More than halfway through cut-off week and I’m really pooped today. I actually nodded off in the back of the Ways and Means hearing room waiting for a hearing on a bill that the committee never got to. I really need to get to bed a lot sooner I think.
I hope many of you got a chance to catch some of the media coverage of the Husky Stadium bill hearing yesterday in the Senate Ways and Means committee. I thought Governor Evans, Coach Willingham and Scott Woodward did a very good job explaning the serious safety problems with the stadium and clarifying a number of questions about the proposed legislation. No doubt this is a controversial issue but I believe that even the most skeptical legislators got a chance to see the significant deterioration of the stadium and better understood the need to move quickly on renovation given the Sound Transit project coming soon.
As for the UW North Sound issue, the House version of the bill that establishes the UW branch campus in Everett cleared the House Higher Education committee on an 8-2 vote on Monday. The bill now goes to the House Appropriations committee. Meanwhile, the Senate Ways and Means committee canceled today’s scheduled public hearing on the Senate version of the same measure. It is possible that a hearing on the measure might be scheduled next week.
Work continues in earnest on our supplemental budget request items. There has been considerable discussion by legislators on the campus safety items and so far, there appears to be very little enthusiasm among a number of House members to spend very much money in this area. With the help of a lot of folks on campus, we have been successful in amending several bills of concern, particularly in the human resources area, and we will continue to work on possible changes to others as action moves to the full House and Senate later next week.
More hearings tomorrow and a marathon House Appropriations committee hearing on Friday since many legislators will be heading back to their districts this weekend for presidential caucuses.