5847-S

AN ACT Relating to unemployment; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) Structural changes in the state's economy have resulted in the permanent loss of industrial jobs as a result of plant closures, business failures, and layoffs.

(2) These permanent job losses and major changes in the state's industries and occupations have led to a large increase in the number of unemployment compensation claimants who exhaust their benefits without finding a job.

(3) High levels of permanent job losses and unemployed workers exhausting their unemployment benefits have resulted in large increases in social costs such as unemployment compensation, public assistance, health programs, and lost taxes normally paid by workers and businesses. Local communities also suffer from increased social costs resulting from rising demands for services by long-term unemployed workers and their families.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. It is the intent of the legislature to develop a comprehensive, state-wide policy to reduce the levels of permanent job losses and the number of unemployment compensation exhaustees. It is the purpose of this act to:

(1) Authorize and fund the creation of a state-wide business and job retention program that places primary reliance on locally based business and job retention programs to assist businesses that are likely to close, fail, or experience a permanent mass layoff. The state's primary role in the business and job retention program is to provide continuing financial and technical assistance and training to the locally based business and job retention programs to ensure their success.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. There is established within the department of trade and economic development the business and job retention program. An exempt position is hereby created at the division director level within the department of trade and economic development for the managing director of the business and job retention program. The managing director shall be appointed by the governor and shall serve under the direction of the director of trade and economic development at the governor's pleasure. In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the managing director shall solicit volunteer assistance; work with the business assistance center, the small business development centers, the department of community development's employee ownership program, local early warning programs, local reemployment centers, labor representatives, and other appropriate public and private agencies and organizations; and contract with private consultants for such services as the managing director deems advisable.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The managing director shall appoint an advisory committee having equal representation from businesses, government, and labor organizations, and representatives of work force training and education programs. The managing director shall consult with the advisory committee in developing implementation plans for carrying out this chapter and shall monitor implementation and operations of the state and regional components of the program. Members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses under RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The managing director, after consultation with the advisory committee, shall:

(1) Designate service delivery regions in the state, each of which shall have at least one county and no more than six counties;

(2) Put out requests for proposals for the operation of business and job retention programs for each region. The managing director shall evaluate the proposals and select a program for each region based on the proposed programs':

(a) Inclusion of representatives of business, labor, training institutions, and local government;

(b) Plan for administration of surveys of businesses, utilities, employees, financial institutions, and community groups to gather information about business needs, expansion plans, relocation decisions, training needs, potential layoffs, financing needs, the availability of financing and other appropriate information about economic trends, and specific employer and employee needs in the region; and

(c) Plan for delivery of job retention and business retention and expansion services including job skills training, production process analysis, product development assistance, marketing, and financial and other management services;

The local programs shall be required to provide a local matching contribution to the operation of the program;

(3) Develop a model local economic survey and assist the regional business and job retention program in administering a survey in each region;

(4) Designate proposed criteria for receipt of services offered by the regional programs to businesses, labor unions, employee groups, community groups, local governments, and port districts. Such criteria shall include the number of employees affected, the type of business involved, reemployment potential of employees, severity of problems affecting the business or work force, skill level of the work force, availability of financing, and the social and economic costs of layoffs or closure;

(5) Be responsible for the development and implementation of training programs for the regional business and job retention programs. The training programs shall be designed to assist the programs in administering economic surveys, developing and coordinating local resources, assessing the need for outside resources, and locating other public and private resources needed to assist firms; and

(6) Shall provide or coordinate the delivery of technical and managerial assistance upon request from the local business and job retention programs in the areas of financial management, marketing, product development, production process analysis, training, and other business services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The local business and job retention programs shall provide marketing, technical, managerial, and training assistance or referral appropriate to client businesses, unions, employee groups, and work forces. The programs shall initiate contact with those firms or employees indicating, through the economic surveys or otherwise, the potential for closure, mass layoff, or relocation. For firms or employees not indicating such potential, the provision of services from the programs shall be in response to direct requests from firms, labor unions, employee groups, community groups, local governments, and port districts. Where appropriate, program coordinators shall assist local governments or organizations in applying for local development matching funds from the department of community development.

The local program shall coordinate the delivery of technical, managerial, financial, training, and other assistance. The program shall work with the employment security department, private industry councils, and local reemployment centers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. In addition to the responsibilities set forth in sections 3 through 6 of this act, the department of trade and economic development shall draw upon its existing resources, employment and economic data from the employment security department, and data from the department of licensing and the department of revenue and other sources, to do nonduplicative analyses of trends in the state's industries and work forces. The department shall make such analyses available to relevant businesses, labor organizations or work forces, local governments, economic development organizations, early warning programs, and business and job retention programs, and shall work with them to develop long-term strategies for economic growth and revitalization.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The employment security department shall:

(1) Track numbers of dislocated workers and part-time workers in the state;

(2) Assess the number and causes of permanent mass layoffs and closures using a modified permanent mass layoff and plant closure data base that is presently funded by the federal government;

(3) Supply the managing director with data under subsections (1) and (2) of this section, which will allow the state and local components of the program to prioritize delivery of service to distressed, mature, and cyclical industries;

(4) Provide information and assistance to the program on training resources available through the department;

(5) Offer any businesses assisted by the program its first source hiring services; and

(6) Work with the department of social and health services to track dislocated workers who exhaust their unemployment compensation benefits and begin collecting public assistance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The managing director shall publish an annual report that shall be made available to the appropriate committees of the senate and the house of representatives. The report shall include the following:

(1) The number of businesses, labor unions, employee groups, local governments, and port districts assisted under this chapter;

(2) The types of assistance provided; and

(3) The number of businesses and jobs retained through assistance rendered under this chapter.

These reporting requirements shall be disaggregated by county, standard industrial classification, and size of firm.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The sum of nine hundred sixty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1995, from the general fund to the department of trade and economic development for the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 9 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.