Today at Noon lawmakers will return to Olympia to begin a thirty-day special session focused on closing a $2 billion budget shortfall. The first week of the special session is packed full of work sessions and public hearings on the state budget.

November 28
The House Ways & Means Committee will hold a public hearing on the Governor’s proposed supplemental budget.

November 29
The House will convene for a floor session to take action on some early bills. On the Senate side the Ways & Means Committee will hold a work session on the Governor’s proposed supplemental budget. In addition a handful of Senate policy committees will convene.

November 30
Both the House and Senate will convene for a floor session. In addition policy committees in both chambers will meet. Finally the Senate Ways & Means Committee will hold a public hearing on the K-12 and higher education portions of the Governor’s supplemental budget.

December 1
Several appropriation and policy committees will convene. Of particular interest to higher education will be:

•  A work session of the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee on the Governor’s proposed supplemental budget for higher education, a report on the GET program, and a report from the Higher Education Steering Committee tasked with developing a new state-level higher education entity.  
• The House Capital Budget Committee will convene a work session that will focus in part on the ten-year capital needs of higher education institutions. 
• The House Ways & Means Committee will hold a work session on the November economic and revenue forecast, the budget outlook for 2012 and the impact of recently passed initiatives on the operating budget.

December 2
The House Higher Education Committee will convene for a work session on the legislative priorities of the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB), State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, and the Public Baccaluareate Institutions. In addition the Committee will receive reports regarding the Higher Education Steering Committee’s work on a new state-level entity for higher education, the HECB’s work on the higher education master plan, and the community and technical colleges’ efficiencies efforts.

Finally the House Ways & Means Committee will convene to hold a public hearing on any bills referred to committee.