Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Higher Education Committee

HB 1631

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Directs the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to include funding to cover academic employee salary increments in its biennial budget request.
Provides that the SBCTC's salary increment request be based on 0.8 percent of the academic employees' salary plus the value of associated benefits.
Specifies how turnover savings and increments may be generated by and allocated between full-time and part-time faculty.
Allows general salary increase funding and increment funding to be combined to increase academic employee increments.
Permits Boards of Trustees to use additional funds to fund increments in years when the Legislature does not provide increment funding.

Background:

Salary increments are pay increases based on years of service and, in some pay systems, additional education.

In some cases employees receive increments even if there is no state funding provided specifically for that purpose. For example, classified employees in the state personnel system receive 5 percent increments for each year of service (up to a cap). The Legislature assumes that state agencies can pay the costs through savings from employee turnover or other resources.

Classified staff in the K-12 system receive increments based on local collective bargaining agreements, but the state funding formulas for K-12 are not adjusted based on these costs. Certificated instructional staff in the K-12 system receive increments based on years of service and education. In this case, the state funding formulas recognize the costs school districts incur through the statewide salary schedule, although districts may operate on a salary schedule that is different than the state's.

Salaries for faculty at community and technical colleges are also established through local collective bargaining agreements. Most salary schedules provide for increments based on some combination of years of service and education. However, state law limits salary increases provided through collective bargaining agreements to the amount or percentage established by the Legislature in the omnibus appropriations act and allocated to the Boards of Trustees by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). As a result, community and technical colleges may not use turnover savings or other resources to pay for faculty salary increases without a special authorization.

Until the current biennium, the Legislature provided funding for community and technical college faculty increments through provisions in the biennial budget. The Legislature has given special authorization to community and technical colleges to use turnover savings to help fund faculty increments.

Summary of Bill:

The Legislature intends that consistent and predictable state funding be provided for community and technical college academic employee salary increases. The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) must include in its biennial budget request an amount sufficient to grant academic employee increments. The biennial budget request of the SBCTC will be based on 0.8 percent of the academic employees' salary plus the value of associated benefits.

The SBCTC will determine how to allocate to the community and technical colleges the appropriations granted for increments, provided that the appropriations generated by part-time faculty salary and benefits are used for part-time faculty increments. How the appropriations are allocated at the district level is subject to collective bargaining. In years in which the Legislature does not provide funding for faculty salary increments, Boards of Trustees may use additional funds that exceed those provided by the Legislature.

Turnover-savings for full-time faculty are generated only when full-time faculty replace full-time faculty. Similarly, turnover-savings for part-time faculty are generated only when part-time faculty replace part-time faculty. Part-time turnover-savings may only be allocated to part-time faculty. Salary increments allocated due to part-time faculty salaries may be used for part-time general salary increases.

Boards of Trustees may combine general salary increase funding with increment funding to increase academic employee increments. To the extent that general salary funding is used to increase increments, the general salary increase will be reduced by the same amount.