Things are ghostly quiet in the state capital today as the second week of the Legislature’s 30-day special session has now come and gone. And while an end is not yet in sight, there are a few noteworthy items to pass along.
First, the governor announced this week that a tax amnesty program designed to give businesses a chance to catch up on their back taxes penalty free netted far, far more than was anticipated. For the state, it’s a windfall of $182 million which can be used to help narrow the spending gap between House and Senate budget proposals.
The Olympian’s Brad Shannon has a good recap here.
Also of note, the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday advanced House Bill 1981 after making key changes that would allow WSU to continue to offer a defined contribution plan to new professional staff. The underlying bill would have directed such staffers to participate in the state’s PERS system. WSU and other state universities argued that would prevent staff from being offered a portable retirement plan that they could easily transfer assets from as their career path takes them to other jobs with defined contribution retirement plans down the road.
The bill, with all of its changes, now must be approved by the full Senate before being sent back to the House.
Finally, there’s been lots of work going on behind the scenes on House Bill 1795, which would grant state universities a four-year window in which they could set their own tuition rates subject to a series of conditions. A vote in the House could come as soon as early next week. So stay tuned.