OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - No more tears: The Walla Walla sweet onion is finally the official Washington state vegetable.

Surrounded by some of the students and teachers who lobbied for the designation, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the bill into law Friday.

Classes from Eatonville Middle School and Kirkland Junior High worked to secure the legislation over the course of five years, Gregoire said. She thanked the students for "shepherding it through what can be a complicated process.

"In the end, this is the celebration," she said.

The measure passed the House last year, but got stopped in the Senate, where the bill was amended to designate the Walla Walla sweet as the state's "edible bulb," while naming the russet potato the "official tuber."

"This year, the potato lobby decided to back off," said Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-College Place, the onion bill's primary sponsor.

Walsh noted that this particular onion "is exclusively grown in that region around Walla Walla" and added, "I think that, in itself, makes it a distinct vegetable for this state."

The measure was a class project for a seventh grade honors social studies class at Eatonville Middle School. Several students, including three eighth graders who helped out and their teacher, Alex Hansen, testified in favor of the bill in committee hearings. In prior years, the bill was a project at Kirkland Junior High.

Hansen brought 10 students to the signing Friday. He said the purpose of the project was to teach the students about the political process.

"I'd stand up these students against any adult in terms of how a bill becomes a law and what do you have to do to shepherd it through the process," Hansen said. "This is the day you work for."

The Legislature also passed measures this session to name Aberdeen's Lady Washington as the state's official ship and the Pacific chorus frog as the state's official amphibian. Gregoire has not signed those bills yet.

Also on Friday, Gregoire signed a bill that limits undergraduate resident tuition increases at state public colleges and universities to no more than 7 percent per year. The bill also sets a goal of raising the amount of money the state spends on higher education within 10 years.

Under the new law, schools will also be required to clarify on billing statements what portion of the cost of the education is paid for by the state and what is paid for by tuition.

"This bill provides predictability and stability to students and their families and makes billing statements easier to understand so it is clear what their tuition pays for," Gregoire said in a statement.