AN ACT Relating to the establishment of a business and job retention program; amending RCW 50.16.070; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 42.17 RCW; creating a new section; and making appropriations.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the Washington state economy has suffered as a result of plant closures, business failures, and mass layoffs. The state has experienced substantial increases in unemployment compensation and public assistance expenditures, decreases in taxes paid by workers and businesses, and increases in social and health program costs due to high levels of unemployment.

The legislature further finds that the state has a substantial and continuing interest in assuring the survival of firms currently operating in the state by assisting them in adjusting to changing economic conditions.

State agencies have recognized the importance of interagency cooperation in business and job retention efforts. It is the purpose of this chapter to further these agency efforts by authorizing and funding the creation of locally based business and job retention teams to assist businesses which are likely to close, fail, or experience a permanent mass layoff. The legislature's primary objective is to coordinate, assist, augment, and improve existing business and job retention efforts and provide continuing financial and technical assistance and training to the business and job retention teams to ensure their success.

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

(1) "Department" means the department of trade and economic development.

(2) "Director" means the director of trade and economic development.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. 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 director of the business and job retention program. The 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 director shall solicit volunteer assistance, work with the business assistance center, the small business development center, the department of community development's employee ownership program, local early warning programs, local reemployment centers, labor representatives, and other appropriate public and private agencies and organizations and, when appropriate, contract with private consultants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The director shall appoint an advisory committee having equal representation from local business organizations, local government, and local labor organizations, and representatives of higher education, community colleges, vocational technical institutes, associate development organizations, community based economic development organizations, private industry councils, local early warning programs, local reemployment centers, and other advocates for dislocated and unemployed workers. The advisory committee shall examine state, local, and federal government policies and regulations as potential causes of plant closures, business failures, and mass layoffs and shall assist the director in the development of a state-wide effort to minimize the negative effects of such policies and regulations. The director shall consult with the advisory committee in developing implementation plans for carrying out this chapter and shall monitor implementation and operations of the state and regional components of the program. Staff assistance shall be provided to the committee by the department. Members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses under RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The director, after consultation with the advisory committee, 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 director shall designate an associate development organization or other appropriate locally based organization as the team coordinator for each regional business and job retention team. Each team shall have equal representation from local businesses, local government, and local labor organizations. In addition, each team shall have representatives from local associate development organizations, local reemployment centers, local businesses, local labor organizations, local educational institutions, community based organizations, advocates for the dislocated and unemployed workers, local private industry councils, and local governments. The team coordinator shall coordinate team efforts with the Washington ambassadors program and 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, local early warning programs, local reemployment centers, and any other private, public, or nonprofit group with appropriate expertise.

(3) Develop model local business surveys and assist the regional business and job retention team in administering in each region surveys of businesses, utilities, labor unions, employees, financial institutions, and community organizations in cooperation with any existing business retention 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, the availability of financing, and other appropriate information.

(4) Designate criteria for receipt of services offered to businesses, labor unions, employee groups, community groups, local governments, and port districts. 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.

(5) Be responsible for the development and implementation of training programs for the regional business and job retention team coordinators and teams. The training programs shall be designed to assist the teams in developing and coordinating local resources, assessing the need for outside resources, and locating other public and private resources needed to assist firms and workers.

(6) Provide or coordinate the delivery of technical and managerial assistance upon request from the local business and job retention team coordinators. Such assistance shall include financial management, marketing, product development, production process analysis, training, and other business services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The business and job retention teams shall administer local business surveys and provide marketing, technical, managerial, regulatory, and training assistance appropriate to client businesses, unions, employee groups, and workforces.

(1) The teams shall initiate contact with those firms or employees indicating by their response to the business surveys the potential for imminent 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 from firms, labor unions, employee groups, community groups, local governments, or port districts.

(2) The team coordinator shall be responsible for conducting an initial assessment of 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 or layoff, the role of governmental policies or regulations in contributing to closures or layoffs, the potential for preventing a closure, business failure, business relocation, or mass layoff, 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.

(3) After the initial assessment, the team coordinator shall coordinate the delivery of technical, managerial, financial, training, and other assistance. If the initial assessment indicates the need for a more thorough study of the feasibility of various options for retaining a firm, the director shall be so notified.

