Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed a bill which requires campus safety plans for Washington's colleges and universities.

The measure sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles passed both the House and Senate unanimously.

"This bill was written in the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech last year, and on the day we passed the bill in the Senate, another horrible shooting occurred at Northern Illinois University," said Kohl-Welles. "We hope that this will help improve responses to tragedies like these in the future, and help prevent them from happening in the first place."

The new law, which was requested by Gregoire, requires defined response plans, enhanced access for mental health and counseling services for students and faculty, and procedures for communicating with the entire campus community, law enforcement, the media, and the public in response to natural disasters and emergencies. .

During her remarks during floor debate before the bill's passage, Kohl-Welles said, "We're finding these campus incidents are not so isolated. Passing this bill will help with prevention, intervention and rapid response. We must do this. We must pass this bill.

Kohl-Welles represents the 36th Legislative District, which includes Ballard, and chairs the Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee.