 | WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE | |
| Legislative Digest No. 14 | ||
| SIXTIETH LEGISLATURE | ||
| Friday, February 1, 2008 | 19th Day - 2008 Regular Session | |
| HOUSE |
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This publication includes digest and history for bills, joint memorials, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, initiatives, and substitutes. Engrossed measures may be republished if the amendment makes a substantive change.
Electronic versions of Legislative Digests are available at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/digests.aspx?year=2008.
HB 3321
by Representatives Hunt, Alexander, Simpson, VanDeWege, Williams, Haler, Campbell, Jarrett, Liias, and Kelley
Granting paid leave from employment for state employees who are volunteer firefighters.
Provides an agency must allow an employee who is a volunteer firefighter to respond to a fire, natural disaster, or medical emergency when called to duty. The agency shall continue to pay the employee's salary, without loss of seniority, benefits, annual leave, or sick leave.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Appropriations. | |
HB 3322
by Representative Chase
Restricting the use of premiums by nonprofit domestic health care service contractors and health maintenance organizations.
Provides a domestic health care service contractor organized as a nonprofit organization and a domestic health maintenance organization organized as a nonprofit organization may not use premiums received from policyholders from this state to subsidize activities of related for-profit corporations doing business in another state.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Insurance, Financial Services & Consumer Protection. | |
HB 3323
by Representative Chase
Restricting the use of premiums by nonprofit domestic health care service contractors and health maintenance organizations.
Provides if a domestic health care service contractor organized as a nonprofit organization or a domestic health maintenance organization organized as a nonprofit organization invests premiums received from policyholders from this state into a for-profit corporation doing business in another state, the health care service contractor or health maintenance organization must file the names of the board members of that for-profit corporation with the office of the insurance commissioner. The office of the insurance commissioner must post the information on the agency's web site and make the information available to any requester under the public records act, chapter 42.56 RCW.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Insurance, Financial Services & Consumer Protection. | |
HB 3324
by Representative Chase
Requiring certain local jurisdictions to present and update annually unsheltered homeless housing plans.
Requires each local homeless housing task force to present an unsheltered homeless housing plan to its local government's legislative authority and to the department within ninety days of the effective date of this act, and must present an updated plan annually thereafter on a schedule to be determined by the department.Provides until and unless the Washington homeless census reports that the number of unsheltered homeless individuals within the jurisdiction of a local government is equal to or less than ten percent of the number of unsheltered homeless individuals reported in the 2008 Washington homeless census, the priority for projects to be funded from the local government's share of the surcharges in RCW 36.22.179 and 36.22.1791 must be given to projects and programs that are intended to directly accomplish the unsheltered homeless housing goal and are representative of recommended strategies outlined in the local unsheltered homeless housing plan.Requires the department to include a summary of local jurisdiction unsheltered homeless housing plans and reports of plan accomplishments in its annually updated state homeless housing strategic plan as described under RCW 43.185C.040.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Housing. | |
HB 3325
by Representatives Simpson, Warnick, and Kelley
Authorizing the establishment of qualified shopping cart recovery programs by cities and towns.
Clarifies the existing authority of all incorporated cities and towns, including unclassified cities and towns operating under special charters, to adopt ordinances regulating the care, safety, and retrieval of abandoned shopping carts from grocery stores and other retail establishments.Requires incorporated cities and towns adopting a new ordinance, or reaffirming an existing ordinance, to provide an exception from enforcement provisions, penalties, and additional administrative fees for retail establishments demonstrating, through a mutually agreeable process, that they have established or have contracts in place with a vendor to establish a qualified shopping cart recovery program.Provides retail establishments that elect not to establish or contract with a vendor for a qualified shopping cart recovery program are subject to all applicable processes, enforcement provisions, fees, and penalties imposed under local ordinances that govern abandoned shopping carts.Provides all incorporated cities and towns retain the authority to address abandoned shopping carts that pose an identifiable and immediate risk to public health, safety, and welfare, and to utilize fee and penalty provisions of local ordinances that govern the recovery and return of such carts.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Local Government. | |
HB 3326
by Representatives Simpson, Hudgins, Pedersen, Kenney, and Ormsby
Requiring publishers or distributors of commercial telephone directories to provide persons a means to avoid receiving commercial telephone directories.
Requires any person or business that publishes or distributes commercial directories to offer to each recipient of the commercial directory an opportunity to opt out of receiving future commercial directories.Requires any person or business that distributes commercial directories to develop opt out procedures and provide clear instructions to recipients regarding how they may opt out.Provides it is a class 1 civil infraction as provided under RCW 7.80.120 for a person or business to distribute a commercial directory to a recipient after receiving an opt out notification for the commercial directory from that recipient as described under this act.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Technology, Energy & Communications. | |
HB 3327
by Representative Kessler
Ensuring municipal business and occupation tax fairness.
