News

Today marks the 47^th day of the 60-day legislative session. As we navigate the final two and a half weeks leading up to the veto period, there are still several pieces of legislation in play. Below is an overview of specific legislation WKU is tracking.

House Bill 96

House Bill 96 (HB96) alters the makeup of the performance funding workgroup and requires the workgroup to meet every four years instead of every three years. HB96 will add ten members to the existing performance funding workgroup:

·      Four members from the majority party in the House of Representatives

·      One member from the minority party in the House of Representatives

·      Four members from the majority party in the Senate

·      One member from the minority party in the Senate

HB96 passed the House of Representatives and the Senate Education Committee. The bill awaits passage on the Senate floor and then must be concurred within the House. View HB96 here.

House Bill 307

House Bill 307 (HB307) establishes a proactive admissions program for public universities. HB307 requires the Kentucky Department of Education to share directory level information for all students with the public universities and offers students the opportunity to opt into the proactive admissions program. For every student that opts into the program, the Kentucky Department of Education will be required to provide the public universities with the student’s GPA and ACT and/or SAT test score. Public universities are required to notify all students that meet the minimum qualification for admissions to their prospective university. HB307 passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting further action in the Senate. View HB307 here.

House Bill 497

House Bill 497 (HB497) makes changes to state mandated tuition waivers. HB497 requires those eligible for a state mandated tuition waiver to fill out a FAFSA and caps the credit hours at 128 and the age to be able to use the waiver at 26. The waiver for 65 and older individuals is capped at eight credit hours per semester. HB497 also restricts the use of waivers to undergraduate course work. HB497 passed the House of Representatives and awaits further action in the Senate. View HB497 here.

House Bill 500

House Bill 500 (HB500) is the Executive Branch biennial budget. The House version of the budget maintains base appropriation reductions across most of state government, including postsecondary education. This is obviously disappointing news for all public universities. On the positive side, HB500 provides WKU with authorization to proceed with Elevate WKU, the public-private partnership with Gilbane to modernize and reimagine campus housing. HB500 also includes asset preservation funding for WKU at $10,000,000 in the first year of the biennium and $9,158,000 in the second year. 

The budget process is far from over. HB500 Passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting further action in the Senate. I expect the Senate version of the budget to be released early next week. Once the budget passes the Senate, it will go to the House for concurrence or non-concurrence. The House will not concur with the Senate version and the Senate will not recede with their changes. The bill will then be referred to a budget conference committee where the House and Senate will negotiate on the differences in the two versions of the bill. I do not expect to see a final version of HB500 until the final days of March.  

Below is a list outlining WKU’s budget request.

• 4.5% increase in the base appropriation in each year of the biennium
• First year increase of $3,671,500
• Second year increase of $3,671,600
• Increase of $30,000,000 to the performance funding pool
• Creation of a $30,000,000 tuition waiver reimbursement trust fund
• Continued asset preservation funding
• $30,999,000 for WKU in each year of the biennium
• A new facility for Potter College of Arts and Letters: $280,000,000
• Authorization to enter into a public-private partnership agreement to transform student housing
• Additional $2,000,000 for the Gatton Academy to expand to 200 students
• Maintain funding for the Kentucky Mesonet at $1,750,000

View HB500 here.

I will continue to keep the campus community informed as legislation continues to make its way through the legislative process. View all legislation WKU is tracking here.