With just over a week to go in the 2023 legislative session, the House and Senate on Wednesday reached their last major cutoff deadline, when bills coming from the opposite chamber needed to receive a vote. Community and technical college system-supported bills on dual credit, College Bound Scholarship expansion, student basic needs and data transfer were all approved. >>
The House and Senate passed a critical deadline Wednesday as bills — unless necessary for the budget — originating in their chamber had to be voted out to continue in the legislative process. Moving this week were bills on student basic needs, dual credit, data sharing, nursing and corrections education. >>
House and Senate fiscal committee hearings were long this week but testimony was short as committee members worked to hear and vote on bills ahead of today's fiscal committee cutoff deadline. Following the Feb. 17 policy committee cutoff, the budget-related committees had just this week to complete their work. That meant marathon meetings with time-limited public testimony for committees to work their way through dozens of bills. >>
The Legislature reaches its first cutoff deadline today. Bills, unless needed to implement a budget, must be voted out of House and Senate policy committees in order to continue in the 2023 legislative process. >>
Hearings continued through the fourth week of session, with committees taking up bills addressing student basic needs and nursing education. The House Appropriations Committee heard the fiscal impacts of the bill that would expand eligibility of the Washington College Grant, and the House Postsecondary Education and Workforce Committee heard its version of the Career Connect Washington bill. >>
Legislators this week continued committee hearings, taking up bills on Career Connect Washington, dual credit, the College Bound Scholarship, campus decarbonization plans, corrections education and creating a Native American scholarship program. The House Postsecondary Education and Workforce Committee held a work session Wednesday taking a deeper dive into students' basic needs. >>
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Legislative News is published weekly during the legislative session by the staff of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to highlight issues impacting the two-year college system.
SBCTC is led by a Governor-appointed board and provides leadership, advocacy, and coordination for Washington’s system of 34 public community and technical colleges. Each year, about 337,000 students train for the workforce, prepare to transfer to a university, gain basic math and English skills, or pursue continuing education. Visit our website at SBCTC.edu or email us a SBCTCCommunications@sbctc.edu
