BILL REQ. #:  S-0027.5 

Read first time 01/08/2007.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to tuition setting authority; amending RCW 28B.15.067; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that it is imperative for Washington citizens to have access to higher education. A well-educated citizenry is essential to both Washington's public well-being and its economic future. The legislature further finds that affordability is a key factor in whether Washington citizens have access to higher education. At a time when college is more important than ever to a person's educational and economic well-being, rising tuition costs make the dream of going to college even harder to realize. Tuition and fees at the University of Washington have increased eighty-two percent over the past ten years. During the same time, the cost of consumer goods increased on average twenty-two percent and Washington's personal income increased by forty percent. Washington was recently given a D- for affordability by the national center for public policy and higher education. It is the legislature's intent that tuition levels should be predictable for families, students, and institutions, and limiting the amount by which it can be raised will assist in that endeavor.

Sec. 2   RCW 28B.15.067 and 2006 c 161 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Tuition fees shall be established under the provisions of this chapter.
     (2) Beginning with the 2003-04 academic year and ending with the 2008-09 academic year, reductions or increases in full-time tuition fees for resident undergraduates shall be as provided in the omnibus appropriations act.
     (3) Beginning with the 2003-04 academic year and ending with the ((2008-09)) 2006-07 academic year, the governing boards of the state universities, the regional universities, The Evergreen State College, and the state board for community and technical colleges may reduce or increase full-time tuition fees for all students other than resident undergraduates, including summer school students and students in other self-supporting degree programs. Percentage increases in full-time tuition fees may exceed the fiscal growth factor. Reductions or increases may be made for all or portions of an institution's programs, campuses, courses, or students.
     (4) Academic year tuition for full-time students at the state's institutions of higher education beginning with 2009-10, other than summer term, shall be as charged during the 2008-09 academic year unless different rates are adopted by the legislature.
     (5) The tuition fees established under this chapter shall not apply to high school students enrolling in participating institutions of higher education under RCW 28A.600.300 through 28A.600.400.
     (6) The tuition fees established under this chapter shall not apply to eligible students enrolling in a community or technical college under RCW 28C.04.610.
     (7) For the academic years 2003-04 through 2008-09, the University of Washington shall use an amount equivalent to ten percent of all revenues received as a result of law school tuition increases beginning in academic year 2000-01 through academic year 2008-09 to assist needy low and middle income resident law students.
     (8) For the academic years 2003-04 through 2008-09, institutions of higher education shall use an amount equivalent to ten percent of all revenues received as a result of graduate academic school tuition increases beginning in academic year 2003-04 through academic year 2008-09 to assist needy low and middle-income resident graduate academic students.
     (9) Beginning with the 2007-08 academic year, unless approved by a two-thirds majority vote of each house, tuition increases for all undergraduate and graduate students may not exceed the following:
     (a) The rate of inflation; or
     (b) Fifty percent of the students' share in the total cost of instruction per student.
     (10) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (a) "Cost of instruction" means the sum of direct and indirect costs of an institution related to instruction on a per-student basis.
     (b) "Inflation" means the percentage change in the implicit price deflator for the United States for each fiscal year as published by the federal bureau of labor statistics.