Legislature Moves Pass Policy and Into Budget Full Time

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

Next Week: Floor Action

Next week the Washington House and Senate will spend long days on the floor.

The first half of the week will be dedicated to advancing policy bills, not necessary to implement the budget, from the floor to the Governor’s desk.  Both chambers have until the end of day on April 15 to move bills.  A word to the wise be cautious what you consider to be a “dead bill”, things can come back to life at anytime.

Once this deadline passes it will be full throttle to the ultimate deadline – sine die.  April 26 marks the end of the regular session.

So where do things stand.

To date, the House has passed a proposed biennial operating budget to the Senate. It is now in Senate Ways & Means.  No further action has taken place on revenue, which underlies the operating budget. The House Finance Committee is scheduled to meet a week from today.  The House also advanced, with a strong bipartisan vote, a biennial capital budget.  The capital budget is now in Senate Ways & Means.

The Senate has passed an operating budget to the House. It is now in House Appropriations. This past week the Senate released and advanced a capital budget proposal. The Senate “gut-n-stuffed” the House’s capital budget (HB 1115/116) with their proposal in committee late this week. It is expected the Senate will take up the bill on the floor next week.

Policy Bills Head to the Floor

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

Next Week: It is All Budget All the Time

Next week the Legislature kicks into high gear again.  Given the actions of this week the focus will be on advancing key components required to reach a final budget deal.

The House passed a proposed biennial operating budget along party lines on Thursday.  However further action on revenue, which underlies the operating budget, has yet to be scheduled (at the time of this blog).  The House also advanced, with a strong bipartisan vote, a biennial capital budget.  The House operating and capital budgets now go to the Senate for consideration.

The Senate spent nine hours debating a proposed operating budget on Thursday and Friday.  However a final vote was not taken to advance the proposal to the House. It is expected that the Senate will take the operating budget up again next week for a final vote.  The Senate has also not released its proposed biennial capital budget.  It is expected that the Senate’s capital budget will likely be released next week followed by action to advance it to the House.

Within that context both the House and Senate must take action on bills referred to a fiscal committee by the end of day on April 7.  Dozens and dozens of bills await their fate in the fiscal committees.

For higher education this includes legislation to create a task force on mental health and suicide in higher education, remove tuition-setting authority, align state and federal student veteran residency policies, a study of higher education cost drivers, the display of campus data, and recommendations to the College Bound Scholarship program.

Policy Deadline Passes onto Fiscal Committees and the Floor

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!

Next Week Deadlines and Money

Next  week the House and Senate will continue to advance policy legislation forward in the process. Both chambers have until April 1 to advance policy bills to either a fiscal committee or the floor of the opposite chamber.

The House and Senate Higher Education committees will each meet once to take final action on any policy legislation this session.

In addition, the House Capital Budget is scheduled for a public hearing on the House’s proposed biennial capital budget on Monday followed by an executive session on the budget on Tuesday.

It is expected that the Senate will release its budget proposals either sometime next week or early in the week after.

Finally between policy deadlines and budget news, the House and Senate fiscal committees will begin the long work of advancing bills to the floor. Both chamber must move all bills to the floor in the opposite chamber by April 7, unless the legislation is deemed necessary to implement the budget.

Legislature Advances Bills to Next Chamber, Long Hours on the Floor

The Washington Legislature must move all bills, unless necessary to implement the budget, from one chamber to the other by close of business on March 11.

After a week of floor action, the Senate and House have the weekend and the first half of next week to continue to advance legislation to the opposite chamber.  Both have worked long hours all week to move several bills forward ranging from legislation to increase the state’s minimum wage to a transportation budget package to recognizing March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day.

Several bills that directly impact higher education have passed this latest hurdle.

  • HB 1031: Expands participation in College in the High School beyond grades 11 and 12 to students in 10th grade.
  • HB 1052:  Requires institutions of higher education to make an early registration process available to spouses and domestic partners of active members of the military.
  • HB 1138: Creates a task force on mental health and suicide prevention in higher education.
  • HB 1236: Allows certain school personnel to witness a student’s college bound scholarship pledge if the student’s parent or guardian is unavailable.
  • HB 1238: Requires the Washington Student Achievement Council to report to the Legislature by Decemer 15, 2016, regarding the affordability of the higher education system.
  • HB 1439: Establishes an online alternative credit model at Central Washington University.
  • HB 1532: Concerns budget submissions for capital design and construction at institutions of higher education.
  • HB 1570: Creates flexibility for the educator retooling conditional scholarship program.
  • HB 1644: Concerning veteran survivor tuition waiver eligibility.
  • HB 1696:  Removes tuition-setting authority from higher education institutions.
  • HB 1706: Authorizes waivers of building fees and services and activities fees for certain military service members.
  • HB 1863: Modifies collective bargaining law related to providing additional compensation for academic employees at community and technical colleges.
  • HB 1961:  A “clean up” bill for the community and technical colleges.
  • SB 5133: Concerning a study of higher education cost drivers.
  • SB 5295: Concerning the display of campus information on the statewide public four-year dashboard.
  • SB 5318: Establishes a wildlife college student loan 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.
  • SB 5518: Creates procedures to address campus sexual violence.
  • SB 5638: Students who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment for at least three quarter credits, or the equivalent semester hours, in a qualifying higher education program are eligible for the State Need Grant.
  • SB 5719: Creates a task force on campus sexual violence prevention.
  • SB 5851:  Advances recommendations to improve and enhance certain components of the program, including data collection, outreach and program outcomes.

Legislature Spends Day on the Floor

Today was the first day the Washington Senate and House gathered on their respective floors to begin deliberation on legislation. Both chambers have until the end of day on March 11 to move bills to the opposite chamber.

With regard to higher education a few bills were advanced today. Among those moving over to the other chamber included:

HB 1961 : A “clean up” bill for the community and technical colleges

HB 1031: Expands participation in College in the High School beyond grades 11 and 12 to students in 10th grade.

HB 1052Requires institutions of higher education to make an early registration process available to spouses and domestic partners of active members of the military.

Over the Hump

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.

More Higher Education Bills Heard by Appropriations Committee

This afternoon the House Appropriations heard testimony on two higher education related bills.

  • HB 1546: Makes change to the dual credit opportunities provided by Washington’s public institutions of higher education.
  • HB 1825: Amends the definition of resident student to comply with federal requirements established by the veterans access, choice, and accountability act of 2014.

While no higher education bills are before the Senate Ways & Means committee tomorrow. The House Appropriations committee will hear public testimony on legislation to enhance public safety and reduce recidivism through postsecondary education (HB 1704) and the UW/WSU medical school legislation (HB 1559).