(4) The team coordinator shall work with the employment security department and local reemployment centers to assess the need for and to ensure the provision of training services to client businesses, prelayoff 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. 7. The director may provide funds for the study of the feasibility of various options for continuing or renewing the operation of industrial facilities which are threatened with closure or which have already closed. Such funds shall be made available as follows:

(1) Local governments, ports, or local nonprofit community organizations shall be eligible for the funds.

(2) The funds shall be matched dollar for dollar with local private or public funds.

(3) A maximum of fifty thousand dollars shall be made available for each study.

(4) Only one study may be funded per industrial facility.

(5) Priority in availability of funds shall be given to:

(a) Industrial facilities in distressed areas as defined under RCW 43.165.010;

(b) Industrial facilities with large numbers of employees;

(d) Industrial facilities in mature industries.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. In addition to the responsibilities set forth in sections 2 through 7 of this act, the department shall draw upon its existing resources, employment and economic data from the employment security department, and data from the department of licensing and the department of revenue and other sources, to do nonduplicative analyses of trends in the state's industries and workforces. The department shall make such analyses available to relevant businesses, labor organizations or workforces, local governments, economic development organizations, early warning programs, and business and job retention teams, and shall work with them to develop long-term strategies for economic growth and revitalization.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. 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) Supply the director with data 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.

(7) Work with the department of social and health services to track dislocated workers who exhaust their unemployment compensation benefits and begin collecting public assistance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The department of community development shall provide resources to the business and job retention teams through its various programs, such as the community development finance unit, the employee ownership program, the community revitalization team, the local development matching fund, and the development loan fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The state board for vocational education 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. 12. The director shall publish an annual report which shall be made available to the senate and house ways and means committees, the senate economic development and labor committee, and the house committee on trade and economic development. The report shall include the following:

(1) The number of businesses, labor unions, employee groups, local governments, and port districts assisted under this chapter;

(2) The types of assistance provided; and

(3) The number of businesses and jobs retained through assistance rendered under this chapter.

These reporting requirements shall be disaggregated by county, standard industrial classification, and size of firm.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. 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.

Sec. 14. Section 7, chapter 13, Laws of 1983 1st ex. sess. and RCW 50.16.070 are each amended to read as follows:

The federal interest payment fund shall consist of contributions payable by each employer (except employers as described in RCW 50.44.010 and 50.44.030 who have properly elected to make payments in lieu of contributions, employers who are required to make payments in lieu of contributions, and employers paying contributions under RCW 50.44.035) for any calendar quarter which begins on or after January 1, 1984, and for which the commissioner determines that the department will have an outstanding balance of accruing federal interest at the end of the calendar quarter. The amount of wages subject to tax shall be determined according to RCW 50.24.010. The tax rate applicable to wages paid during the calendar quarter shall be determined by the commissioner and shall not exceed fifteen one-hundredths of one percent. In determining whether to require contributions as authorized by this section, the commissioner shall consider the current balance in the federal interest payment fund and the projected amount of interest which will be due and payable as of the following September 30. Except as provided in section 18 of this 1988 act, any excess moneys in the federal interest payment fund shall be retained in the fund for future interest payments.

Contributions under this section shall become due and be paid by each employer in accordance with such rules as the commissioner may prescribe and shall not be deducted, in whole or in part, from the remuneration of individuals in the employ of the employer. Any deduction in violation of this section is unlawful.

In the payment of any contributions under this section, a fractional part of a cent shall be disregarded unless it amounts to one-half cent or more, in which case it shall be increased to one cent.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. The business and job retention feasibility study fund is hereby created in the custody of the state treasurer. The fund shall consist of such money as is appropriated to the fund or otherwise designated for deposit therein. Money in the fund shall be used only for the purposes of funding feasibility studies as provided in section 7 of this act. Disbursements from the fund shall be made without appropriation and upon authorization of the director of trade and economic development or the director's designee.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Sections 1 through 12 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. 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. 18. (1) The sum of five hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the federal interest payment fund to the department of trade and economic development for the purposes of this act.

(2) The sum of one hundred twenty thousand dollars is appropriated from the federal interest payment fund to the business and job retention feasibility study fund for the purposes of section 7 of this act.