The long-awaited floor action on the Governor’s Washington Learns bill for higher education came to a successful conclusion this morning with the overwhelming passage of SB 5806. Since the bill was not amended in the House, it can be delivered directly to the Governor for her signature.
The bill contains several provisions of importance to the University including:
- A cap on tuition increases for resident undergraduates of no more than 7% per year.
- Establishment of the Global Challenge States as the official benchmark for comparing per student funding for higher education institutions in the state.
- Setting a goal of bringing per student funding for all higher education institutions to at least the 60th percentile of peer schools in the Global Challenge States.
- A requirement that tuition statements for public colleges clearly display the state taxpayer subsidy along with other relevant costs.
Rep. Maralyn Chase was the lone House member to vote against the measure.