THE LEGISLATURE APPROVES SPOKANE HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION; NEXT
STOP, GOV. GARY LOCKE
The Spokane higher education bill passed the state Senate Monday, complete
with House amendments, and is being delivered to Gov. Gary Locke's desk.
It may be several weeks before the governor takes action on the legislation
that, if signed, is almost certain to result in more Washington State University
research and instruction programs being offered to place-bound Spokane-area
students. WSU strongly supports the legislation that grew out of the recommendations
of the state Higher Education Coordinating Board. The bill was originally
sponsored by Senate Ways and Means Chairman Jim West, R-Spokane; Sen. Gene
Prince, R-Thornton, and Senate Higher Education Chairwoman Jeannette Wood,
R-Woodway. Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, the leading opponent of the legislation
in Olympia has already scheduled a meeting today with the governor to seek
a veto. Brown is a Spokane faculty member at Eastern Washington University.
Despite intense lobbying from a fellow Democrat, it is expected that Locke
will agree with provisions of the bill that eliminate the Spokane Joint
Center for Higher Education, a state agency that functions as a sort of
"mini HEC Board" for the Spokane area and has been a barrier to new WSU
programs. Currently, the Joint Center is the fiscal officer for two Spokane
academic buildings. The bill provides that one building will now be operated
by the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI)
and the other will be managed by WSU.
The bill assigns WSU, in cooperation with EWU and other institutions,
the responsibility for "ensuring the expansion of" upper-division and graduate
level higher education programs to Spokane beginning Jan. 1, 1999.
The final bill that will be delivered to the governor actually represents
significant compromise to the recommendations of the HEC Board. The HEC
Board recommended turning the SIRTI over to WSU. The Senate opted to create
a new state agency that is run by a 17-member board. WSU has just one vote
on the board, the same vote assigned to each of EWU, Central Washington
University, Gonzaga University, Whitworth College, the Spokane Community
Colleges and a new partner: the University of Washington.
In House amendments offered by Rep. Larry Sheahan, R-Spokane, language
was added to avoid duplication of EWU Cheney programs and WSU Spokane programs.
In an unprecedented move, the legislation guarantees programs in physical
therapy, communication disorders, nursing and dental hygiene shall continue
to be offered through EWU exclusively and forever. While there were no
such guarantees for any WSU programs, WSU is confident that elimination
of the Joint Center Board will allow for HEC Board consideration of new
WSU programs for Spokane.
HOUSE REVERSAL: PERMANENT FUNDING FOR DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORSHIPS
PASSES LEGISLATURE
Delivery of this fax today was held up by a very pleasant and unexpected
development. The state House of Representatives reversed its position today
and supported the Senate version of Senate Bill 6727 proposed by Senate
Ways and Means Chairman Jim West on a 98-0 vote. Until today, the House
has refused to agree to a permanent funding mechanism for distinguished
professorships, graduate fellowships, and matching programs for the state
Board of Community and Technical Colleges. Passage of the bill should bring
in about $5 million to these programs in the coming year alone. It could
mean the establishment of a couple of new WSU professorships each year,
matched by private grants, for WSU. The motion to recede from the House
position was made by House Higher Education Chairman Don Carlson, R-Vancouver.
TRAVEL BILL SPRINGS TO LIFE, ADVERSELY IMPACTS WSU EMPLOYEES - Engrossed
Second Substitute House Bill 2027
WSU came out in opposition today to late-session legislation that prohibits
state employees from reimbursement for airline tickets not purchased through
a travel agent. The state House of Representatives unexpectedly rewrote
and passed legislation that was considered dead under legislative rules.
The legislation, originally sponsored by House Majority Leader Barb Lisk,
dealt mostly with registration of travel sellers and travel purchased for
the Department of General Administration employees. But it picked up a
broad late-session floor amendment by Rep. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville,
which extended the bill to higher education institutions and the rest of
state government. Section 14 of the bill, added with the Schoesler amendment,
states, "Institutions of higher education...shall not purchase any travel
services for use by any employee of the institution, or reimburse an employee
for any travel services purchased from a vendor who is not a Washington-based
seller of travel..." This apparently prevents WSU employees, even if they
are stranded out-of-town or even outside the country, from purchasing tickets
directly from an airline ticket counter. Instead, employees must call a
travel agent based in Washington State. It would also forbid WSU from taking
advantage of any discount travel packages for conferences or events that
would be offered by an out-of-state travel agent. The only exception listed
in the bill is for travel services provided by a football bowl event. The
language does not appear to permit the type of contract WSU had with its
Rose Bowl travel vendor, however. Lobbyists for the travel industry are
reportedly working to have the Senate consider the legislation in the final
hours of the legislative session. This bill is apparently exempt from the
usual deadlines and requirements of the legislative process. It passed
the House 17 days after the deadline for a bill to clear the originating
house. The bill has never had a public hearing in the state Senate and
has yet to be assigned to a committee.
