AN ACT Relating to the establishment of a business and job retention program; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 42.17 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the state of Washington has suffered continued business closures, mass layoffs, and high unemployment despite the end of the recession of the early 1980's. Since 1979 more than 100,000 workers have been dislocated due to plant closures and mass layoffs. Both local economies and the state's revenue stream suffer if local industries and jobs are not retained. Our state's basic industries have been subject to disruptive cyclical and structural changes which have caused the major dislocations. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide transitional support to businesses and employees facing economic disruption through coordination with local reemployment centers and other programs serving dislocated and unemployed workers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. There is established within the department of trade and economic development the business and job retention program. An exempt position is hereby created at the assistant director level within the department of trade and economic development for the managing director of the business and job retention program. The managing director shall be appointed by the governor and shall serve under the direction of the director of trade and economic development at the governor's pleasure. In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the managing director shall solicit volunteer assistance, work with the business assistance center and the small business development center, and contract with private consultants, with the approval of the director of trade and economic development, for such services as the managing director deems advisable.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The managing director shall appoint a twelve person advisory committee consisting of representatives of the business community, labor, a community economic development organization, and an advocate for dislocated and unemployed workers. The advisory committee shall assist the managing director in carrying out this chapter and shall monitor implementation and operations of the state and regional components of the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The business and job retention program shall:

(1) Designate service delivery regions in the state, each of which shall have no less than one county and no more than six counties.

(2) Establish business and job retention teams for each region. The managing director shall designate a team coordinator for each regional business and job retention team. Each team shall have representatives from local associate development organizations, local reemployment centers, local industries, local labor organizations, and local governments. The team coordinator shall select appropriate marketing, management, training, and technical specialists to assist the team on any given project or group of projects. The department may subcontract with existing early warning or job retention programs to avoid duplication of effort in any region. The team coordinator shall be responsible for soliciting assistance from within the region from local chambers of commerce, private industry councils, colleges, universities, and any other private, public, or nonprofit group with appropriate expertise.

(3) Develop and administer in each region surveys of businesses, utilities, labor unions, employees, banks, and community organizations in cooperation with any existing early warning programs, reemployment centers, and associate development organizations. The surveys will gather information about business needs, expansion plans, relocation decisions, training needs, potential layoffs, financing needs, and the availability of financing.

(4) Designate criteria for receipt of services offered to businesses and employees. Such criteria shall include the number of employees affected, the type of business involved, reemployment potential of employees, severity of problems affecting the business or workforce, skill level of workforce, availability of financing, and the social and economic costs of layoffs or closure.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The business and job retention teams shall provide marketing, technical, managerial, and training assistance appropriate to client industries and workforces. The teams shall initiate contact with "at risk" firms or employees indicating the potential for closure, mass layoff, or relocation. For firms or employees not indicating such potential, the provision of services from the teams will be in response to direct requests. The team coordinator shall conduct an initial assessment of at risk firms or work forces to determine viability, problems, and skill levels, in cooperation with any early warning programs, reemployment centers, and associate development organizations. The assessment shall include but not be limited to the public and private costs of any potential closure, the potential for work-outs and turnarounds, the potential for a change in ownership, including worker and community buy-outs of the firm, and the costs of keeping the facility in operation. Where appropriate, team coordinators shall assist local governments or organizations in applying for local development matching funds from the department of community development.

After the initial assessment, the team coordinators shall coordinate the delivery of technical, managerial, and training assistance to the client firm or workforce.

The team coordinator shall work with the employment security department and local reemployment centers to ensure the provision of pre-layoff services and the establishment of programs for dislocated workers such as job clubs, retraining counseling, and the referral and delivery of social services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. In addition to the responsibilities set forth in sections 2 through 5 of this act, the department of trade and economic development shall draw upon its existing resources, employment data from the employment security department, and data from the department of licensing and the department of revenue, to do nonduplicative analysis of trends in the state's industries and workforces. The department shall make such analyses available to relevant businesses, labor organizations or workforces, and local governments and shall work with them to develop long-term strategies for economic growth and revitalization.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The employment security department shall:

(1) Monitor industries, occupations, and substate labor markets by employment levels, and hourly wage and annual wage rates.

(2) Track numbers of dislocated workers and part-time workers in the state.

(3) Assess the number and causes of permanent mass layoffs and closures using a modified permanent mass layoff and plant closure data base which is presently funded by the federal government.

(4) Supply the managing director with data under subsections (1) through (3) of this section, which will allow the state and local components of the program to prioritize delivery of service to distressed, mature, and cyclical industries.

(5) Provide information and assistance to the program on training resources available through the department.

(6) Offer any businesses assisted by the program its first source hiring services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The department of community development shall provide resources to the business and job retention program through its community development finance unit and distressed area programs such as the community revitalization teams and the development loan fund. In addition, the department shall assist local governments and organizations with local economic development planning processes and the development of entrepreneurial training programs. Preference in the disbursement of public works program loans will be given to those communities with a high level of dislocated workers, and public works projects will have first source hiring agreements with local employment security or labor union offices.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The commission for vocational education or its successor agency shall assist the business and job retention program through the development of partnerships between educational institutions and businesses that can benefit from job skills programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 42.17 RCW to read as follows:

Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 42.17.260 through 42.17.340, no financial or proprietary information supplied by businesses to the department of trade and economic development may be made available to the public.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 9 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. The sum of four hundred twenty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of trade and economic development for the purposes of this act.