It's still not clear how much the Legislature will commit to higher education in its construction budget. However, over the past two days, it has taken steps showing a clear favoritism to higher education in that budget.

The Legislature sent House Bill 2151 to the governor Wednesday night, requiring all two-year and four-year higher-education institutions to prioritize their construction projects. For example, which Johnson Hall needs the most fixing -- the one at the UW or the one at Washington State University?

The four-year higher-education community temporarily united last year to prioritize projects on its own; however, the Legislature now expects that partnership to be permanent. It must also now include input from the state Board of Community and Technical Colleges, which have always prioritized projects in their community college system.

Sen. Pat Thibaudeau, D-Seattle, whose district includes the UW, was one of two senators to vote against the bill. She could not be reached for comment as to why she voted the way she did.

"The goal was to make sure we still had the authority to decide the priority of our own projects," said Dick Thompson, the UW's government-relations director. "This bill does that."

If Gov. Gary Locke signs the bill into law, the Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board would oversee the work. If the UW or any other university decides not to prioritize its projects, the HEC Board could do so on its own.

Rep. Don Cox, R-Colfax, the ranking Republican on the House Higher Education Committee who also represents Washington State University, has said he would not support a higher-education construction plan without such a bill.

Other Republicans have also long insisted such partnerships must be permanent before agreeing to a higher-education plan sponsored by former Govs. Dan Evans and Booth Gardner. The Evans-Gardner plan called for the state to borrow $1.7 billion for new construction and $3 billion to maintain and renovate colleges and universities.

The House had originally sought the Gardner-Evans money to improve public-school buildings as well, though senate negotiators insisted that clause be removed for fear of too much money being siphoned away.

Evans and Gardner said the Legislature should bond out for 10 years, though lawmakers have suggested stripping their plan to only borrow $1 billion and bond out for a shorter period of about six years.

That plan eventually became Senate Bill 5908, which could be voted on as early as today.

Evans, also a UW regent, and Gardner called on the state to expand the amount of money the state could be in debt -- called a debt limit -- in order to benefit higher education. The plan specifically includes money to help the UW build a new Life Sciences Building and to repair most of its buildings.

It's not clear how much money would go specifically to the UW or which buildings would be renovated because the actual construction budget was not available at press time.