Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research | BILL ANALYSIS |
College & Workforce Development Committee |
HB 2089
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent. |
Brief Description: Increasing transparency and financial accountability in higher education to students, parents, and taxpayers.
Sponsors: Representatives Kraft, Van Werven, Gildon, Griffey and Graham.
Brief Summary of Bill |
|
Hearing Date: 1/28/20
Staff: Megan Mulvihill (786-7304).
Background:
The Education Research and Data Center (ERDC) is housed within the Official of Financial Management and is tasked with maintaining the state's preschool to grade 20 to workforce (P20W) longitudinal data system. The ERDC links education and workforce data from multiple state agencies through the use of data sharing agreements to conduct cross-sector analyses of education programs and issues. The ERDC also maintains the public four-year data dashboard, which displays data on enrollment, progression, graduation, and other metrics. The data must be broken down by demographics to the extent practicable and is to be updated annually by December 1 of each year.
The ERDC also posts higher education finance reports online. The data in these reports comes from information submitted by the institutions to the United States Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The published finance reports include revenue and expenditure information, but not to the unit-level. The finance reports were last updated in 2012.
Summary of Bill:
The public four-year institutions of higher education (institutions) must submit their administrative, academic, and auxiliary unit budgets that clearly display the revenue and expenditures for each unit to the ERDC. The state universities must submit the budget information to the ERDC within 60 days of the Board of Regent's adoption of the university's operating budget, beginning with the 2019 operating budget. The regional universities and the state college must submit the budget information to the ERDC within 60 days of the Board of Trustee's adoption of the university's or college's operating budget, beginning with the 2020 operating budget.
The ERDC must compile and display the unit budget information on the data dashboard by December 1 of each year. The ERDC must report the unit budget information to the higher education committees of the Legislature each year by December 31. The institutions must include on their websites in a visible, easy to locate section, a link to the unit budget information on the ERDC's website that includes a description of the information.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 27, 2020.
Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect on May 1, 2019.