WSR 22-24-089
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
LABOR AND INDUSTRIES
[Filed December 6, 2022, 8:24 a.m., effective January 6, 2023]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The legislature passed HB 1975 relating to property management services provided to housing authority properties; amending RCW 35.82.070. HB 1975 specifies that certain revenues collected by a property management services company from housing project tenants, when used to pay for administrative operating and ordinary maintenance costs, are treated as private funds. HB 1975 also includes a definition of what "ordinary maintenance" is specific to housing authorities. The adopted amendment to WAC 296-127-010 ensures the rule definition of ordinary maintenance is consistent with the definition in statute.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 296-127-010.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 39.12 RCW.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 22-20-112 on October 5, 2022.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: December 6, 2022.
Joel Sacks
Director
OTS-3890.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 19-15-119, filed 7/23/19, effective 8/23/19)
WAC 296-127-010Definitions for chapter 296-127 WAC.
(1) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.
(2) "Director" means the director of the department or his or her duly authorized deputy or representative.
(3) "Industrial statistician" means the industrial statistician of the department.
(4) "Assistant director" means the assistant director of the fraud prevention and labor standards (FPLS) division or his or her duly authorized deputy or representative.
(5) "Contractor" means:
(a) The prime contractor, and each and every subcontractor, required to be registered under chapter 18.27 RCW and/or licensed under chapter 19.28 RCW, that performs any work on a public works project site, and/or is required to pay industrial insurance premiums as a construction company.
(b) Employers engaged in shipbuilding and ship repair, building service maintenance, and any fabricator or manufacturer that produces nonstandard items specifically for a public works project.
(c) Employers that contract with contractors or subcontractors for the purpose of the production and/or delivery of materials pursuant to the terms of WAC 296-127-018.
(6) The term municipality shall include every city, county, town, district, political subdivision, or other public agency thereof which is authorized by law to require the execution of public work, except drainage districts, diking districts, diking and drainage improvement districts, drainage improvement districts, diking improvement districts, consolidated diking and drainage improvement districts, consolidated drainage improvement districts, consolidated diking improvement districts, irrigation districts, or any such other districts as shall from time to time be authorized by law for the reclamation or development of waste or undeveloped lands.
(7)(a) The term "public work" shall include:
(i) All work, construction, alteration, enlargement, improvement, repair, and/or demolition that is executed by contract, purchase order, or any other legal agreement and that is executed at the cost of the state of Washington or of any municipality. The source of the funding shall not determine the applicability of the statute, and may include, but is not limited to, such sources as those payments made through contracts with insurance companies on behalf of the insured state or municipality;
(ii) All work, construction, alteration, enlargement, improvement, repair, and/or demolition which, by law, constitutes a lien or charge on any property of the state or of a municipality;
(iii) All work, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement, other than ordinary maintenance that the state or a municipality causes to be performed by a private party through a contract to rent, lease, or purchase at least ((fifty))50 percent of the project by one or more state agencies or municipalities, pursuant to RCW 39.04.260;
(iv) Maintenance, except ordinary maintenance as defined by (b)(((iii)))(ii)(A) and (B) of this subsection, when performed by contract. Maintenance is defined as keeping existing facilities in good usable, operational condition;
(v) Janitorial and building service maintenance as defined by WAC 296-127-023, when performed by contract, on public buildings and/or assets; and
(vi) The fabrication and/or manufacture of nonstandard items produced by contract specifically for a public works project as defined by (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection.
(b) The term "public work" shall not include:
(i) Work, construction, alteration, enlargement, improvement, repair, demolition, and/or maintenance for which no wage or salary compensation is paid, consistent with the requirements of RCW 35.21.278; or
(ii) Ordinary maintenance.
(A) Ordinary maintenance is defined as maintenance work performed by the regular employees of the state or any county, municipality, or political subdivision created by its laws.
(B) For housing authorities when contracting with a property management services company for purposes of operating a housing project, as defined in RCW 35.82.030. Rental and other project revenues collected by a property management services company from the housing project's tenants and used to pay administrative operating and ordinary maintenance costs incurred by the company under the terms of the contract with the authority shall be treated as private funds, and any resulting services as executed at the cost of the property management services company and the housing project's tenants, until the net operating revenues are distributed to the authority for its exclusive use and control. For the purposes of this subsection, "ordinary maintenance" only includes: Routine repairs related to unit turnover work; grounds and parking lot upkeep; and repairs and cleaning work needed to keep a property in a clean, safe, sanitary, and rentable condition that are customarily undertaken or administered by residential property management services companies. "Ordinary maintenance" does not include repairs that would be considered replacement capital repairs or scheduled regular maintenance work on plumbing, electrical, or HVAC/R systems or their components.
(8) "Contract" means a contract, purchase order, or any other legal agreement in writing for public work to be performed for a fixed or determinable amount, which is duly awarded after advertisement and competitive bid. A contract that is awarded from a small works roster, or under the emergency provisions of state law, need not be advertised.
(9) "Residential construction" means construction, alteration, repair, improvement, or maintenance of single family dwellings, duplexes, apartments, condominiums, and other residential structures not to exceed four stories in height, including basement, when used solely as permanent residences. It does not include the utilities construction (water and sewer lines), or work on streets, or work on other structures (e.g., for recreation and business.)