Yesterday, Governor Gregoire signed the supplemental operating budget, SB 6444. You can find it here: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6444&year=2009

As most of us know, the recession has battered the finances of most states, including Washington. While government spending policies are certainly one factor involved, there is no doubt that the housing bust and unemployment have contributed greatly to the reductions in state revenues, making life difficult for policymakers and elected officials to maintain state services at current levels.

Higher education is one of those areas that has gotten hit very hard in this current biennium. The state's colleges and universities have taken serious cuts. Some would say disproportionately so. However, the reality is that higher education does not have the same level of legislative support as K-12, health care or social services, even though it is a true "investment" in the future of our state.

WTIA has long advocated for greater bachelor's degree production from the state's universities, particularly in STEM disciplines. When Governor Gregoire first came into office in 2005, she and the legislature increased higher funding substantially and made STEM and other "high demand" degrees a priority. The economic downturn unfortunately put us back to the pre-2005 levels. It is going to take time and effort to get back to where the state is meeting demand for engineers, mathmeticians, scientists and technologists.

WTIA has also worked closely with other tech-related associations, such as the Technology Alliance and the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association (WBBA) on higher education issues, K-12 improvement and a favorable business climate for entrepreneurship and innovation.

We jointly drafted a letter that is attached to this post regarding higher education. There is language is the state budget that is intended to protect STEM and other high demand degrees from cuts. The letter asks Gov. Gregoire to ensure that the universities adhere to these provisos. There is some evidence that has not taken place and causes the three organizations concern.

The three groups, which represent the bulk of the state's technology sector, plan to work together in a more coordinated fashion to support those public policies that support the growth of the innovation economy and technology jobs.

If you are interested in learning more about the state budgets and revenue, the Senate Ways and Means Committee provides excellent information about them, http://www.leg.wa.gov/senate/committees/WM/Pages/default.aspx

Here is the link to Gov. Gregoire's press release on the budget: http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1488&newsType=1 One good piece of news was her restoration of cuts made to the Life Sciences Discovery Fund.