This weeks marks another major deadline in the legislative process as the Legislature marches forward toward the end of session in mid-March. House policy committees must advance Senate bills forward in the process by the end of Wednesday, February 26; the deadline in the Senate for House bills is Friday.

House Higher Education Committee

This morning the House Higher Education Committee held a series of public hearings on Senate bills that passed the floor last week.

Among the bills considered this morning was  legislation that would change business practices resulting in greater efficiency and effectiveness for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions (SB 6362) and ensure that colleges and universities clearly disseminate their financial policies to students (SB 6358). The Committee also took executive action on bills heard in committee.

The Committee rounded out the meeting with a work session  focused on higher education transitions. The Committee heard updates with regard to two programs that focus on easing the transition to higher education: (1) the College Bound Scholarship and  (2) MESA Community College Program.

The Committee will meet next on Wednesday afternoon. This will be the last meeting prior to the policy cut-off for bills passed in the Senate to be considered  in the House.

Senate Higher Education Committee

This afternoon the Senate Higher Education Committee continued its work to advance gubernatorial appointments to higher education related boards. The Committee heard from nominations who would serve on the boards of Spokane and Spokane Falls Community College, Shoreline Community College, and the Washington Student Achievement Council.

Following the conversation with future Trustees the Committee held a series of public hearings on house bills. The Committee heard proposed legislation that would create an informational program to increase applications from high-achieving low-income students to selective institutions of higher education (HB 2694) and clean up outdated statutes pertaining to general obligation bonds that were issued for higher education capital projects and that have matured and provides expiration dates and clarifications for certain higher education provisions and programs (HB 2546).

The Committee also held a public hearing on House Bill 2613 which changes to business practices resulting in greater efficiency and effectiveness for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions.

The Committee closed with an executive session. The Committee advanced several pieces of legislation  and moved multiple gubernatorial appointments forward. The legislation advanced included amended legislation to require higher education institutions to post department-level, budget unit-level, division-level, school-level, or college-level expenditure information on their respective web site within sixty days of the closing fiscal year  (HB 2336) and an amended bill to direct OFM to create a website with accessible information on revenues and expenditures and require all branch campuses to display specific data on the office of financial management’s dashboard for four-year institutions of higher education by December 1, 2014 (HB 2651).

The Committee will meet next on Thursday afternoon. This is the last meeting of the Committee before the Friday cut-off.