S-1499               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5497

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Peterson, Saling, Stratton, Patterson, Lee, Garrett, Anderson and Johnson)

Read first time 2/23/87.

AN ACT Relating to higher education compensation; creating a new section; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that the salaries of state-funded faculty are significantly below those at peer institutions and that this situation is detrimental to maintaining excellence in the education and training of our citizens.  The legislature also recognizes that continued deterioration in faculty salaries has resulted from inadequate funding to date in the current biennium, thus presenting an immediate and critical need to provide significant salary increases to our current teaching and research faculty.  It is therefore the intent of the legislature to begin to remedy this critical problem through a supplemental appropriation sufficient to grant salary increases effective on the first day of the month in which this act takes effect.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     (1) The amounts specified, or so much thereof as may be necessary, are appropriated to the designated institutions of higher education from the general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, solely to provide the specified average salary increases for academic and exempt employees, including state-funded full-time faculty, departmental chairs, medical residents, teaching and research assistants, librarians, counselors, and instructional and professional staff, and including part-time community college faculty, but excluding presidents, chancellors, chief executive officers, provosts, vice-presidents, and deans in all higher education institutions, and senior administrative officials in the four-year universities and The Evergreen State College who report directly to the excluded persons, effective March 1, 1987, or on the first day of the month in which this act takes effect, whichever is later:

          (a) $2,170,000 to the University of Washington for an average salary increase of 5.0 percent;

          (b) $1,015,000 to Washington State University for an average salary increase of 5.0 percent;

          (c) $240,000 to Central Washington University for an average salary increase of 4.5 percent;

          (d) $277,000 to Eastern Washington University for an average salary increase of 4.5 percent;

          (e) $132,000 to The Evergreen State College for an average salary increase of 4.5 percent;

          (f) $322,000 to Western Washington University for an average salary increase of 4.5 percent; and

          (g) $1,661,000 to the state board for community college education, for an average salary increase of 4.0 percent.

          (2) This section shall not prevent the granting of equivalent salary increases to research faculty supported by moneys other than state funds as long as sufficient moneys exist to support such increases.

          (3) The salary increases authorized by this section shall terminate on June 30, 1987, unless reauthorized in the 1987-89 biennial appropriations act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.