Sen. Karen Fraser (D-Olympia), Vice Chair for Capital on the Senate Ways and Means Committee and Rep. Bill Fromhold (D-Vancouver) Chair of the House Capital Budget Committee have agreed to sponsor the UW’s local debt authority bills in their respective chambers.
The legislation would expand the UW and WSU’s ability to issue bonds or other forms of debt for any university purpose to be paid by all locally retained fees and revenues. If passed, the bill would permit the universities to act with speed when issuing debt and streamline our borrowing process, to reduce the overall cost of funds. Long term financing of the recently purchased UW Tower would be another benefit of the legislation.
Other sponsors of the bill will be Sen. Paull Shin (D-Edmonds), Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee and Rep. Deb Wallace (D-Vancouver), Chair of the House Higher Education Committee. Ranking Republican members on both the Senate and House capital and higher education committees are also expected to co-sponsor the legislation.