Provides a city with a population of more than five hundred thousand persons may not adopt an ordinance that places a substantially equivalent tax burden on the taxpayer, such as a square footage tax that imposes a business and occupation tax that contradicts the legislative intent of promoting uniformity and fairness among municipal business and occupation taxes.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Finance. | |
SB 5743-S3
by Senate Committee on Economic Development, Trade & Management (originally sponsored by Senators Kastama, Kilmer, and Shin)
Linking economic clusters and quality management practices to customized training.
Requires the following to be met in regards to the job skills program: (1) Development of additional mechanisms for identification of, and outreach to, firms with a strong potential to effectively compete in the global marketplace after participating in the job skills program. This should be done by using a variety of approaches, including collaboration with industry and cluster associations that have participated in cluster and industry specific public investment programs such as industry skill panels, centers of excellence, innovation zones, local cluster-based economic development initiatives, and federal job training initiatives; and(2) Encouragement of businesses participating in the job skills program to participate in workshops or training in continuous quality improvement, performance measurement, strategic planning, or other approaches offered by service providers such as Washington manufacturing services, the Washington quality award, or the Washington technology center and designed to improve company productivity and effectiveness.
| Feb 7 | Public hearing and executive action taken in committee. | |
| Feb 14 | Public hearing in committee. | |
| Feb 19 | Executive session and executive action taken in committee. | |
| Mar 19 | Public hearing in committee. | |
| Mar 29 | Executive session in committee. | |
| Jan 29 | EDTM - Majority; 3rd substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| And refer to Ways & Means. | ||
| On motion, referred to Rules. | ||
SB 5996-S
by Senate Committee on Economic Development, Trade & Management (originally sponsored by Senators Kastama, Shin, Zarelli, Kilmer, Kauffman, Brown, Tom, McAuliffe, and Rasmussen)
Promoting commercialization of life sciences research.
Requires the authority to collaborate with organizations with commercialization expertise such as the Spokane intercollegiate research and technology institute, the Washington technology center, and Washington manufacturing services, and contract with such organizations for the provision of technical assistance in commercialization as appropriate. Allows the authority, upon the recommendation of the Washington economic development commission, to provide funding for the recruitment of life sciences researchers to public research institutions in the state who have a history of commercialization of new technologies.
| Feb 16 | Public hearing in committee. | |
| Jan 29 | EDTM - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| Passed to Rules Committee for second reading. | ||
| Jan 30 | Made eligible to be placed on second reading. | |
SB 6264-S
by Senate Committee on Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senator Shin; by request of Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board)
Clarifying terms for workforce and economic development.
Provides "high employer demand program of study" means an apprenticeship, or an undergraduate or graduate certificate or degree program in which the number of students prepared for employment per year from in-state institutions is substantially less than the number of projected job openings per year in that field, statewide or in a substate region.Provides "sector" means a group of industries with similar business processes, products, or services, such as construction or health services; formerly categorized by the standard industrial classification system, now categorized by the North American industry classification system.
| Jan 29 | HIE - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| Passed to Rules Committee for second reading. | ||
| Jan 30 | Made eligible to be placed on second reading. | |
SB 6392-S
by Senate Committee on Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senators Shin, Swecker, Jacobsen, Berkey, Pridemore, Prentice, Franklin, Schoesler, Sheldon, Rasmussen, Eide, and Kilmer)
Providing for educational advertising for high employer-demand programs of study.
Requires the higher education coordinating board, in consultation with the state board for community and technical colleges, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the workforce training and education coordinating board, and the council of presidents, to contract with a private vendor to create a three to five-year marketing plan to increase student interest in high employer-demand programs of study and to increase public awareness of high employer-demand programs of study.Appropriates seven hundred thousand dollars, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from the general fund to the higher education coordinating board for the purposes of this act.
| Jan 29 | HIE - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| On motion, referred to Ways & Means. | ||
SB 6493-S
by Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections (originally sponsored by Senators Hobbs, Fairley, Swecker, Pridemore, Shin, Hatfield, Rasmussen, and Kline)
Providing loans to small cities for certain appeals under the growth management act.
