Brief Description: Creating the reading achievement account.

Sponsors: Representatives Sommers, Kagi, Green and Kilmer.

Hearing Date: 1/23/06

Staff: Elisabeth Donner (786-7137).

Background:

The Office of the State Treasurer manages over 400 trust accounts and funds. If a fund or account is located within the state treasury, an appropriation is required for expenditures. Ordinarily, unspent appropriations lapse at the close of the fiscal years. Funds and accounts in the custody of the State Treasurer are nonappropriated and generally restricted to a particular purpose. Monthly interest earned from the investment of trust accounts and funds can either be set aside for the state General Fund, or a proportionate share of earnings can remain in specified accounts or funds.

The Governor is proposing to consolidate early learning activities into a new cabinet level Department for Early Learning (Department). Washington Learns is also recommending the creation of an early learning department. In the 2005-07 budget, $250,000 was appropriated to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish the Early Reading Initiative (Initiative). The Initiative is a grant program targeted at pre-reading and early reading skills through community-based initiatives.

Summary of Bill:

A Reading Achievement Account (Account) is created in the custody of the State Treasurer. The Director of Early Learning must deposit in the Account all state appropriations to the Department and non-state moneys received for reading achievement, including reading foundations and implementation of research-based reading models.

Moneys deposited in the Account will not lapse at the close of the fiscal period for which they were appropriated. The Director of Early Learning, or the Director's designee, may expend moneys in the Account only for the purposes for which they were appropriated, and is subject to any other conditions or limitations placed on the appropriations.

The Reading Achievement Account will retain its interest earnings.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.