AN ACT Relating to the encouragement of early warning in the case of a reduction in business operations; adding a new chapter to Title 49 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.04 RCW; and declaring an emergency.

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

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

(1) To help reduce the number of employees laid off due to a partial plant closure and to provide employers an incentive to give early warning to its employees and the community, the legislature finds that an adjustment to the state's business and occupation tax in such cases will be beneficial to the citizens of the state;

(2) The state has an obligation to its citizens to coordinate available resources to help alleviate the unemployment and economic distress resulting from reductions in business operations and to promote a healthy business climate for the creation of new jobs to replace those lost from reductions in business operations;

(3) There is a need to provide rapid, coordinated, and systematic assistance from the state's existing resources to minimize or avoid the attendant economic impact upon dislocated workers, their families, communities, and industries; and

(4) The availability of this assistance from the state can provide incentive for early notification to workers, local government, and the early warning to the state regarding anticipated reductions in business operations in advance of its occurrence in order to avert unnecessary closings or to prevent severe economic dislocation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Employer" means a person, firm, partnership, corporation, trust, association, or other form of business organization, private or public, and any public entity, which employs at least fifty individuals within this state.

(2) "Reduction in business operations" means the nonseasonal full or partial closure or relocation of an employee, the layoff of employees, or any other action taken by a business that would reduce the number of employees at a workplace:

(a) In the case of a business with fewer than six hundred fifty employees, by fifty percent of the work force or twenty-five employees, whichever is less, for a period exceeding three months; or

(b) In the case of a business with six hundred fifty or more employees, ten percent of the work force for a period exceeding three months.

(3) "Relocation" means the permanent transfer of a part or all of the business to a place located beyond a fifty-mile radius. (4) "Affected employee" means an individual who is affected by a reduction in business operations.

(5) "Community" means any municipal corporation in which an employer is located, or if an employer is not located in a municipal corporation, the county in which a business operation is located.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. An economic stabilization task force shall be formed by July 1, 1985. This task force shall be composed of the commissioner of employment security, the secretary of social and health services, the director of commerce and economic development, the director of community development, a representative of the commission for vocational education, a representative of the business community, and a representative of organized labor. The task force shall be chaired by the commissioner of employment security. The representatives of the business community and of organized labor shall be selected by the other members of the task force. The labor member shall be a representative of the majority of workers engaged in employment under this title and selected from a list of not less than three names submitted to the commissioner of employment security by an organization, state-wide in scope, which through its affiliates embraces a cross-section and a majority of the organized labor of this state. The business member shall be a representative of employers and appointed from a list of at least three names submitted to the commissioner of employment security by a recognized state-wide organization of employers representing a majority of employers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The purpose of this economic stabilization task force shall be to:

(1) Provide a rapid, coordinated, and systematic response by agencies of the state of Washington and community organizations in the event of a reduction in business operations;

(2) Assist, upon the request of a community, in marshaling available federal, state, and local resources, specifically including training resources, to aid employees, communities, and employers affected by a reduction in business operations;

(3) Seek the participation and advice of other related state agencies and individuals representing local governments, local education agencies, business, and labor;

(4) Prepare and publish a plan to assure the rapid, coordinated, and systematic state response to a reduction in business operations; and

(5) Maintain a record of community requests for assistance and document publicly available information on reductions in business operations for which such assistance is provided.

The task force may designate working groups of subcommittees composed of the members' designees to implement the provisions of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Any employer who provides early warning prior to a reduction in business operations shall receive the following reduction in tax otherwise payable under this chapter:

!tp1,1,1Number of days for!tj1 !tlPercent reduction

which written notice of!tj1!tlfor an employer's

reduction in business was!tj1!tltaxable year

provided

!tp1,1,1,1,1 !tcOver 120 !tj2!tc 15%

!tc91-120 !tj2!tc 10%

!tc60-90 !tj2!tc5%

(2) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to the terms used in this section.

(3) As used in this section, "early warning" means written notice of an employer's intent to reduce business operations which specifies the name, location, and nature of the workplace affected; the reasons for and expected length of the reduction in operations; the possible alternatives to undertaking the action of reduction in operations; and the number of employees to be affected by the contemplated action and which is transmitted to:

(a) The department of revenue;

(b) Employees of the business; and

Upon receipt of an early warning, the governor's office shall notify the department of commerce and economic development, the employment security department, the department of community development, the department of social and health services, the department of labor and industries, and all appropriate local government bodies affected by the reduction in business operations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 49 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.