We are now in the fifth week of the 2015 legislative session in Olympia and bills continue to move through the legislative process. In total, legislators have filed over 2,000 bills to date.

Over the past few weeks, the House and Senate Higher Education committees have received various briefings during work sessions, have heard public testimony regarding legislation during public hearings, and have voted on legislation during executive sessions. Topics of work sessions and proposed legislation have varied greatly, including college affordability, campus sexual assault prevention, and tuition setting authority, just to name a few.

The house of origin policy cutoff on February 20th is quickly approaching. This is the deadline for bills to be voted out of policy committees in their chamber of origin. The cutoff for fiscal and transportation committees will take place the following week, on February 27th. Click here for a full list of 2015 cutoff dates.

Western has been busy meeting with legislators and testifying in committees to advocate for higher education in Washington State and advance Western’s legislative and budget priorities. Western will continue to do so over the coming weeks and months until the session concludes.

Stay tuned for more blog updates as the legislative session carries on, and go Vikings!