H-0269.2  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1095

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      53rd Legislature     1993 Regular Session

By Representatives Orr, Zellinsky, Mastin and Springer

Read first time 01/15/93.  Referred to Committee on Health Care.

Allowing certain employees to waive health care benefits.

    AN ACT Relating to waiving employee health care benefits; amending RCW 41.05.050; and adding a new section to chapter 41.05 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 41.05 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) Any employee who benefits from the employer contribution required under RCW 41.05.050 may elect to waive his or her health care benefits if the employee benefits from a spouse's health care benefits or benefits awarded by other employment and complies with the rules adopted under subsection (2) of this section.

    (2) The authority shall adopt rules necessary to implement subsection (1) of this section.

    Sec. 2.  RCW 41.05.050 and 1988 c 107 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Every department, division, or separate agency of state government, and such county, municipal, or other political subdivisions as are covered by this chapter, shall provide contributions to insurance and health care plans for its employees and their dependents, except under section 1 of this act, the content of such plans to be determined by the authority.  Contributions, paid by the county, the municipality, or other political subdivision for their employees, shall include an amount determined by the authority to pay such administrative expenses of the authority as are necessary to administer the plans for employees of those groups.  All such contributions will be paid into the state employees' health insurance account.

    (2) The contributions of any department, division, or separate agency of the state government, and such county, municipal, or other political subdivisions as are covered by this chapter, shall be set by the authority, subject to the approval of the governor for availability of funds as specifically appropriated by the legislature for that purpose.  However, insurance and health care contributions for ferry employees shall be governed by RCW 47.64.270.

    (3) The administrator with the assistance of the state employees' benefits board shall survey private industry and public employers in the state of Washington to determine the average employer contribution for group insurance programs under the jurisdiction of the authority.  Such survey shall be conducted during each even-numbered year but may be conducted more frequently.  The survey shall be reported to the authority for its use in setting the amount of the recommended employer contribution to the employee insurance benefit program covered by this chapter.  The authority shall transmit a recommendation for the amount of the employer contribution to the governor and the director of financial management for inclusion in the proposed budgets submitted to the legislature.

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