HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESB 5740

BYSenator Vognild

Revising provision relating to ferry employees' compensation.

House Committe on Transportation

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (24)

      Signed by Representatives Walk, Chair; Baugher, Vice Chair; Betrozoff, Brough, Cantwell, Cooper, Dellwo, Doty, Gallagher, Hankins, Haugen, Heavey, Kremen, Meyers, Prince, Schmidt, C. Smith, D. Sommers, Spanel, Sutherland, Todd, Vekich, J. Williams and S. Wilson.

House Staff:Larry Plummer (786-7321)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 9, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Current statute allows ferry system management and employee organizations to bargain collectively for insurance and health care plans other than those provided to state employees under the State Employees' Insurance Board.  Employer contributions by the state to such insurance and health care plans may exceed that of other state agencies,  due to higher insurance premiums.

If employer contributions exceed that of other state agencies, however, the excess amount is to be subtracted from funds available for compensation purposes, to include future salary increases.

There are six major ferry employee organizations which receive employer contributions in excess of those for other state agencies, for insurance and health care plans.  Employer contribution levels vary among these organizations. Compensation agreements with ferry employee organizations have not been finalized for the 1985-87 or 1987-89 bienniums.

Current statute language could be interpreted to say that wage increases must be decreased by this differential in benefit plans in each successive biennium.  Such an interpretation would, in effect, require ferry employees to pay for this differential out of wages more than once.

SUMMARY:

If ferry employees, by bargaining unit, have absorbed an offset of wage increases in the 1985-87 biennium, equal to the differential between employer contributions for their insurance and health care plans and those of other general government state employees, ferry employees shall not be required to absorb further offsets in subsequent fiscal bienniums.

If the offset of wage increases in the 1985-87 biennium is less than the differential in benefit plan costs, the amount available for compensation must be reduced to absorb the remainder of the differential.

If the differential in benefit plan costs is increased, the increase in the differential must be used to reduce the amount available for compensation.

Compensation is defined to include all wages and employee benefits.

Fiscal Note:      No Impact.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Steve Ross, Marine Engineers and Masters, Mates and Pilots; Burrill Hatch, Inland Boatmen's Union.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The bill is intended to clarify language in current law regarding insurance and health care benefits for ferry employees.  Total compensation for ferry employees will be calculated in a manner comparable to other state employees.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.