Another legislative deadline passed today. Fiscal committees in each chamber must have moved legislation from the opposite chamber out of committee and to the floor.
The remainder of session will focus on floor action in each chamber as bills are moved either to the other chamber for concurrence or to the Governor for her signature.
Since Friday a handful of bills of interest to Evergreen have passed both chambers and are now headed to the Governor for her signature – Senate Bills 5041, 6467, and 6367.
House Bill 5041 creates a statewide program to increase state procurement contracts with veteran-owned businesses. The bill encourages encouraged to state agencies to award 3 percent of all procurement contracts under $35,000 to veteran-owned businesses. The bill passed the House with a vote of 94-0.
Senate Bill 6467 allows the University of Washington, Washington State University, Central Washington University, Western Washington University, Eastern Washington University, or community and technical colleges in existence in 1942 to confer honorary degrees upon persons who were students at those institutions in 1942, but did not graduate because they were ordered into an internment camp. An honorary degree may also berequested by relatives for deceased qualified persons. The bill passed the House with a vote of 96-0.
Senate Bill 6367 allows state agencies to provide an Internet address and link on the agency’s website to a specific record request in addition to providing a record in response to a public records request. If the requester informs the agency that he or she cannot access records through the Internet, the agency must provide hard copies or allow the requester to view copies on the agency computer. The bill passed the House with a vote of 96-0.
Two bills of interest to Evergreen – SB 5295 and HB 2519 – passed their respective chambers and now are awaiting for the other chamber to concur with changes made to the bills.
Senate Bill 5295 addresses unanimous recommendations from the Public Records Exemption Accountability Committee.
House Bill 2519 among other changes the bill requires state institutions of higher education to waive all tuition, service fees and activity fees for children and spouses of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and Washington State Patrol Officers, that die or become totally disabled in theline of duty while employed by any public law enforcement agency or full-time or volunteer fire department in Washington.