Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee
HB 1289
Brief Description: Concerning program administration for the Washington state opportunity scholarship program.
Sponsors: Representatives Reed, Ybarra, Berry, Ortiz-Self, Riccelli, Paul, Reeves, Leavitt and Timmons.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Allows the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Board to establish and contract with private nonprofit corporations for program administration purposes.
  • Modifies requirements under the state match.
Hearing Date: 1/25/23
Staff: Saranda Ross (786-7068).
Background:

The Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS) program was established in 2011 to provide scholarships to low- and middle-income resident students pursuing eligible high demand baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and health care, and to encourage scholarship recipients to work in the state upon completion of their degrees.

 

The WSOS board is staffed by a program administrator under contract with the board and the Washington Student Achievement Council.  The program administrator is a private nonprofit.  WSOS is a private-public match program in which the state matches any private donations in order to fund the scholarships.  The state match is capped at $50 million annually.
Summary of Bill:

A program administrator is one or more private nonprofit corporations.  The board may establish and/or contract with one or more private nonprofit corporations to operate as the program administrator to fulfill the duties required by the opportunity scholarship program. 

 

The state match, up to a maximum of $50 million, shall be provided annually and is no longer contingent on state tax collections exceeding fiscal year 2008 levels.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 20, 2023.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.