Brief Summary of Bill

Adds "expands educational and/or employment opportunities for youth, veterans, and people with disabilities in Washington state" to the purpose section for the Association of Washington Generals (AWG).
Amends the AWG Board of Director to consist of twelve members comprised of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary of State as ex officio, voting members, together with nine appointed members.
Specifies membership terms and board governance expectations.

Background: The AWG is a service organization formed in 1970 by Lieutenant Governor John Cherberg. The AWG was recognized in statute by the Legislature in 2005 as a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation with the purpose of recognizing outstanding service to the state and bringing those individuals together to serve as ambassadors of trade, tourism, and international goodwill.

The AWG is governed by a board of directors. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the Secretary of State serve on the association's board of directors as ex officio non-voting members. The board will review nominations for and select new Washington Generals, and establish the title of "honorary Washington General" to honor worthy individuals from outside of Washington.

The AWG may conduct activities in support of their mission, including establishing selection criteria for selecting Washington Generals, operating an essay contest, training the generals as ambassadors of Washington, and promoting Washington Generals as the ambassadors of Washington.

Summary of Bill: The purpose of the AWG is extended to include expanding educational and/or employment opportunities for youth, veterans, and people with disabilities in Washington State.

The AWG is no longer statutorily required to operate a statewide essay competition.

The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary of State will serve as ex officio, voting members of the board, together with three members appointed by the President of the Senate (Senate), three members appointed by the Speaker of the House (House) and three members appointed by the Governor's office.

The term for the initial appointments made by the Governor, House, and Senate to the board will be staggered:

three of the initial appointments are made for two years—two of the appointments made by the Governor and the House and one of the appointments made by the Senate; and
three of the initial appointments are made for four years—two of the appointments made by the Senate and one by the Governor and the House.

After the initial appointment, all appointments are for four years. No member may serve more than two full terms. Service prior to the effective date is not included when calculating terms for the board. Vacancies on the board are filled through appointment by the entity that made the original appointment for the vacated seat and will serve the remainder of the term. Members of the board may be removed by their appointee upon grounds of neglect of duty or misconduct in office.

The board must elect the chair and other officers from its membership and create bylaws.

A majority of the board constitutes a quorum.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: The Association of Washington Generals (AWG) has a long history that recognizes individuals that have outstanding service to the state and brings those individuals together to serve our state. The original idea stems from the Kentucky which has Colonels. Lt. Governor Cherberg felt that Washington should have a similar program and since Generals outrank Colonels, Washington members became Generals. This bill is important because it will expand opportunities for youth, veterans and others in the state. AWG is staffed by the Lieutenant Governor's office and it is important to have the purpose in the statute to ensure that the office can work together with the board to do this important work. This bill aligns the appointment process with other associations and provides more structure. Under the new process board members would still be chosen among the Washington Generals.