Trustees confirmed as session heads into final week

This week will see two cutoff deadlines: the first came Monday when bills with fiscal implications need to have been voted out of those committees. The second comes today when bills from the opposite chamber need to be passed by the House and Senate by 5 p.m. to continue in the legislative process.

Representatives and Senators spent time caucusing, breaking to debate and vote on bills and, in the case of the Senate, confirm trustees. By noon Friday, Senators voted to confirm eight trustees at seven colleges.

Trustee confirmations

The Senate on Feb. 25 confirmed Wally Webster II and David Earling as trustees at Edmonds College.

"Mr. Webster’s background in organizational behavior and his three decades of experience as a Bank of America senior vice president will lend itself to the success of Edmonds College as it recovers from the pandemic and continues to expand its services in our community," Sen. John Lovick said.

"Mr. Earling’s experience as a music professor and community leader, and his enthusiasm for education makes him a natural to continue his service to the board of trustees," Lovick said.

Senators on Tuesday confirmed Rozanne Garman as a trustee of South Puget Sound Community College.

"She's dedicated to bringing her experience as a business owner in commercial and industrial construction to support the students entering those fields at South Puget Sound Community College," Sen. Emily Randall said.

Sharonne Navas, a trustee at Green River College, was also confirmed Tuesday.

"Sharonne Navas is a dedicated public servant who is committed to equity in education. In fact, she founded a nonprofit that works directly in that space. She is also eager to link the K-12 system with higher education, and her service at Green River College will allow her to continue in that work." Randall said.

On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Beth Thew to serve on the Community Colleges of Spokane Board of Trustees.

"She's a graduate of Spokane Falls Community College and considers herself a lifelong learner, which is such an important value, especially among our supporters of community [and technical] colleges in Washington," Randall said.

The Senate on Wednesday also confirmed Mike Maxwell as a trustee of Peninsula College.

"He works in health care on the peninsula and, because of that work, understands both the challenge of small business owners and providers in rural communities and also the importance of educational pathways to ensure that all people in Washington have access to the health care that they need when they need it," Randall said.

On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Shaunie Wheeler-James to the Renton Technical College Board of Trustees and Neil McClure to a trustee of Yakima Valley College. 

"I've had the privilege and honor of knowing Shaunie for a few years now, and she firmly believes that education is vital to economic and workforce development," Sen. Joe Nguyen said.

"Mr. McClure is committed to supporting lower cost educational opportunities to facilitate greater accessibility to postsecondary education within local communities," Sen. Jeff Holy said.

Bill status roundup

The bills listed below have been featured in this year's Legislative News and made it past Monday's second fiscal committee cutoff deadline. This bill status is as of noon Friday.

Bill number	Bill title	Bill status
HB 1659	Making higher education more affordable and accessible for students by bridging the gap between cost and need to reduce barriers, improve opportunity, and advance economic security	March 4: Placed on second reading.
HB 1751	Concerning hazing prevention and reduction at institutions of higher education	March 3: Passed Senate 46-0.
HB 1781/SB 5651	Concerning the capital budget	Feb. 24: Passed House Capital Budget Committee. Referred to Rules 2 Review.
HB 1816/SB 5693	Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations	Feb. 23: Passed House Appropriations Committee Feb. 24: Referred to Rules 2 Review
HB 1835	Creating outreach and completion initiatives to increase postsecondary enrollment	March 3: Placed on second reading by Rules Committee.
HB 2019	Increasing educational and training opportunities for careers in retail	March 3: Passed Senate 49-0.
SB 5600	Concerning the sustainability and expansion of state registered apprenticeship programs	March 3: Passed House 94-4.
SB 5651/HB 1781	Concerning the capital budget	Feb. 26: Referred to Rules Review.
SB 5693/HB 1816	Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations	Feb. 26: Passed House 56-37.
SB 5764	Concerning apprenticeships and higher education	March 3: Passed House 94-2.
SB 5789	Creating the Washington career and college pathways innovation challenge program	March 3: Passed House 77-19.
SB 5847	Providing information to public service employees about the public service loan forgiveness program	March 3: Passed House 66-32.

Coming up next week

With just six days remaining in regular session, members of the House and Senate will confer on bills that were amended after passing their original chamber. If members agree on the same bill, the House and Senate will debate and vote on it again. Budget negotiators are also working toward common operating and capital proposals to present to the full House and Senate to pass before Thursday, the last day of session.