The Washington Legislature yesterday evening passed a capital budget that allocates $35 million for construction of the Biomedical and Health Sciences Building Phase I at WSU Spokane. Greater Spokane Incorporated releases the following statement regarding the capital budget:

"The allocation of $35 million in the state's capital budget for the Biomedical and Health Sciences Building Phase I at WSU Spokane will have a significant impact on the state and region. This project will help add the second year of medical studies at WSU Spokane, giving the Spokane region all four years of studies through the partnership of WSU and the University of Washington School of Medicine. Many community, business and legislative partners advocated for this project and it will continue to be our top priority until it is fully funded.

"We are thankful that our elected officials are building for the future with the capital budget and we look forward to working with them more to secure the rest of the funding. Having a full health science center including medical education and research at WSU Spokane will have a statewide $2.1 billion annual economic impact over the next 20 years, and add more than 13,000 jobs to our workforce, transforming the greater Spokane region and the state."