By Rosa Rice-Pelepko
Today is the 57th day of the 2018 Washington Legislative Session. The session is scheduled to end this Thursday March 8th.
Friday was the cutoff day for most bills to make it through the floor of the opposite house. Advocates and lobbyists are now are waiting in anticipation for the final budget to be released and the houses to take final action.
Seeing bills passed off of the floor is quite the reward for the last nine weeks of hard work and dedication.
Here are a few bills that have successfully passed both the House and the Senate as of last Thursday afternoon:
Senate Bill 6002-the Washington Voting Rights Act, Senate Bill 6021-Same Day Voter Registration, House Bill 2595-Automatic Voter Registration, House Bill 1513-Youth Preregistration and House Bill 1169-he Student Opportunity, Assistance and Relief Act (SOAR) have all passed and will soon head to the governor’s desk to be signed!
House Bill 1513, allows for the pre-voter registration of 16 and 17 year olds. Currently, 17 year olds are allowed to preregister to vote if they will be 18 in time for the next election. With the signing of this bill, future eligible voters will be able to register up to two years before their 18th birthday.
Now, 16 and 17 year olds will be able to preregister at the Department of Licensing. This is a win for voter engagement! The majority of new voter registrations in Washington are received through the DOL, and 16 and 17 year olds not being eligible for this current Motor Voter program disenfranchises young voters.
SOAR provides assistance for students who may default on their student loans. Currently, student borrowers default at about a 10 percent rate in the State of Washington. Defaulting on student loans can cause revocation of professional license, and negatively impact ability to pay rent or find other employment. This bill would minimize these repercussions and provide assistance for student borrowers who are experiencing loan default.
Along with this crucial legislation, we had a host of student bills waiting to hit the floor on Thursday and Friday, including bills advocating for the decoupling Services and Activities Fees, expanding aid for undocumented students, the Student Loan Bill of Rights and Open Educational Resources.
In addition to State Need Grant getting the best budget increases we have seen in years, Senate Bill 6593 was also introduced a week and a half ago by Senator Kevin Ranker. This bill would make the State Need Grant an entitlement program, meaning that the state would be required to provide aid to eligible students. This would make it more difficult for the state to underfund this program in future years.
One drawback of the bill is that it mandates that participating institutions collect a $1.50 fee from students each term. Although this is a small amount per student, this move by the legislature would provide a huge revenue source for the state, and it is unclear if all that money is needed to expand the logistical administration of the State Need Grant.
As students, we support fully funding the State Need Grant, but want the bill to be an appropriate use of our dollars, as the fee is essentially a tax on all college students.
The fee would generate over a half of million dollars of revenue for the state, to be collected by the State Treasurer and added to the general fund. It is unclear if this bill will make it through both chambers in time to be added into the final budget, but it paves the way for important ideas heading into next year.
It is unclear if this bill will move much farther this session. Introduced late, it is still sitting in the Senate Rules Committee.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for detailed account of how passed legislation will impact you and your fellow students.
Have issues you would like the AS to advocate on? Join the AS Legislative Affairs Council. Tuesdays at 5:30pm in Viking Union 567. Student leaders from LAC will be in Red Square today and during upcoming Mondays to speak to students about current legislative efforts. Stop by and say hi!