Dream Act approved by House

OLYMPIA - The Dream Act was passed in a rare first-day vote in the state House of Representatives Monday, but local legislators remain divided over it.

The proposed bill makes young undocumented immigrants eligible for college financial aid.

It passed 71 to 23, with two representatives absent.

Rep. Manweller, R-Ellensburg, voted against the Dream Act. He thinks the state already does enough for undocumented immigrants, such as allowing students to pay in-state tuition rates.

Manweller said he'd like to see in-state tuition for veterans before he supports the Dream Act. The House and Senate have been working on bills that would allow veterans to establish residency sooner and pay in-state tuition, but didn't pass them last session.

Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, was one of the Republicans who voted in favor of the bill, last year as well as on Monday.

"I met with several students. These are students who are working very, very hard to be productive citizens in this country, and get their citizenship," Warnick said.

She said she met one student who wants to become a doctor and told her, "I feel like an American in every way, but on paper."

"And that really made an impact on me," Warnick said. "That he has gone through our school system, learned the ways of our country and our state, and would like to be a productive citizen, but needs a hand up - not a hand-out, but a hand up."

The bill did not pass the Senate last year, and is currently going through committees.

Rep. Brad Hawkins, R-Wenatchee, voted against the bill, although last year he was for it. He said he studied the issue more since. While he supports the idea of allowing undocumented immigrants who have been here since childhood to continue their education with help from the state, he was concerned the expanding pool of applicants would displace current qualified students.

"If they're not going to add more funding to the program, then let's reform the program a little bit," Hawkins said.

Republicans against the bill say there's already not enough funds to go around, and that 32,000 students who apply for the state need grant each year are unable to get funding.

Hawkins had proposed an amendment that would have increased the cumulative GPA eligibility requirement for a state need grant. The minimum is 2.0 currently and Hawkins would like to see it changed to 2.5.

However, the vote happened before his amendment could be attached. Hawkins said legislators were notified of the rare first-day vote within hours of when session would start.

Sen. Linda Parlette, R-Wenatchee, who sits on committees that the Dream Act will pass through next, said it was unclear if the bill would make it to a floor vote.

Parlette said the priority for her caucus is jobs and the economy. The Majority Coalition Caucus, which includes two Democrats and 24 Republicans, planned last year to not prioritize "issues where we'd have strong differences of opinion," she said.

Gov. Jay Inslee, in his State of the State address Tuesday, called on the Senate to pass the bill.

"You send this bill to my desk and we'll send thousands of students to college," he said.