The way this session began last week, I feel like I am aging in “dog years,” you know, each week really feels like seven weeks, or something like that. Woof. In any event, can’t be much busier than last week and besides, “it wouldn’t be fun if it was easy.”
Today, the House Higher Education Committee considers HB 2783 which is an attempt to improve articulation and transfer between institutions of higher education. COP has been collecting viewpoints on this legislation from all four-year schools and the consensus seems to be the bill has some noble goals but causes some difficulties for our institutions. The Senate Higher Education committee meets at the same time to consider a number of workforce education bills.
At 3:30 p.m. today, the House Appropriations Committee will look at higher education and technology fields. Jim Severson from the UW Tech Transfer office will make a presentation to the committee which will also hear reports on high demand enrollment allocations and perspectives from the Prosperity Partnership.
On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Education Subcommittee will discuss the UW North Sound campus issue and hear presentations on campus security budget requests. I will be there to present the preliminary academic plan for the campus and Deb Merle from the Governor’s office will provide updates on issues related to the site selection process.
The next morning, the House Higher Education Committee will hold a work session on campus safety featuring UW student representatives and Vice Provost Eric Godfrey. The Senate Higher Education Committee will hold a public hearing on SB 6133 that would limit tuition increases. Also on Wednesday, the Council of Faculty Representatives will hold its Faculty Serving Washington exhibit in room 112 of the Legislative Building.
On Thursday, the House Higher Education Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 2646 which would increase bereavement leave for higher education employees from three to five days. A preliminary analysis of this bill indicates it could have a significant cost. In the Senate Higher Education Committee, public hearings will be held on SB 6328, which is the Governor’s campus safety legislation and SB 6304 which would stautorily ban firearms on college campuses. The committee will also consider SB 6490 which would establish a UW branch campus in Lake Stevens which was one of the four finalist sites selected in the NBBJ consultants report.
That same afternoon, the Senate Labor, Research and Commerce Committee will hear a UW request bill, SB 6637 which would permit the UW to purchase ethyl alcohol directly from national suppliers instead of going through the Liquor Control Board. This bill is needed due to the closure in December of the UW central stores operation. A House companion bill (HB 2825) will be heard in the House Commerce and Labor Committee on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
On Friday, the House Capital Budget Committee will hold a work session on two topics of interest to the UW. First, the committee will study the 10-year capital cost projections for the proposed UW North Sound branch campus in Snohomish County. In addition, the committee will hear a report from COP on the use of proportionality in the priority setting process of the public baccalaureate capital projects priority list.