Washington state senators approved a bill Wednesday to lift a 98-year-old restriction barring Pullman-based Washington State University from opening a public medical school in the state, according to The Seattle Times.
The restriction, put in place in 1917, gave Seattle-based University of Washington the exclusive right to operate a public school of medicine, according to the report. Now, however, the state faces a future shortage of medical providers and needs another school.
State Senators passed an identical bill earlier this month and Wednesday voted 47-1 in favor of the House version. Pending a signature from the governor, WSU will be able to open a medical school in Spokane, Wash. The new medical school is slated to open in 2017 with its first class of 40 students, if it is able to secure funding.
The bill does not allot funds for the new school, which the university estimates will require $2.5 million initially and an additional $60,000 per student per year. However, lawmakers are currently drafting the next two-year state budget, according to the report.
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