BILL REQ. #:  Z-0144.1 

Read first time 01/21/09.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to academic employee salary increments for community and technical colleges; adding new sections to chapter 28B.50 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the community and technical colleges offer high quality, cost-effective instructional programs to the citizens of the state. The legislature finds that academic employee morale and willingness to invest in professional development, and academic employee recruitment and retention, are improved by consistent and predictable salary increases that recognize two-year college academic employees who upgrade their skills and professional experience. It is the intent of the legislature that state appropriations be adjusted to an amount that, together with academic employee turnover savings, provides for consistent and predictable funding of academic employee salary increments for qualifying academic employees.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this section and section 3 of this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Associated benefits" means those compensation benefits that are based on a percent of an employee's salary, such as retirement and old age survivors insurance.
     (2) "Academic employee" has the same meaning as in RCW 28B.52.020, which means any teacher, counselor, librarian, or department head, who is employed by any college district, whether full or part time, with the exception of the chief administrative officer or, and any administrator in, each college district.
     (3) "General salary increase" means the salary adjustment granted by the legislature for cost-of-living increases as provided in RCW 28B.50.465.
     (4) "Increments" means an increase in the base salary of an academic employee. Increments may be based on time, such as completing another year of employment, completing specific requirements, such as certification, or a combination of time and requirements.
     (5) "Turnover savings" is the ongoing permanent difference between the compensation level of an academic employee who is no longer employed and the compensation level of the academic employee replacement. Full-time faculty turnover savings may only be captured when a full-time faculty member is replaced by a full-time faculty member. Similarly, part-time faculty turnover savings may only be captured when a part-time faculty member is replaced by a part-time faculty member. Turnover savings exclude temporary savings such as vacant positions or academic employees on leave, reassignment, or sabbatical.
     (6) "Salary base" is the prior year's total state-funded expenditures for all academic employees' ending salary levels.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Each biennium, the college board shall submit in its biennial budget request an amount of funds, which together with academic employee turnover savings, is sufficient to cover the projected state-funded costs of increments for the community and technical college system.
     (2) The basis for the biennial budget request shall be eight-tenths of one percent of the academic employees' salary base plus the value of associated benefits.
     (3) The college board shall determine the method of allocating to the community and technical colleges the appropriations granted for academic employee increments, provided that the amount of the appropriation generated from the proportionate share of the part-time faculty salary base shall only be accessible for part-time faculty. In addition, all part-time faculty turnover savings, as defined in section 2(5) of this act, shall only be accessible for part-time faculty.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Boards of trustees shall award academic employee salary increments based on local agreements developed under chapter 28B.52 RCW.
     (2) Funds allocated by the college board to local boards of trustees for part-time faculty under the provisions of section 3 of this act may be used for general salary increases for part-time faculty.
     (3) Boards of trustees may combine appropriations allocated by the college board for academic employee salary increments with general salary increase funding to increase academic employee increments. To the extent that general salary increase funding is used to pay academic employee increments, the general salary increase shall be reduced by the same amount.