S-1592.1

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5736

BySenate Higher Education & Workforce Development (originally sponsored by Senators Nobles, Holy, Mullet, Hawkins, Randall, Nguyen, Liias, Boehnke, Conway, Hunt, Kuderer, Lovelett, Torres, Trudeau, Valdez, and C. Wilson)

AN ACT Relating to addressing high demand workforce shortages; and reenacting and amending RCW 43.79.195.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 43.79.195 and 2021 c 334 s 971 and 2021 c 170 s 6 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) The workforce education investment account is created in the state treasury. All revenues from the workforce investment surcharge created in RCW 82.04.299 and those revenues as specified under RCW 82.04.290(2)(c) must be deposited directly into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for higher education programs, higher education operations, higher education compensation, state-funded student aid programs, and workforce development including career connected learning as defined by RCW 28C.30.020.

(2) Beginning in fiscal year 2024, and each year thereafter, an amount up to all revenues collected under RCW 82.04.299 must be used for higher education programs that lead to a credential in advanced computing fields and related science, technology, engineering, and math computing fields to increase access and equity, especially for low-income students and students of color. Expenditures from the account under this subsection may be inclusive of the Washington college grant awards of students enrolled in these programs.

(3) Expenditures from the workforce education investment account must be used to supplement, not supplant, other federal, state, and local funding for higher education.

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