Yesterday marked the deadline for policy bills to pass from the opposite chamber. All policy bills, unless they are deemed necessary to implement the budget (NTIB), must have moved from the opposite chamber and either (a) to the Governor’s desk for his signature or (b) to the chamber of origination for concurrence and then hopefully onto the Governor’s desk.

Both the Senate and House have spent the last week advancing bills to the next stage in the process.

Below is a brief glimpse of some of the bills that have advanced past this major deadline

• HB 1138: Creating a task force on mental health and suicide prevention in higher education
• HB 1546:  Concerning dual credit opportunities provided by Washington’s public higher education institutions
• SB 5328: Changes the dissemination of financial aid information
• SB 5638: Modifies the requirements of the State Need Grant program to make the grant available to students enrolled or accepted for enrollment at a qualifying institution of higher education for at least three quarter credits, or the equivalent semester credits

Wednesday marked another major deadline, one of the last before sine die, in the process. All policy bills that were moved to a fiscal committee must have moved from committee to the floor.  The exception as always are any bills that are deemed necessary to implement the budget.

A few higher education policy bills have already passed off the floor. This includes legislation to modify the requirements of the State Need Grant program to make the grant available to students enrolled or accepted for enrollment at a qualifying institution of higher education for at least three quarter credits, or the equivalent semester credits (SB 5638) and “clean-up” statute language related to community and technical college provisions  (HB 1961).

A handful of higher education policy bills now await to be advanced from the Rules Committee to the floor and ideally to the Governor’s desk.

• HB 1138: Creates a task force on mental health and suicide prevention in higher education
• HB 1546: Makes changes to dual credit programs offered by higher education institutions
• HB 1644: Allows children of eligible veterans or National Guard members to receive tuition/fee waivers before the age 18 and after age 26 in certain circumstances
• HB 1825/SB 5355: Aligns state residency policies with federal policies
• HB 1977: Creates a tuition and fees exemption for children and surviving spouses of certain highway workers.
• HB 2041: Creates a pilot project on performance-based scholarships in the state need grant program
• SB 5122: Encourages the public baccalaureate institutions to use multiple methods to determine whether a student must enroll in precollege courses and requires institutions to post placement information on institutional websites and in admissions materials
• SB 5328:Requires the public baccalaureate institutions to provide financial aid application due dates and distribution policies for prospective and admitted students
• SB 5518: Creates procedures to address campus sexual violence
• SB 5534: Creates the certified public accounting scholarship program
• SB 5719: Creates a task force on campus sexual violence prevention
• SB 5746: Adds Everett Community College as an aerospace training or educational program
• SB 5851: Concerns recommendations of the college bound scholarship program work group

Yesterday marked the deadline for policy bills. All policy bills, unless they are deemed necessary to implement the budget (NTIB), must have moved from their respective policy committees to either an appropriation committee or the floor in the opposite chamber.

Both the Senate and House higher education committees have spent the last few weeks advancing bills to the next stage in the process.

Below is a brief glimpse of some of the bills that have advanced past today’s deadline.

• HB 1138: Creating a task force on mental health and suicide prevention in higher education – Senate Ways & Means
• HB 1696: Returns tuition-setting authority for resident undergraduate students to the operating budget – Senate Ways & Means
• HB 1825: Aligns state residency policies with federal policies – Senate Ways & Means
• SB 5133: Creates a review of higher education costs – House Appropriations
• SB 5328: Changes the dissemination of financial aid information – House Rules
• SB 5638: Modifies the requirements of the State Need Grant program to make the grant available to students enrolled or accepted for enrollment at a qualifying institution of higher education for at least three quarter credits, or the equivalent semester credits – House Rules

The bills that advanced this week from the policy committees, if moved to a fisacl committee, must move from committee to the floor by the end of the day on April 7.  Stay tuned!

Today marks the halfway point to the next major deadline this session. By end of day on Friday, bills that have been sent to an appropriation committee must advance from committee to their respective floor for further consideration.

This afternoon the House Appropriations heard testimony on legislation to enhance public safety and reduce recidivism through postsecondary education (HB 1704) and the UW/WSU medical school legislation (HB 1559). Tomorrow the House Appropriations committee will hear a few more higher education bills including:

• HB 1696: Returns tuition-setting authority for resident undergraduate students to the operating budget
• HB 1812: Requires WSAC to design and implement a program that provides information to high-achieving, low-income high school studetns to increase applications from these students to public and independent, non-profit baccalaureate institutions in Washington
• HB 2041: Establishes a performance based pilot project within the State Need Grant program.

In the afternoon the Senate Ways & Means Committee is expected to take executive action on several higher education bills, including:

• SB 5954: Creates the College Affordability Program (CAP). Removes tuition-setting authority for resident undergraduate students for the public baccalaureate institutions. Beginning in the 2015-16 academic year, tuition fees for resident undergraduates must be no more than the following: for community and technical colleges, 6 percent of the state’s average wage; for the regional universities and The Evergreen State College, 10 percent of the state’s average wage; and for the research universities, 14 percent of the state’s average wage. Beginning with the 2015-17 operating budget, the Legislature must appropriate to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and each four-year institution of higher education an amount that is at least equal to the total state funds appropriated in the 2013-15 biennium plus the reduction in revenues from resident undergraduate tuition operating fees received for the 2015-17 fiscal biennium under this act, adjusted for inflation. Additionally, the dollar value of the building fee must not be reduced below the level in the 2014-15 academic year, adjusted for inflation.
• SB 5851: Advances recommendations to improve and enhance certain components of the program, including data collection, outreach and program outcomes.
• SB 5561: A child of a veteran or National Guard member is eligible for a full tuition waiver at a Washington State institution of higher education if one of the child’s parents became totally disabled as a result of active service, was a prisoner of war, or lost their life as a result of serving in active duty, and the child: is a Washington domiciliary between the age of 17 and 26; or meets one of eight federal requirements for receiving education assistance.
• SB 5547: SNG recipients must maintain a 2.5 GPA to be eligible for renewal, unless the student attends The Evergreen State College (TESC). Students enrolled at TESC must meet the requirements of the college’s satisfactory academic progress policy to remain
  eligible for the SNG program.
• SB 5355: Amends the definition of resident student to comply with federal requirements established by the veterans access, choice, and accountability act of 2014.