The Washington House and Senate continue to steadily move through bills as deadlines pass and new deadlines near.
Washington House
In the House the deadline to move policy bills from commitee and to either an appropriation committee or the House floor passed yesterday (January 31). With the passage of this deadline the House has refocused on the appropriation committees in preparation for the next deadline. On February 7, bills, unless necessary to implement the budget, must have moved out of the fiscal committees to the floor.
House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee
This morning the House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee held a public hearing on a handful of bills.
Among the bills heard this morning was legislation to provide greater flexibility to Washington’s institutions of higher education – both two- and four-year public institutions. The bill would enact a handful of changes to the business-side of the house at institutions of higher education.
The public baccalaureate institutions and community and technical colleges testified in support of the legislation. Both sectors highlighted the opportunity this bill would provide to institutions to maintain a focus on the mission of their institutions to educate students at a time of limited resources and further state funding reductions. The Governor’s Office expressed concerns about the need to align the bill with efficiencies in higher education.
Washington Senate
The Senate has a few more days before the first deadline of the session is met. All Senate bills must have moved from their respective policy committee by end of day on February 3.
Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development
As the Friday deadline nears, the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee met this afternoon. The Committee held a public hearing on legislation that specifies that the State Archives, to insure the maintenance of security and preservation standards and to promote efficiency and access consistent with the requirements of this chapter, must authorize the operation or lease of an archive, records center, records warehouse, or records storage facility. In addition any state agency with an archives, records center, records warehouse, or records storage facility must transfer the records to the state archives by July 1, 2013.
Evergreen, along with the University of Washington, testified with concerns with regard to the potential costs of requiring institutions to transfer records to the state archives. In addition Evergreen expressed concern about the potential negative impact on the College’s current digital archive program.
Following the public hearing the Committee took action on several bills previously heard this session. Among the bills the Committee passed included legislation to establish a new state level entity for higher education, create financial literacy options for postsecondary education students, and provide for regulatory flexibility for institutions of higher education.