Concerning the training and monitoring of guardians.

Requires the department of social and health services to convene an advisory group to: (1) Develop a model program to monitor guardians appointed under chapter 11.88 RCW (appointments, qualifications, and removal of guardians) and to provide for monitoring of both professional and lay guardians; and

Concerning tourism marketing.

Establishes the statewide tourism marketing act.

Establishes the framework and funding for a statewide tourism marketing program, which needs to: (1) Have a structure that includes significant, stable, long-term funding; and

(2) Be implemented and managed by the tourism industry.

Creates the Washington tourism marketing authority which is responsible for: (1) Contracting for statewide tourism marketing services that promote tourism on behalf of the citizens; and

(2) Managing the authority's financial resources.

Creates the statewide tourism marketing account.

Requires 0.2 percent of taxes collected on retail sales of lodging, car rentals, and restaurants to be deposited in the statewide tourism marketing account beginning July 1, 2018.

Addressing the disposal of recreational vehicles abandoned on public property.

Authorizes a registered tow truck operator to transport an abandoned recreational vehicle without being licensed as a hulk hauler.

Requires the department of licensing, before accepting an application for a registration for a recreational vehicle, to collect a six-dollar abandoned recreational disposal fee from the applicant in addition to other fees and taxes.

Allows registered tow truck operators, vehicle wreckers, or scrap processors, to apply to the department of licensing for financial aid for the transport, storage, dismantling, and disposal of abandoned recreational vehicles from public property.

Authorizes a solid waste disposal site that is compliant with all applicable regulations to wreck a nonmotorized abandoned recreational vehicle.

Makes an appropriation from the motor vehicle fund to the department of licensing for the purposes of this act.

Concerning disclosure of state employment funded by certain private sources.

Requires every executive state officer and agency, except for institutions of higher education, to report to the public disclosure commission the following information for employees or contractors employed or contracted with the executive state officer or agency whose position is funded, in whole or in part, by private sources: (1) The name of the employee or contractor;

(2) The scope of the work performed;

(3) The annual gross salary;

(4) The name of any private sources from which funding for the salary is received and the amount of the funding; and

(5) If the private source is a nonprofit organization, a list of the organization's top fifty donors and donors that have contributed more than fifty thousand dollars to the organization, based on a certain amount of time.

Concerning highly capable students.

Requires the superintendent of public instruction to: (1) Confirm that each local educational agency has policies and procedures to allow for the identification of children who are highly capable;

(2) Require school districts to have highly capable systems and procedures that are clearly stated and implemented by the school districts;

(3) Require principals, counselors, administrators, and members of the multidisciplinary selection committee to attend at least three hours of professional development each biennium about the needs of highly capable students;

(4) Disseminate guidance on referral, screening, assessment, selection, and placement best practices; and

Reauthorizing the business and occupation tax deduction for cooperative finance organizations.

Provides a business and occupation tax deduction on amounts received by a cooperative finance organization where the amounts are derived from loans to rural electric cooperatives or other nonprofit or governmental providers of utility services.

Providing that the department of revenue is the secretary of state's agent for specified legal entity renewals.

Limiting defenses based on victim identity.

Increasing energy efficiency.

Finds that many jurisdictions have ambitious climate targets that are in line with or exceed the state's own climate reduction goals, however, they are prevented from adopting stricter residential energy codes than the state energy code.

Requires the state energy code for residential structures, beginning with the 2018 edition, to provide the following options to cities, towns, and counties: (1) A lower efficiency option that conforms to certain requirements;

(2) An intermediate efficiency option that results in dwelling units that use ten percent less energy annually than those built in accordance with the lower efficiency option; and

Concerning juvenile offenses.

Modifies crimes regarding depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Requires the Washington coalition of sexual assault programs, in consultation with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the Washington association for the treatment of sexual abusers, the department of children, youth, and families, the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys, representatives from public defense, and other relevant stakeholders, to convene a work group to make recommendations to the legislature regarding age-appropriate prevention and intervention strategies to address potential harms caused by exchange of intimate images by minors.

Authorizing counties and cities planning under the growth management act to impose certain real estate excise taxes by councilmanic action.

Concerning the use of wheeled all-terrain vehicles on state routes.

Allowing an additional property tax exemption for seniors, veterans, and persons with disabilities leasing land in a mobile home park or manufactured housing community.

Authorizes an additional property tax exemption to a tenant who owns a mobile or manufactured home and is qualified for property tax exemptions.

Estimating tax rates and regressivity for voter, legislative process, and joint legislative audit and review committee consideration.

Ensuring water is available to support development in water resource inventory areas 3 and 4 through implementation of the 1996 memorandum of agreement.

Concerning campaign finance law enforcement and reporting.

Makes changes to the fair campaign practices act regarding campaign finance law enforcement and reporting.

Makes an appropriation from the general fund to the public disclosure commission for the purposes of this act.

Concerning park models.

Making the business and occupation tax more progressive.

Establishes the small business tax fairness act.

Finds that the state's small businesses are taxed at the same rate as high profit corporations without benefiting from the special tax preferences that many large corporations enjoy.

Declares an intent to: (1) Make the state's business tax system more fair for small businesses by reforming the current business and occupation tax or eventually implementing a new, more equitable business activities tax; and

(2) Take the necessary steps to evaluate the continuing need for business and occupation tax preferences.

Creates a taskforce on business and occupation tax fairness to: (1) Review existing business and occupation tax preferences to determine if any are no longer needed as a result of the enactment of this act;

(2) Make decisions by a simple majority of the task force; and

Reporting to ethics boards licensing agreements for public use of certain state resources produced by state agencies.

Requires an agency within the legislative or executive branches that enters into a contract to grant a license to a person to allow any type of indirect use of state resources to submit a copy of the contract to: (1) The legislative ethics board for agencies within the legislative branch; or

(2) The executive ethics board for agencies within the executive branch.

Requiring planning for the availability of mineral resources.

Concerning community economic revitalization board administered broadband infrastructure.

Safeguarding the public safety by protecting railroad workers.

Establishes the safe leave act for Washington railroad workers.

Finds that railroad employees have no paid sick leave and may be subject to discipline for absence due to illness or injury.

Prohibits a railroad carrier from dismissing, suspending, laying off, demoting, or otherwise disciplining: (1) An employee because of absence due to illness or injury; or

(2) An operating craft employee because of layoff due to fatigue.

Requires a railroad carrier to: (1) Establish a fatigue layoff program under which an operating craft employee may layoff due to fatigue without being subjected to discipline or any type of availability or attendance policy;

(2) Submit the program to the utilities and transportation commission for review and approval; and

Concerning transportation network companies.

Regulates transportation network companies.

-- 2018 REGULAR SESSION --
Jan 26	First reading, referred to Transportation (Not Officially read and referred until adoption of Introduction report).