Postsecondary Education & Workforce committee advances multiple higher-education bills, adopts amendments

The Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee on Feb. 19 reported a package of bills out of committee with “due pass” recommendations, adopting amendments on several measures that affect higher-education governance, student representation, workforce training and college fees.

The committee — chaired by Representative Paul and vice chaired by Representative Nance — advanced bills on home care aide certification, student and faculty participation in presidential hires, increases to services-and-activities fees, adding a student member to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, exemptions for certain out‑of‑state institutions, a work group on large-animal veterinarians, and limits on gifts given to law enforcement presenters. The committee did not take executive action on House Bill 16 77 (medication abortion access on campuses) or House Bill 17 62 (prohibiting required on-campus residency) during this meeting.

Why it matters: the bills affect students, campus governance and workforce pipelines across the state — from mechanics of how institutions hire presidents to training and testing timelines for home care aides and a modest increase in the cap on student services fees that funds campus supports such as child care, counseling and disability services.

Most significant actions

House Bill 19 26 — home care aide training and testing: The committee adopted two amendments from Representative Timmons that change the bill’s fiscal and implementation language. The amendments remove a September 2026 reporting requirement and make certain implementation steps subject to appropriation, and they strike an earlier $6.5 million appropriation for the current biennium. Representative Timmons described the amendments as “an attempt to try to make this bill work in a challenging budget year,” while urging the committee to preserve provisions that integrate testing into training and expand testing locations. The committee moved a substitute incorporating the adopted amendments and reported it out with a due-pass recommendation (staff announced 17 ayes).

Hous…