Marathon Man

  

There aren't many people in the Legislature with a more well-earned reputation for hard work than Sen. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor), and his chairmanship yesterday of a marathon session of the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee only emphasize his dedication.

A typical committee session in Olympia is scheduled for two hours, but yesterdays hearings in Kilmer's committee included four related bills that would attract a larger-than-usual slate of advocates hoping to testify, including:

• SB 6276 (Granting the University of Washington tuition-setting authority)

• SB 6562 (Regarding tuition-setting authority at institutions of higher education)

• SB 6509 (Modifying the budget recommendations developed by the higher education coordinating board to include recommendations on tuition and fees)

• SB 6625 (Changing higher education tuition and financial aid provisions)

So many people showed up to offer testimony and comments that a second hearing room was opened up to accommodate them; they could witness the hearings via a live video feed and were notified when they were "up to bat" for testimony in the main hearing room.


Kilmer had the insight to schedule these bills for hearings during a committee meeting at the end of the day: without having to vacate the rooms for another committee, he could ensure that everyone who wanted to testify had their voices heard and their comments entered into the record.


What was scheduled to be a two-hour session ran to over three hours - you can watch the entire thing on TVW below.