AN ACT Relating to the vocational technology center; amending RCW 43.84.090; and adding a new chapter to Title 28C RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds and declares as the express purpose of this chapter:

(1) A vocational technology center will provide both direct and indirect civic and economic benefits to the people of the state of Washington;

(2) Economic growth will be enhanced by the increased number of skilled individuals that will enter the job pool in the region;

(3) A trained work force is one of the major factors that attracts new business and industries to an area, particularly in a rapidly changing technological age; and

(4) The location of the center in Seattle is crucial since it is the largest urban area in the state and lacks any vocational training program for adults.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The governor is authorized to form a public nonprofit corporation in the same manner as a private nonprofit corporation is formed under chapter 24.03 RCW. The public corporation shall be an instrumentality of the state and have all the powers and be subject to the same restrictions as are permitted or prescribed to private nonprofit corporations, but shall exercise those powers only for carrying out the purposes of this chapter and those purposes necessarily implied therefrom. The governor shall appoint a board of fifteen directors for the corporation who shall serve terms of six years. The terms of the initial members shall be staggered. The majority of the directors shall represent business and industry but civic and community organizations and educational groups shall also be represented. The directors may provide for the payment of their expenses. The corporation may cause a vocational technical center to be designed and constructed on a site in the city of Seattle.

The corporation may acquire and transfer real and personal property by lease, purchase, or sale, and further acquire property by condemnation of privately owned property or rights to and interests in such property pursuant to the procedure in chapter 8.04 RCW, or gift, accept grants, request the financing provided for in section 5 of this act, cause the vocational technical center facilities to be constructed, and do whatever is necessary or appropriate to carry out those purposes. In order to allow the corporation flexibility to secure appropriate insurance by negotiation, the corporation is exempt from RCW 48.30.270. The corporation shall maintain, operate, promote, and manage the vocational technology center.

In order to allow the corporation flexibility in its personnel policies, the corporation is exempt from chapter 41.06 RCW, chapter 41.05 RCW, RCW 43.01.040 through 43.01.044, chapter 41.04 RCW; chapter 28B.16 RCW; and chapter 41.40 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. To more accurately determine the total costs and revenues of the corporation formed under section 2 of this act and to ensure accountability, promote flexibility, and increase profitability, the funds of the corporation shall be administered as an enterprise fund by the corporation, the state treasurer, and other state agencies. Administration and accounting of an enterprise fund, as applied by and to the corporation formed under section 2 of this act, includes the following additional powers and practices:

(1) Subject to approval by the office of financial management, the corporation may expend moneys for operational purposes in excess of the amount appropriated for such purposes to the extent the corporation receives or will receive additional operating revenues.

(2) Seventy-five percent of the income from the investment of the corporation's funds deposited in the general fund after the effective date of this act, shall be credited against any future borrowings by the corporation from the general fund for debt service or otherwise at the time such funds are needed after July 1, 1989.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Members of the board shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.250 and shall be reimbursed for travel expenses under RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. For the purpose of providing funds for the vocational technology center, the state finance committee is authorized to issue, upon request of the corporation formed under section 2 of this act and in one or more offerings, general obligation bonds of the state of Washington in the sum of .......... !sc ,1 million dollars, or so much thereof as may be required, to finance this project and all costs incidental thereto, to capitalize all or a portion of interest during construction, to provide for expansion, renovation, and contingency costs of the center, and to reimburse the general fund for expenditures in support of the project. The state finance committee may make such bond covenants as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and this chapter. No bonds authorized in this section may be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The proceeds from the sale of the bonds authorized in section 5 of this act, earnings from the investment of the proceeds, and operating revenues of the vocational technology center shall be deposited in the vocational technology center account hereby created in the state treasury and in such subaccounts as are deemed appropriate by the directors of the corporation.

Moneys in the account shall be used exclusively for the following purposes in the following priority:

(1) For reimbursement of the state general fund under section 8 of this act;

(2) For payment of expenses incurred in the issuance and sale of the bonds issued under section 5 of this act;

(3) For acquisition, design, and construction of the vocational technology center;

(4) For operation and promotion of the center;

(5) For reimbursement of any expenditures from the state general fund in support of the vocational technology center;

(6) To establish a subaccount of up to .......... !sc ,1 dollars for expansion or renovation of the center; and

(7) For early retirement of the bonds issued under section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The moneys deposited pursuant to section 6 of this act in the vocational technology center account of the general fund shall be administered by the corporation formed under section 2 of this act, subject to legislative appropriation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The state general obligation bond retirement fund shall be used for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds authorized in section 5 of this act.

The state finance committee shall, on or before June 30th of each year, certify to the state treasurer the amount needed in the ensuing twelve months to meet the bond retirement and interest requirements. Not less than thirty days prior to the date on which any interest or principal and interest payment is due, the state treasurer shall withdraw from any general state revenues received in the state treasury and deposit in the state general obligation bond retirement fund an amount equal to the amount certified by the state finance committee to be due on that payment date. On each date on which any interest or principal and interest is due, the state treasurer shall cause an identical amount to be paid out of the vocational technology center account from the operating revenues of the vocational technology center, and bond proceeds and earnings on the investment of bond proceeds, for deposit in the general fund of the state treasury. Any deficiency in such transfer shall be made up as feasible and shall constitute a continuing obligation of the vocational technology center account until all deficiencies are fully paid.

Bonds issued under section 5 of this act shall state that they are a general obligation of the state of Washington, shall pledge the full faith and credit of the state to the payment of the principal thereof and the interest thereon, and shall contain an unconditional promise to pay the principal and interest as the same shall become due.

The owner and holder of each of the bonds or the trustee for the owner and holder of any of the bonds may by mandamus or other appropriate proceeding require the transfer and payment of funds as directed in this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The legislature may provide additional means for raising moneys for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds authorized in section 5 of this act, and section 8 of this act shall not be deemed to provide an exclusive method for the payment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The bonds authorized in section 5 of this act shall be a legal investment for all state funds or funds under state control and for all funds of any other public body.

Sec. 11. Section 43.84.090, chapter 8, Laws of 1965 as last amended by section 5, chapter 233, Laws of 1985 and RCW 43.84.090 are each amended to read as follows:

Except as otherwise provided by RCW 67.40.025 or section 3 of this 1987 act, twenty percent of all income received from such investments shall be deposited in the state general fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 28C RCW.