Background:

Various state agencies have done work around promoting equity and reducing disparities. Some examples include:

the Governor's Interagency Coordinating Council on Health Disparities (Council), which promotes and facilitates communication, coordination, and collaboration among relevant state agencies and communities of color, and the private sector and public sector, to address health disparities;
the State Board of Health conducts Health Impact Reviews on any state legislative or budgetary change, which must consider the direct impacts on health disparities as well as changes in the social determinants of health;
the Department of Children, Youth, and Families has set as initial priority strategies in their work around racial equity, diversity, and inclusion, including applying a racial equity lens in their work; and
the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council works collaboratively with the Office of Financial Management (OFM) and the Department of Enterprise Services to develop recommendations to build a diverse, inclusive, and culturally competent workforce.

In January 2018, the Council issued a state policy action plan to eliminate health disparities. One recommendation in that plan was for the Governor to issue a policy to create a comprehensive initiative to promote equity in state government. The Council recommended that the initiative include certain aspects, such as actions to improve access to information and services for people who speak languages other than English, collect disaggregated data to raise awareness of inequities that exist in the state's communities, create performance metrics and track progress in making state government more equitable, ensure that diverse communities have a voice in state government decisions, and increase the diversity of the state workforce.

Summary of Bill:

Washington State Office of Equity–Created.

The Washington State Office of Equity (Equity Office) is created on January 1, 2020, within the Office of the Governor. The state purpose of the Equity Office is to promote access to equitable opportunities and resources that reduce disparities, including racial and ethnic disparities, and improve outcomes statewide across all sectors of government.

The Governor is required to appoint a director to administer the Equity Office. The Governor must set the director's salary, in accordance with recommendations set by the OFM. The director is required to supervise the administration of the office, employ and supervise staff, and implement recommendations of the task force, as described below.

Washington State Office of Equity–Duties.

The Equity Office is required to:

facilitate state policy and systems change to promote equity in policy, practice, and outcomes through:
- identifying agency policies and practices that may perpetuate inequities;
- recommending best practices to agencies for promoting equity in service delivery;
- developing equity assessment tools; and
- providing technical assistance to agencies in implementing best practices and assessment tools;
promote community outreach and engagement by:
- examining and recommending strategies to improve community outreach; and
- partnering with certain entities to develop community outreach strategies;
collaborate with the OFM and the Department of Enterprise Services to develop policies, provide technical assistance, and training for agencies on maintaining a diverse, inclusive, and culturally sensitive workforce; and
establish, in collaboration with Results Washington and agencies:
- standards for the collection, analysis, and reporting of disaggregated data;
- agency-specific performance measures using outcome-based methodology to determine the effectiveness of agency programs and services on reducing disparities; and
- an online performance dashboard.

Washington State Office of Equity–Powers.

The Equity Office may:

convene work groups as needed;
compile and create resources for agencies as guidance;
provide technical assistance to agencies;
receive gifts, grants, and endowments from public or private sources for the benefit of the Equity Office; and
adopt rules as necessary.

Responsibilities of State Agencies.

All state agencies are required to provide appropriate and reasonable assistance to the Equity Office as needed, including gathering and providing data and information. State agencies are also required to work to meet performance measures established with the assistance of Results Washington and the Equity Office. In addition, state agencies must implement, as appropriate, the equity assessment tools established by the Equity Office.

Task Force.

A task force is established to create the initial operations plan for the Equity Office, which must be adopted by the task force no later than December 1, 2019. The operations plan must include:

the mission statement and vision statement for the Equity Office;
a definition of "equity" to be used by the Equity Office to guide its work;
the organizational structure of the office, including a plan to include a community liaison for the Equity Office, and engage executive level management from all agencies in carrying out the provisions under the act;
guidance on best practices for developing agency performance measures;
mechanisms for accountability, including recommendations on agency audits; and
the estimated cost to carry out the work of the Equity Office.

The task force must submit the adopted operations plan to the Governor and the director of the Equity Office. The task force is staffed by the Council. The task force may, through the Council, contract with consultants and experts in the area of equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as form work groups to inform the work of the task force.

The members of the task force include:

the chair of the Council, who shall serve as the chair of the task force;
one member from the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
one member from the appropriate committee of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate;
a representative from the Office of the Governor, appointed by the Governor;
a representative from the OFM's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, appointed by the Governor;
a representative from the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises (OMWBE), appointed by the OMWBE Director;
a representative from each ethnic commission and the Women's Commission, appointed by the Director of the respective commission;
the Director of the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs, or the Director's designee; and
a member of the disability community, appointed by the Chair of the Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment.

The task force members are entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with law.