2023 Proposed Budgets and the Final Push

In addition to attending town halls and scheduling in-person constituent meetings, UW Impact advocates have sent more than 600 messages to legislators during the 2023 session, urging investments in compensation and high demand degrees, championing necessary funding for UW Medicine, and more.  Your voices made a difference. 

The proposed budgets are out, and the news is fairly good.  Both the House and the Senate have heard our call and have provided various levels of funding for most of our priorities.  But there is still work to be done to ensure important priorities are included in the final compromise budget, which is released and signed into law in a few short weeks.

We have analyzed each budget and the differences in approach between the two chambers, and highlighted areas where there is more important work to do to support our students and communities. We have provided an overview of the budgets below, so you can see what we have achieved and where your voice can still make an impact. A full analysis by UW’s Office of Planning and Budgeting is on their website.

Budget Highlights:

  • The two chambers took different approaches: The Senate committed more substantial funding to fewer items, while the House allocated funds more widely but often only partially funded most budgetary requests.
  • The Senate Capital Budget fully funds all capital priorities.  We will encourage the Legislature to implement this funding in the final compromise budget.
  • Two top items of concern:
    • First is the inadequate fund split in the House budget, with only 60% state support rather than the 66% proposed in the Senate. This is a difference of $5M+ in additional compensation costs per year.
    • The second is support for UW Medicine.  Of the two chambers, the Senate ($150M, with $50M this year and $100M in 2024) more adequately funds UW Medicine than the House ($100M this year only).  Currently $0 are provided by the House for the FY24 budget, a year in which UW Medicine is facing a huge deficit.  Without FY24 funding, UW Medicine may need to close down some services, something they have never done before.  Possible measures could include closing the emergency department at UW Medical Center NW, not accepting non-trauma patients at Harborview, and cutting services in more expensive-to-provide practices such as obstetrics.
  • STEM degrees were partially funded by both budgets, but the University prefers the more generous allocations in the Senate budget.
  • Student support services did not fare well in the budgets, with the exception of UW Tacoma – we will be working to maintain that funding in the final budget and will continue to encourage the Legislature to see student support services as a priority in future years.

Now is the time to make one final push to secure crucial funding. Click the button below to reach out to your local legislators and emphasize the importance of investing in higher education.

Take Action Now!

Thank you for being a champion of the UW during this session – we are in the home stretch.