April 21, 1995 - REGULAR SESSION TO END WITHOUT MAJOR ISSUES
RESOLVED
As expected, the 1995 regular 105-day session of the Washington
Legislature will end Sunday without major issues resolved. Look
for the governor to call an immediate 30-day special session.
However, lawmakers have cleared the decks on hundreds of smaller
bills. Here are some that WSU has been tracking. Remember "dead"
bills can be resurrected in special session and are automatically
"alive" in the 1996 regular session.
- Signed: Substitute House Bill 1001 - Tuition Carryforward
Legislators gave higher education institutions some additional
flexibility, allowing them to carry over tuition and other non-state
appropriated funds from one biennium to the next. This means
tuition funds could be saved to be spent on special projects.
Vetoed by the governor last year, it was repassed by the Legislature
and signed by Gov. Mike Lowry on April 12.
- In Dispute: SB 5325 - Tuition The Senate bill, which
is endorsed by WSU, sets tuition increases at acceptable levels,
up 4.3% for the first year, and 5.3% for the second year. Tuition
increases would be matched by increases in state funding under
the Senate version. The House version of the bill increases tuition
by at least 5% per year but offsets the increases with reductions
in state funding. Institutions could levy and retain additional
tuition surcharges. Whether the Rinehart version or the House
version will succeed will depend on the outcome of the conference
committee deliberations on the budget.
- Passed: Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1009 -
Pesticide Registration Commission Known as the "Minor
Crops" bill, this measure sets up a commission to distribute
funding for research to put back on the market more safe products
for Washington crops such as apples and potatoes. The budget
may ultimately decide the fate of these programs, as the House
budget funds the bill and the Senate budget does not. If funded,
it could mean up to $1 million in additional research dollars
for Washington State University. The bill is now on the governor`s
desk.
- Dead: HB 1271- Public Agency Lobbyists Original versions
of this bill requiring a single lobbyist and additional reporting
requirements did not conflict with WSU`s limited efforts. However,
recent drafts of the bill limited agency personnel contact to
four days per year. The bill died this week in the Senate Rules
Committee.
- Dead: HB 1325, SB 5533; Pharmacy Students Tuition Efforts
to implement the HEC Board-approved doctorate of Pharmacy degree
program continue to be unsuccessful in the Legislature. It is
hoped that a compromise could be reached in budget and tuition
bills considered in special session.
- Dead: HB 1326 - Higher Education Commercial Activities
Lawmakers have apparently ended efforts to limit the commercial
activities of higher education institutions. These measures were
to prevent a Taco Bell kiosk at Central Washington University
but the implications for WSU in later versions of the bill were
much more worrisome.
- Dead: HB 1400 - Remedial Education This was legislation
seeking to prevent higher education institutions from using public
money to bring college students up to high school level in some
classes. WSU spends only $25,000 per year on such remediation,
which benefits hundreds of students, and has no nearby community
college to provide remediation. We opposed the bill but supported
measures such as HB 1336, which require more reporting requirements
of non-college education.
- In Trouble: HB 2085, SB 5963; Attendance Incentive Program
Opposition is growing to a measure which eliminates cashing
out of unused sick leave benefits by state employees. WSU most
objects to the impact this bill has on retiring employees. The
bill is technically dead in the House Rules Committee.
- Dead: SB 5557 - Experiential Learning A bill setting
up a pilot program to give students credit for life experience
coupled with a distance learning program has apparently died in
the House Rules Committee. WSU opposed early drafts of the bill
but found the recent draft acceptable.
- Dead: SB 5605 - Higher Education Drug and Alcohol Use.
The Senate version of the bill, assuring that students would be
placed in an "alcohol-free" living area was supported
by WSU. House versions of the bill attempted to ban alcohol consumption
in many campus living areas and raised questions for the university.
That bill has apparently died in the House Rules Committee. Nevertheless,
WSU has reacted to the issue by announcing that students may select
from five dorms where there will be no alcohol in living areas.
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