Legislative update from Olympia: Week 4

Today marks the start of the fourth week of the 2017 Legislative Session and Western has had a strong presence in Olympia since the session began on Jan. 9.

Many WWU students traveled to Olympia for Western Lobby Day during MLK Day on January 16. Western students packed the capitol campus and discussed their priorities in more than 100 meetings with legislators and Governor Inslee during the annual event organized by the Associated Students.

On Jan. 24, President Randhawa joined presidents from other public baccalaureate institutions in the Senate Ways and Means Committee for a work session about higher education budget issues. The occasion was the first time in recent years that presidents from universities throughout the state jointly participated in a legislative committee, and the meeting highlighted accomplishments from each of the six public baccalaureate institutions.

The House and Senate Higher Education Committees have been ramping up their work since the start of session, holding informative work sessions and public hearings for proposed legislation. Work sessions have covered topics such as Washington State medical schools, a historical review of state tuition, an overview of a report from the Campus Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force, presentations from colleges and universities about their legislative priorities and an update from the Council of Presidents including a discussion of the sector-wide Washington Competes agenda.

Stay tuned to the Western Legislative Review for updates from Olympia throughout the legislative session. You can find a summary of Western’s 2017 legislative priorities here, a link to our Twitter page here, and you can sign up for email updates from the blog at https://wp.wwu.edu/wlr/2017/01/30/week-4-legislative-update/.