This week is policy cutoff in the House (Wednesday) and Senate (Friday). That means that if a policy bill hasn’t had a public hearing and been voted out of committee, it’s not likely going further in the process this legislative session.
Another cutoff date will occur next week, when the same process will unfold on bills in fiscal committees. Following fiscal cutoff will be the floor cutoff, the date by which a bill has to make it out of its house of origin, to be considered by the other chamber.
Legislative cutoff dates signal the ebb and flow of legislative activity, as committee, staff and legislative members’ workloads change in response to the winnowing list of bills left “alive.” Of curse, some bills considered “dead” may still be revived if they are deemed necessary to implement the budget (“NTIB”).
On Wednesday, President Michael Young returned to Olympia to continue meeting with lawmakers on the University’s top legislative priorities (Learn more: 2014 Legislative Agenda). President Young alsp took time out to meet with UW students from all three campuses interning in Olympia during the legislative session.
Students had a chance to hear from the President on his perspectives on public service, as well as share their individual experiences working in legislative and caucus offices. Students were given an opportunity to ask questions on a range of topics.
Today (Thursday), UW Regents Rogelio Riojas, Constance W. Rice, and Kiana M. Scott appeared before the Senate Higher Education committee for their gubernatorial appointment hearings. All three shared their personal stories, their qualifications for the position, and what they hope to accomplish during their tenure on the UW’s Board of Regents. Watch their testimony via TVW.
Finally, ASUW held its annual “Huskies on the Hill” student lobby day. As part of the day of activities, ASUW held a legislative forum, and invited UW Director of State Relations Margaret Shepherd to speak about her work as the University’s chief representative in Olympia. The forum also featured the University’s faculty representative, Prof. Jim Fridley, representatives from the alumni legislative advocacy group UW Impact, and State Representatives Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane), Gerry Pollet (D-Seattle), and Chad Magendanz (R-Issaquah).
