Proportionality Bill
Our proportionality bill – HB 2083 – continues to languish in the Senate Finance Committee. Whether it will move out of the committee in time to pass remains to be seen. As a result, we have attached the language from that bill to other bills. One of those bills, SB 42, is being considered by the full House today. We have some procedural issues to overcome, but we hope that the House will view the bill favorably.
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Budget
The Conference Committee continues to meet and finalize the budget. Last weekend, members finalized the portion related to higher education. The budget calls for an increase to the community college funding formula and removes the harsh proportionality measures. Even if our proportionality bill does not survive, at least the strict definition of proportionality has disappeared from the next budget.
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Education Committees
Earlier this week, the House Higher Education Committee considered several bills, and among them was SB 857 — our purchasing bill. The bill passed out of committee and is now waiting to make its way to the Senate floor; this is the third session in which we have worked on this bill, so we hope that we can beat the clock and get it passed once and for all.
The committee also considered SB 174, which would require us to post “online institution resumes.” It will be difficult for this bill to make it to the full House floor before the gavel falls.
The Senate Higher Education Committee met on Wednesday and then again earlier this morning and considered several bills of interest to DCCCD, including:
- HB 746 – which relates to expanding the availability of classrooms and other facilities for use by public colleges and universities. This bill, which was left pending in committee, could have a significant impact on how we use our facilities.
- HB 2504 – which requires us to post certain undergraduate course information on our web site. We have worked to change this bill throughout the legislative process; this morning, it passed out of the committee with one small amendment, which may slow the process as it moves forward.
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Legislation Tracking
For additional details about some of the bills that DCCCD is tracking, visit our Legislation Tracking Web site.
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