With Washington state’s budget deficit projected to increase to more than $4 billion, students are faced with a possibility of increased tuition and living costs as budget cuts are made across the board.

On Tuesday, ASUW and GPSS hosted the second of three legislative forums held this month to promote dialogue between Washington state legislators and the UW community on a variety of issues concerning students.

Steve Scher, the senior host of KUOW, acted as moderator as questions on higher education, affordability, financial aid, health and safety were addressed.

“Our current challenge is offering education prices students can afford,” said Sen. Jerome Delvin, ranking minority member of the Higher Education Committee. “[We are] hyper-aware of the cost of education.”

“We need to hear about the actual costs for students, not just tuition,” said Rep. Marko Liias, a UW graduate student and member of the Education Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Audit Review. “We need to look at affordability in a larger scope, including books, living costs, transportation and parking.”

The widening budget deficit may be attributed to increases in government spending during the past four years along with the current recession. Legislators are now struggling to find ways to adjust the budget for the current economic state while finding ways to boost the economy.

All three panelists support funding for higher education and agree on the importance of improving the economy in the long-term, as accomplishing this produces graduates able to give back to the community.

“I believe in you folks,” said Sen. Paull Shin, chair of the Higher Education Committee. “I believe that education isn’t one-sided, that the government and states need students so we need to look into affordable education, accessibility and fairness for all.”

Since the state is seeing a $4 billion deficit, there will about 12 percent cuts across the board, in areas besides just education, Liias said.

Because of this, adding a tuition cap for out-of-state undergraduates and graduate students seems unlikely, as institutions see this as possible revenue loss.

“It’s going to be hard to get a tuition cap, so we should also focus on other costs such as providing more aid,” Liias said. “In two to three years, we may be in a different place and things may be improving, but for the next couple years, it is unlikely.”

Shin and Delvin agree the timing isn’t right and that adding a tuition cap will most likely not happen in the next legislative session.

Students have a variety of issues on their minds for the upcoming legislative session.

Some students are hoping for legislative support on an inspection-based system instead of a complaint-based system for housing, to hold landlords more accountable to students.

However, this will be difficult to approve since it will be seen as “new spending,” Liias said.

The capacity to cover mental health care under insurance, a prominent issue for students, is getting better, but in the short-term will be tough to obtain, Liias said. In the long-term this will be more likely.

Concerning offsetting the costs of books, the Legislature has already passed a bill concerning textbook bundling. Bundling is when textbook publishers packages books and workbooks and CDs together, driving up the cost of books for students.

Many students suggested working with faculty to use online resources to further alleviate costs.

Shin and Liias suggested that students and members of the community should write letters to legislators highlighting what issues are important to them.

“This is an area where we need your input … where we can help keep costs low for students,” Liias said.

Reach reporter Doris Wu at news@thedaily.washington.edu.