Provides for a program for the loan of city costs associated with the appeal of a critical areas ordinance. The one-time per appeal loan is for cities with a population under thirty thousand and is limited to an appeal from a decision of a growth management hearings board to a superior court.
| Jan 30 | GO - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| And refer to Ways & Means. | ||
| Minority; do not pass. | ||
| Referred to Ways & Means. | ||
SB 6500-S
by Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research & Development (originally sponsored by Senators Eide, Kohl-Welles, Stevens, Shin, Rasmussen, Kline, Spanel, Holmquist, and Haugen; by request of Attorney General)
Authorizing leave sharing for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Authorizes leave sharing for state employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
| Jan 30 | LCRD - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| Passed to Rules Committee for second reading. | ||
| Placed on second reading by Rules Committee. | ||
SB 6516-S
by Senate Committee on Water, Energy & Telecommunications (originally sponsored by Senators Pridemore, Rockefeller, Swecker, Oemig, Murray, Hobbs, Fairley, Kohl-Welles, McDermott, Weinstein, Regala, Kilmer, Jacobsen, Hargrove, Prentice, McAuliffe, Kastama, Rasmussen, Franklin, Keiser, Kauffman, Fraser, Shin, Kline, and Brandland; by request of Governor Gregoire)
Providing a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Washington economy.
Commences a process to ensure the emission reductions established in this act are achieved.Directs the state to continue its participation in the development of a regional process to design a multisector, market-based system for regulating greenhouse gas emissions as one measure to achieve our greenhouse gas reduction limits.Authorizes a reporting system to monitor greenhouse gas emissions.Establishes a process for maintaining a comprehensive inventory of greenhouse gas emissions to track the state's progress in achieving its greenhouse gas emission reductions.Creates a green collar job training account to train and transition workers to clean energy jobs.
| Jan 30 | WET - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| And refer to Ways & Means. | ||
| Minority; do not pass. | ||
| Referred to Ways & Means. | ||
SB 6570-S
by Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections (originally sponsored by Senators Fairley, Roach, Benton, and Oemig; by request of Parks and Recreation Commission)
Regarding private business activities in state-owned housing provided by the department of fish and wildlife or the parks and recreation commission.
Provides that the department of fish and wildlife and the parks and recreation commission may approve private business activity in state-owned housing provided under Title 77 RCW or chapter 79A.05 RCW. Prior to granting approval of private business activity in state-owned housing, the fish and wildlife commission and the parks and recreation commission must adopt a private business activity policy that is approved by the executive ethics board.
| Jan 30 | GO - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| Passed to Rules Committee for second reading. | ||
SB 6675-S
by Senate Committee on Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senators McAuliffe, Shin, Pflug, Berkey, Fairley, and Tom)
Allowing public technical colleges to offer associate transfer degrees.
Intends to allow public technical colleges under the authority of the state board for community and technical colleges to offer associate transfer degrees that prepare students for professional bachelor's degrees.Provides that, in adopting rules for technical colleges to offer such transfer degrees, the college board, where possible, shall create consistency between community and technical colleges and may address issues related to tuition and fee rates, tuition waivers, enrollment counting, degree granting authority, or any other rules necessary.
| Jan 29 | HIE - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| Passed to Rules Committee for second reading. | ||
| Jan 30 | Made eligible to be placed on second reading. | |
SB 6882
by Senators Swecker and Rasmussen
Developing a flood mitigation plan for the upper Chehalis subbasin.
Intends to help facilitate a collaborative process to develop a flood mitigation plan for the upper Chehalis subbasin.Establishes the upper Chehalis subbasin flood mitigation planning work group.Expires July 1, 2010.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation. | |
SB 6883
by Senator Swecker
Providing volunteer work for a public agency may not serve as a basis for suspending or terminating industrial insurance benefits.
Provides that volunteer work for a public agency may not serve as a basis for suspending or terminating industrial insurance benefits.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Labor, Commerce, Research & Development. | |
SB 6884
by Senators Fraser, Prentice, and Swecker
Creating excise tax parity for voice over internet protocol services.
Provides that both a legislative authority of a county and the state may impose an enhanced 911 excise tax for each voice over internet protocol telephone subscriber.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Ways & Means. | |
SB 6885
by Senators King and Swecker
Expanding the list of persons and entities that may acquire driving record abstracts for certain purposes.
Allows state colleges, universities, or agencies for employment and risk management purposes; or units of local government authorized to self-insure under RCW 48.62.031 to obtain abstracts of driving records.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Transportation. | |
SB 6886
by Senators Oemig and Swecker
Providing access to complementary and alternative health care practitioners.
Intends to provide individuals a right to access every type of health care service provided by health care practitioners who are not licensed, certified, or registered by the state for any individual seeking such services.Provides that a person who provides health care services in accordance with this act, but who is not licensed, certified, or registered by this state as a health care professional or practitioner, shall not be in violation of a law based on the unlicensed practice of a health profession.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Health & Long-Term Care. | |
SB 6887
by Senators Sheldon, Kohl-Welles, and Rasmussen
Granting paid leave from employment for state employees who are volunteer firefighters.
