HOUSE BILL REPORT

HCR 4410

BYRepresentatives Belcher, Locke and Anderson

Creating a joint select committee on employee compensation.

House Committe on State Government

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (9)

      Signed by Representatives R. Fisher, Chair; Anderson, Vice Chair; McLean, Ranking Republican Member; Hankins, R. King, Morris, O'Brien, Rector and Sayan.

House Staff:Barbara McLain (786-7135)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT MARCH 30, 1989

BACKGROUND:

A variety of approaches are used to determine compensation levels of state employees.  For classified employees of state agencies and institutions of higher education, the Department of Personnel (DOP) and the Higher Education Personnel Board (HEPB) conduct a salary survey of private and public employers to determine prevailing rates of pay.  Survey results become the basis for recommending adjustments to the salaries and wages of these employees.  The Department of Personnel conducts a separate survey for officers of the State Patrol, the results of which are submitted to the Governor and the Director of the Office of Financial Management to use in preparing the budget.

DOP and HEPB adjust some salaries according to a comparable worth schedule, adopting salary increases for employees in certain job classes in order to reduce differences in the compensation level of those classes compared to other job classes found to have similar demands and working conditions.  The implementation of comparable worth is to be completed by June 30, 1992.

Salary surveys are also conducted to aid collective bargaining for faculty at institutions of higher education and for state ferry system workers.  The Higher Education Coordinating Board surveys salaries of faculty at "peer institutions," and the Marine Employees' Commission surveys private sector workers within the state and other state employees who do directly comparable work to that performed by ferry system workers.

Faculty and staff of public school districts and print craft employees of the Public Printer and the University of Washington also have the ability to collectively bargain for salaries and wages.  Statutes limit salary increases for employees covered by collective bargaining to amounts authorized by the Legislature in the appropriations act.

SUMMARY:

The Legislature finds that:

            oIt is in the interest of the state to have qualified, motivated, and productive employees;

            oThere are significant, unanswered policy questions relating to compensation practices for various state employees, including questions about the future of the state's comparable worth agreement;

            oThe state uses different methods of determining salaries, such as peer institution comparisons, salary equalization, prevailing rate, and comparable worth, and the use of these multiple methods can create conflicts and confusion in salary administration; and

            oIn order to maintain qualified and productive employees, the state must have equitable and achievable compensation policies.

A Joint Select Committee on Employee Compensation is created to study salary setting practices and establish comprehensive policies for higher education, K-12, and state employees.  The committee consists of 12 members, six each from the House and Senate appointed by the leadership.  The committee is to report its findings to the Legislature by December 1, 1990.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Representative Jennifer Belcher, prime sponsor; Dorothy Gerard, Higher Education Personnel Board; and Bob Boysen, Department of Personnel.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    With over 54 percent of the state's budget going to salaries, the question needs to be raised and answered:  Does the state have a coherent policy for employee compensation?  Compensation, fringe benefits, and their intended impact on the workforce need to be developed.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.