RCW 43.79.195 Workforce education investment account.

(1) The workforce education investment account is created in the state treasury. All revenues from the workforce investment surcharges created in RCW 82.04.299 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, and state-funded student aid programs. For the 2019-2021 biennium, expenditures from the account may be used for kindergarten through twelfth grade if used for career connected learning as provided for in chapter 406, Laws of 2019.

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

[ 2019 c 406 § 2.]

NOTES:

Findings—Intent—2019 c 406: "The legislature finds it is essential that Washington residents have the opportunity to succeed in a competitive global economy by investing in Washington students for Washington jobs. The legislature finds that Washington state is expected to have seven hundred forty thousand job openings by 2021 and that most of these projected openings will be filled by workers with a postsecondary credential, such as a degree, apprenticeship, or certificate. The legislature finds that the state must focus on educational opportunities with targeted investments to keep tuition low and expand capacity for in-state students. The legislature also finds that currently only forty percent of Washington's high school students earn such a credential by age twenty-six, when seventy percent is the goal set by industry and business leaders intent on hiring Washington-educated workers. The legislature finds that Washington state already has several successful programs that help Washington students train for Washington jobs, including the state need grant, the guided pathways initiative at the community and technical colleges, and degree and apprenticeship programs in high-demand fields, such as computer science, engineering, nursing, and more. The legislature further finds that providing additional resources for workforce investments is critical in maintaining Washington's competitiveness in the global economy by ensuring businesses are able to hire Washington talent. Therefore, the legislature intends to create the new workforce education investment account, supported by professions that depend on higher education, that will expand existing investments to help people earn the credentials essential to obtain family-wage jobs and fill the seven hundred forty thousand jobs of the future." [ 2019 c 406 § 1.]

Findings—Short title—2019 c 406: See notes following RCW 28B.92.200.

Findings—2019 c 406: See note following RCW 28B.94.020.

Findings—Intent—2019 c 406: See note following RCW 28C.30.050.

Findings—Intent—2019 c 406: See note following RCW 43.216.135.