Brief Description: Creating a women's history consortium.

Sponsors: Senators Fraser, Eide, McAuliffe, Kohl-Welles, Keiser, Franklin, Kline, Haugen, Spanel and Rasmussen.

Senate Committee on Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education
House Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability
House Committee on Appropriations

Background: Currently, there is no systematic effort to compile the history of Washington State's efforts to achieve substantial improvements in the legal rights and opportunities for women and girls. The 2004 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute for Public Policy (Institute) to make recommendations to the 2005 Legislature for the development of a state's women's history organization. To solicit a range of views, the Institute was directed to convene an advisory group of experts, survey the public, and research the work of similar organizations across the country.

Summary: The Women's History Consortium (Consortium) is created with the Washington State Historical Society (Society) as the managing agency. On behalf of the Consortium, the Society must:

• direct and supervise administrative and clerical functions;
• include budgetary requests within the Society's departmental budget;
• collect and deposit all nonappropriated revenues;
• provide staff support;
• print and disseminate notices, rules and orders adopted; and
• provide or allocate office space.

The Consortium is managed by a board of advisors consisting of 15 members: 11 members are appointed by the Governor; two Senators, one from each caucus, are appointed by the President of the Senate; and two Representatives, one from each caucus, are appointed by the Speaker of the House. The board of advisors must be appointed by September 30, 2005. The responsibilities of the board include:

• management, planning and oversight of organizational and fiscal activities;
• adoption of Consortium membership criteria and procedures;
• identification of long- and short-term priorities;
• appointment of special committees and task forces; and
• development of recommendations for the commemoration of the women's suffrage

   centennial.

Within available resources, the Consortium is responsible for:

• compiling and making available a comprehensive index of materials;
• identifying publicly unrepresented or inaccessible topics, historical periods, or materials and developing strategies for public availability, including topics related to the accomplishments of mothers;
• encouraging collection and preservation of historically relevant materials;
• referring potential material donors and developing procedures for protection of material donations, loans, leases and purchases;
• encouraging exhibit development, curriculum material development, and public access to women's history information and materials;
• seeking private funding and developing the concept for a grant program; and
• developing a volunteer program.

The board of advisors must provide the appropriate committees of the Legislature with a report by December 1, 2006, on the progress of required activities undertaken by the Consortium and the board of advisors. The report must also include the Consortium needs and plans for the future.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      47   0
House      94   0   (House amended)
Senate      43   0   (Senate concurred)

Effective: July 24, 2005