The Legislature passed another major deadline last night. All bills, unless necessary to implement the budget, must have moved to the opposite chamber. With this the Legislature also moved from policy mode to budget mode.
The Legislature has until April 27 in the regular session to pass a biennial operating, capital and transportation budget. The Senate took action to advance transportation in the last few weeks while on the floor, but the shape and size of the operating and capital budgets have yet to be determined. It is expected that the House will release a proposed biennial operating and capital budget at the end of March, to be followed by the Senate. Between now and then budget writers are talking and rumors are flying.
Until the budget releases steal the show, legislators will return to the committee structure to advance policy bills through policy committees, fiscal committees, and the floor. The next major deadline is April 1 – and this is no joke -when policy bills must have moved out of the opposite chamber’s committees and either to a fiscal committee or the floor to be considered “alive” this session.
Last week both the House and Senate advanced several higher education related bills to the opposite chamber for further consideration. In the final days of floor session, both chambers moved additional higher education related legislation.
- HB 1559/SB 5487 – UW/WSU medical school legislation.
- HB 1704 – Enhances public safety and reduce recidivism through postsecondary education
- HB 1825 – Aligns state residency laws for veterans with federal law
- SB 5328 -Requires public baccalaureate institutions to provide financial aid application due dates and information in written or electronic for to prospective and admitted students
- SB 5534 – Establishes a certified public accounting scholarship
- SB 5620 – Authorize waivers of building fees and services and activities fees for certain military service members
- SB 5841 – Creates a tuition and fees exemption for children and surviving spouses of certain highway workers