Provides an agency must allow an employee who is a volunteer firefighter to respond to a fire, natural disaster, or medical emergency when called to duty. The agency shall continue to pay the employee's salary, without loss of seniority, benefits, annual leave, or sick leave.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Government Operations & Elections. | |
SB 6888
by Senators Sheldon and Delvin
Regarding associate faculty members of institutions of higher learning.
Provides that each community and technical college shall develop a new senior faculty position for nontenure track, part-time professors to be officially called associate faculty.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Higher Education. | |
SB 6889
by Senators Pflug, Keiser, Parlette, Kohl-Welles, Oemig, Rasmussen, Weinstein, and McCaslin
Developing a secure internet-based format for health care quality data.
Establishes a standing work group to develop an accessible secure internet-based format of information that will enable each resident in the state to access and understand his or her health care records and the quality of performance of the resident's provider.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Health & Long-Term Care. | |
SB 6890
by Senators Oemig and Tom
Delaying for one year the requirement to collect teacher and student identifier data and submit the data to the OSPI.
Declares that school districts must collect teacher and student identifier data and submit the data to the OSPI by the beginning of the 2009-10 school year.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Early Learning & K-12 Education. | |
SB 6891
by Senators Stevens, Hargrove, Carrell, Brandland, and Roach
Requiring certain hiring and training practices for children's administration social workers.
Provides that when hiring children's administration social workers, the department of social and health services shall ensure that fifteen percent of those hired at any given time are either social worker 1s or 2s, and shall establish a training process for social worker 1s and 2s that includes a pathway for these social workers to become social worker 3s.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Human Services & Corrections. | |
SB 6892
by Senators Fraser, Brandland, Pridemore, McAuliffe, and Rasmussen
Concerning the time limits of school impact fee expenditures.
Provides that school impact fees must be expended or encumbered for a permissible use within ten years of receipt, unless an extraordinary and compelling reason exists for the fees to be held longer than ten years. The extraordinary or compelling reasons must be identified in written findings by the governing body of the county, city, or town.Provides that criteria must be developed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction for extending the use of school impact fees from six to ten years.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Government Operations & Elections. | |
SB 6893
by Senators Holmquist, Shin, and Delvin
Regarding intellectual diversity at institutions of higher education.
Requires institutions of higher education to promote intellectual diversity on their campuses.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Higher Education. | |
SB 6894
by Senators Hobbs, Sheldon, Zarelli, Regala, and Stevens
Clarifying the definition of customer location for purposes of municipal business and occupation taxes.
Clarifies the definition of customer location for purposes of municipal business and occupation taxes.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Government Operations & Elections. | |
SB 6895
by Senators Roach, Benton, Rasmussen, McCaslin, Shin, Honeyford, and Carrell
Providing combat bonuses for veterans.
Provides that, within funds appropriated for this purpose, the department of veterans affairs shall pay each combat veteran a one-time service bonus in the amount of three thousand five hundred dollars.Provides certain eligibility requirements for a person to be considered a "combat veteran".
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Government Operations & Elections. | |
SB 6896
by Senators Kline and Kohl-Welles
Creating a pilot program addressing legal representation for children in dependency proceedings who are age twelve and over.
Creates a pilot program to address legal representation for children in dependency proceedings who are age twelve and over.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Human Services & Corrections. | |
SB 6897
by Senators Kline, Pridemore, Rockefeller, and Jacobsen
Creating the geothermal assessment committee.
Creates the geothermal resource assessment committee to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the geothermal resources in the state and their potential for environmentally responsible development for power production purposes.Requires the committee to provide the assessment and recommendations to the energy and fiscal committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 1, 2008.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Water, Energy & Telecommunications. | |
SB 6898
by Senators Kline and Hargrove
Modifying criminal sentencing requirements.
Modifies the sentencing grid.Adds to the list of aggravating circumstances that can support a criminal sentence above the standard range.
| Jan 31 | First reading, referred to Judiciary. | |
SCR 8412-S
by Senate Committee on Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senators Kilmer, Schoesler, Rockefeller, and Shin)
Requesting approval of the statewide strategic master plan for higher education.
Resolves that the statewide strategic master plan update submitted by the higher education coordinating board on December 15, 2007, be approved.Resolves that the higher education coordinating board shall report to the higher education committees of the Senate and House of Representatives on progress implementing the 2008 update of the master plan by February 1, 2009.
| Jan 29 | HIE - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. | |
| Passed to Rules Committee for second reading. | ||
| Jan 30 | Made eligible to be placed on second reading. | |