This past week we have seen most legislative activity spent on the floors of the House and Senate Chambers. Several pieces of legislation Evergreen has been following and advocating for have successfully made their way out of the Rules Committee and onto the floors of their respective chambers. Considered “regulatory relief” legislation, these bills are as follows:

HB 2259: Eliminating certain duplicative higher education reporting requirements. What is not a duplicative report, this bill would repeal the state requirements for institutions of higher education to report certian crime reports that are already being reported at the federal level.

HB 2585/SB 6401: Creating efficiencies for institutions of higher education. This bill deals with procurement procedures at institutions of higher education.

HB 2735: Regarding intermediate capital projects and minor works. This piece of legislation would increase the thresholds for predesign and minor works projects at institutions of higher education.

HB’s 2259 and 2585 passed unanimously off of the House Floor and will now move to the Senate for further consideration. 2585’s Senate companion, SB 6401, is awaiting consideration on the floor. HB 2735 is also awaiting consideration on the House floor.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 15, committee hearings pick back up in the House and Senate. Bills that are still alive will receieve hearings in their opposite chambers. We will continue to monitor them as we move through the remainder of the session.

On Thursday the Economic Revenue Forecast will be presented for the 1st quarter of 2012. The forecast will help determine that state of Washington’s budget. We will be closely watching that report.