Creates a new dedicated state treasury fund called the workforce education investment account and requires that all revenues from the workforce investment surcharge (RCW 82.04.299) and the revenues specified in RCW 82.04.290(2)(c) be deposited into that account. The bill limits spending from the account to higher education programs, higher education operations, higher education compensation, state‑funded student aid programs, and workforce development including career connected learning (as defined in RCW 28C.30.020). Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation, and expenditures must supplement, not supplant, other federal, state, or local funds; the legislature states appropriations from the account are intended to provide additional, enhanced, and expanded support and may not be used to replace or offset existing or projected funding obligations. The section reenacts and amends RCW 43.79.195. This is a statutory and procedural change: it creates a dedicated account, redirects specified revenue streams into that account, sets permissible uses and appropriation rules, and amends existing law. It does not create a new crime or change penalties. The affected entities include the state treasury (as custodian of the account), higher education programs and operations, state student aid programs, workforce development programs, and the Legislature (which controls appropriations). The text provided does not include the full language of the referenced RCWs or the definition of career connected learning, omits appropriation amounts and implementation details, and shows bracketed deletions related to certain fiscal biennia whose implications are unclear from the excerpts.

If enacted, revenues from the state’s workforce investment surcharge and the specific revenue source in RCW 82.04.290(2)(c) will be routed into a new dedicated state account that can only be spent when the Legislature appropriates money from it. That creates a likely new pool of money that could be used for expanded higher education programs, campus operations and pay, state student aid, and workforce development including career-connected learning, but those uses must add to existing funding rather than replace it. The groups most affected are colleges and universities, students who receive state-funded aid, and workforce development providers, who could gain additional program, staffing, or aid dollars but should not count on them as guaranteed or as a substitute for current funding. The state treasury will hold the funds and the Legislature will decide allocations during budgeting. Important details are missing here, including how much revenue is expected, the exact revenues covered, and the definition of career connected learning, so the timing and scale of any new funding remain uncertain.