Today is the house of origin policy committee cutoff in Olympia, meaning that House bills need to be passed out of policy committees in the House and Senate bills need to be passed out of policy committees in the Senate in order to remain viable for consideration this session. Policy-related bills that are not passed out of committee by today are considered “dead” unless they are deemed to be necessary to implement the state budget. For a fun refresher on the legislative process, you can find Schoolhouse Rock’s classic 1976 “I’m just a Bill” song here.
There are a number of bills pertaining to higher education that have successfully passed the first cutoff and are still alive this session, including:
- HB 2801, sponsored by Representative Drew Hansen, would make undocumented students eligible for the College Bound Scholarship;
- HB 2680, sponsored by Representative Melanie Stambaugh, creates the Washington open education pilot grant program for four-year institutions of higher education, which is designed to address textbook affordability;
- SB 6409 and HB 2755, sponsored by Senator Barbara Bailey and Representative Hans Zeiger respectively, would create efficiency in higher education by streamlining processes and eliminating unnecessary reporting requirements for public universities;
- HB 2955, sponsored by Representative Drew Hansen, would establish the Free to Finish College program intended to reduce barriers for returning students seeking to complete degrees. The Free to Finish College program would be similar to Western’s Destination Graduation program that was supported by one-time grant funding in 2007;
- SB 6601, sponsored by Senator David Frockt, would create the Washington College Savings Plan program, a 529 college savings plan;
- SB 6466 and HB 2825, sponsored by Senator Cyrus Habib and Representative Noel Frame respectively, would establish a work group for removing obstacles for higher education students with disabilities;
- HB 2820, sponsored by Representative Gerry Pollet, would create the Washington Promise program, establishing free tuition for students enrolled in community and technical colleges;
- HB 2769, sponsored by Representative Tana Senn, would create a pilot program for community and technical colleges to offer bachelor degrees; and
- HB 2573, sponsored by Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, addresses the shortage of public school teachers. Western has a plan to help address teacher shortage throughout the state and would receive funding in the latest version of the House bill.
Today’s cutoff is the first cutoff date of the 2016 legislative session and will be followed by the house of origin fiscal committee cutoff on Tuesday, February 9. You can find the entire 2016 session calendar, including key cutoff dates, by clicking here.
Stay tuned to the Western Legislative Review for updates on these bills and issues impacting WWU and higher education in Washington State as they continue to emerge in Olympia.