Policy committees in both the House and Senate continued their work to move bills forward in the process. Today marks the last day for House policy bills to move out of committee followed by a February 3 deadline in the Senate.

This morning kicked-off with dualing committees in the House. The House Capital Budget Committee held a public hearing on legislation that would provide increased flexibility around minor works and predesign requirements for institutions of higher education. The Council of Presidents, which represents the six public baccalaureate institutions in Washington, testified in support of the bill. The Committee followed the public hearing with an executive session in which the bill was passed by the committee and moved forward in the process.

At the same time the House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee held a public hearing on legislation that requires a model policy for open licensing of courseware developed with state funds at higher education institutions.  Higher education institutions, students, faculty, and others, while supportive of the intent of the legislation, expressed concerns about the scope of the legislation, the impact on innovation, and lack of resources -both fiscal and personnel – to undertake this initiative. In addition representatives from higher education testified to the work already being done at institutions to provide for low-cost textbook options for students and highlighted other successful programs across the nation that might serve as models for the development of such an effort in Washington.

In the Senate, the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development held a marathon public hearing on legislation ranging from developing an open courseware policy at insitutions of higher education to creating a database of services provided to students with disabilities at institutions of higher education to putting into law that athletics not receive any state funding at WSU and UW.