Background:

The Legislature often creates advisory committees and oversight committees to provide policy research and recommendations and to oversee legislatively created programs. A few of these committees are:

The Education Accountability System and Oversight Committee.

Established in 2013, the Education Accountability System and Oversight Committee (EASOC) monitors the outcomes of the Education Accountability System (EAS), which is designed to identify, audit, and remediate persistently low-achieving schools. The EASOC consists of eight legislators, two members appointed by the Governor, and one nonlegislative member. The EASOC is required to monitor the progress of the EAS and make recommendations to the state Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Governor, and the Legislature as necessary if changes to the EAS should be made. The EASOC also has a significant role in the decision to move a school district to a "level two" intervention if the district fails to make sufficient progress under a first intervention plan.

The Legislative Advisory Committee to the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment.

The Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment and College Savings (CATP) oversees programs related to college tuition. The CATP consists of the State Treasurer, the Director of the Office of Financial Management, the Director of the Office of Student Financial Assistance, and two members appointed by the Governor. In 2011 the Legislature established a Legislative Advisory Committee (LAC) to the CATP that consists of eight legislators. The LAC is required to provide advice to the CATP and the State Actuary about the Guaranteed Education Tuition Program, which is a program through which families can prepay for tuition and benefit from tax-free growth in the account.

The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Trade Policy.

In 2003 the Legislature created the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Trade Policy (CTP) to monitor the impact that certain international trade agreements have on Washington state laws. The CTP consists of eight legislators and three ex officio members: one from the Department of Agriculture, one from the Office of the Attorney General, and the State Trade Representative. The CTP is required to hear public testimony annually about actual and potential impacts of international trade agreements and negotiations on the state, which it must report to the Office of the State Trade Representative. The CTP also must maintain active communication about international trade issues with the United States Trade Representative's office, Washington's congressional delegation, and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Joint Legislative Systems Committee.

The Joint Legislative Systems Committee (SC) was created in 1986 to oversee the direction of the Legislature's information processing and communications systems. It consists of four legislative members, one from each caucus in each chamber. At the same time, the Legislature created a Joint Legislative Systems Administrative Committee (AC), consisting of five members⁠: the Secretary of the Senate, the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Code Reviser, and a staff person from each chamber. The AC is responsible for managing the Legislature's information processing and communications systems. The two committees work together to employ a legislative systems coordinator, who serves at the pleasure of the SC, and to oversee the Legislative Service Center. While the AC is responsible for adopting policies, procedures, and standards for information processing and communications systems⁠—including charges for services and equipment and compensation for personnel⁠—these decisions are all subject to approval of the SC. The SC is further responsible for processes to make legislative information available electronically to the public.

The Building Bridges Work Group.

The Building Bridges Work Group (Work Group) was established in 2007 with the mission to prevent students from dropping out of school and to intervene and reengage students that have dropped out. The Work Group includes four legislative members and representatives from a number of K-12 and state agencies that work with such youth, as well as other state agencies and organizations that have juvenile- or educational-focused missions. The Work Group must make recommendations to the Legislature to: reduce barriers that prevent the coordination of various agencies; develop and track performance measures and benchmarks for the partner agencies and organizations; and identify best practices for its mission. It must report to the Legislature and the Governor on an annual basis with proposed strategies to reduce student dropouts and reengage students that have already dropped out. The Building Bridges Work Group was eventually renamed the Graduation: A Team Effort Advisory Group.

The State Birth-to-Three Interagency Coordinating Council.

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires each state to have a state interagency coordinating council for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. The State Interagency Coordinating Council (Council) is responsible for ensuring that state agencies involved in early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities are coordinating with each other to plan and deliver such services. In other words, the Council intends to develop a comprehensive statewide system for such services. The Council has as many as 23 members who are appointed by the Governor⁠⁠; one of the members must be from the Legislature. Although Washington statutes include the term "Birth-to-Three" in the Council's title, the Council instead calls itself the State Interagency Coordinating Council.

The Legislative Oral History Committee.

The Legislative Oral History Committee (LOHC) is responsible for documenting and preserving the history of the Legislature. Its responsibilities include selecting candidates and subjects for interviews, selecting transcripts and related historical material for publication, and providing advice to the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives on the administration of the Oral History program. The LOHC consists of eight legislative members.

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund Authority.

Created in 2005, the Life Sciences Discovery Fund Authority (Authority) was responsible for soliciting money for, and using money from, the Life Sciences Discovery Fund (Fund) to promote life sciences research. The Authority was essentially a board of trustees consisting of four legislators and seven members appointed by the Governor. In 2019 the responsibilities to oversee the Fund were transferred to the Department of Commerce, who in turn was directed to contract with a statewide nonprofit organization with a life science focus. The Authority's enabling statutes were repealed.

The Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation.

The Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation (ACCT) was created in 1998 to improve the coordination of special needs transportation services. The ACCT consisted of state agencies, transportation providers, consumer advocates, and legislators. The ACCT was required to adopt a biennial work plan for transportation systems improvements and to review local plans developed by regional transportation planning organizations. Its statutory authority was repealed in 2011.

Summary of Bill:

The following committees are eliminated:

the Education Accountability System and Oversight Committee;
the Legislative Advisory Committee to the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment;
the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Trade Policy; and
the Joint Legislative Systems Committee.

The Joint Legislative Systems Administrative Committee (AC) absorbs duties previously assigned to the Joint Legislative Systems Committee (SC), and the AC's decisions are no longer subject to the approval of the SC.

Committee support for the Legislative Oral History Committee must be provided by the Office of the Secretary of the Senate and the Office of the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives.

References to the following committees are modified:

References to the Building Bridges Work Group are changed to the Graduation: A Team Effort Partnership Advisory Committee.
References to the State Birth-to-Three Interagency Coordinating Council are changed to the State Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and Their Families.

References to the Life Sciences Discovery Fund Authority and the Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation are removed.

Language about responsibilities for some of these committees to submit reports or recommendations in years past is removed. Language about tuition determinations or changes in years past is removed.