ESSB 5555 - H AMDS TO TED COMM AMD (5555-S.E AMH TED H2815.1) 610 ADOPTED 4-19-91

By Representatives Cantwell, Forner and Sheldon

On page 16, after line 2 of the striking amendment, insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 14 through 18 of this act.

(1) "Board" means the state board for community college education.

(2) "Dislocated timber worker" means any individual who: (a) Has been terminated or received a notice of termination from employment in a timber-related industry assigned the major group standard industrial classification code "24" by the employment security department; and (b) at the time of last separation from employment, resided in or was employed in a timber-dependent community. For the purposes of this subsection, "standard industrial classification code" means the code identified in RCW 50.29.025(6)(c).

(3) "Timber-dependent community" means a county or a city or town located in a county meeting two of the following three criteria for the most recent year such data is available: (a) A lumber and wood products employment location quotient at or above the state average; (b) a direct lumber and wood products job loss of one hundred or more; or (c) an annual unemployment rate twenty percent or more above the state average.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:

The state board for community college education shall administer a program designed to provide higher education opportunities to dislocated timber workers or their spouses. In administering the program, the board shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) Appoint an advisory committee to assist the board in program design and funding distribution;

(2) Allocate funding to community colleges attended by eligible dislocated timber workers;

(3) Monitor the program and report on students' progress and outcome; and

(4) Report to the legislature by December 1, 1993, on the status of the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:

In addition to the community college enrollment level funded by the omnibus appropriations act for the biennium ending June 30, 1993, the community college system is authorized to serve two hundred fifty full-time equivalent students in fiscal year 1992 and five hundred full-time equivalent students in fiscal year 1993. Under this program, the community colleges shall waive the tuition, services, and activities fees for dislocated timber workers or their spouses, enrolled as one of the full‑time equivalent students allocated under this section, who do not receive federal tuition assistance for retraining, provided the dislocated timber worker provides verification of the following conditions:

(1) The dislocated timber worker, during the five years before enrolling as a student, was employed in the timber industry on a full-time basis for at least six months each year; and

(2) The unemployment of the dislocated timber worker is due to reduction in work force and not misconduct of the timber worker;

The dislocated timber workers or their spouses are eligible to receive waivers for a total of six quarters within a two-year time period and must be enrolled for a minimum of ten credits per quarter.

Dislocated timber workers or their spouses shall receive priority for the full-time equivalent student allocations authorized under this section. Funding for any full-time equivalent student enrollment allocations that are unused by June 30, 1993, shall lapse.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. A new section is added to chapter 28B.80 RCW to read as follows:

The higher education coordinating board shall administer a program designed to provide upper division higher education opportunities to dislocated timber workers, their spouses, and others in timber‑distressed counties. In administering the program, the board shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) Distribute funding for an institution of higher education to service Clallam county;

(2) Appoint an advisory committee to assist the board in program design and future project selection;

(3) Monitor the program and report on student progress and outcome; and

(4) Report to the legislature by December 1, 1993, on the status of the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to chapter 28B.80 RCW to read as follows:

In consultation with Peninsula College, the higher education coordinating board shall contract with an institution of higher education to provide upper division classes to serve fifty full-time equivalent students per year in Clallam county. The institution shall utilize telecommunication technology, if available, to carry out the purposes of this section. The institution providing the service shall waive the tuition, service, and activities fees for dislocated timber workers or their spouses enrolled as one of the full-time equivalent students allocated to the college under this section, provided the dislocated timber worker provides verification of the following conditions:

(1) The dislocated timber worker, during the five years before enrolling as a student, was employed in the timber industry on a full-time basis for at least six months of each year; and

(2) The unemployment of the dislocated timber worker is due to reduction in work force and not misconduct of the timber worker;

The dislocated timber worker or his or her spouse is eligible to receive waivers for a total of four semesters or six quarters within a two-year time period and must be enrolled for a minimum of ten credits per semester or quarter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. A new section is added to chapter 28B.80 RCW to read as follows:

Dislocated timber workers and their spouses shall receive priority for attendance in upper division courses allocated under section 17 of this act, offered in Clallam county. Remaining allocations may be distributed to others in the timber-dependent community.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. (1) The legislature finds and declares that:

(a) Families with children have been rendered homeless or are in imminent danger of becoming homeless as a result of a sudden job loss or other economic adversity;

(b) It is more economical and more socially desirable to enable people to retain possession of their houses or apartments and thereby avoid homelessness, than to house them in emergency shelters or in other facilities intended for short-term occupancy; and

(c) Economically distressed communities are faced with unique problems that require a comprehensive approach of housing and related support services.

(2) The legislature declares that a program designed to provide short-term financial assistance to assist with mortgage or rent payments and coordination of available support services is needed to keep people from becoming homeless.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. A new section is added to chapter 43.63A RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department shall develop and administer a homelessness prevention program for the purpose of providing grants and technical assistance to eligible organizations to operate local homelessness prevention and related support service programs. For purposes of this section, "eligible organizations" are those organizations eligible to receive assistance through the Washington housing trust fund, chapter 43.185 RCW.

(2) The department shall select at least five eligible organizations for purposes of implementing local homelessness prevention programs. The local homelessness prevention programs are designed to provide: (a) Interest-free loans of temporary mortgage or rental assistance on behalf of families with children in imminent danger of losing housing as a result of having insufficient income to pay mortgage or rental costs; (b) interest-free loans to make payments on machinery or equipment that is essential to the household's livelihood; or (c) technical assistance to eligible organizations to help recipient eligible organizations develop and implement local strategies to prevent homelessness. In selecting local programs under this section, the department shall give priority consideration to timber-dependent communities and shall consider:

(i) The eligible organization's ability, stability, and resources to implement the local homelessness prevention program;

(ii) The eligible organization's efforts to coordinate other support programs for the family, such as job search or job retraining programs;

(iii) The level of timber unemployment experienced by the jurisdiction; and

(iv) Other factors the department deems appropriate.

(3) The recipient eligible organization shall establish priorities of eligibility for temporary mortgage or rental assistance to assist families with children in retaining housing. The recipient eligible organization shall make a determination of eligibility regarding the family's eligibility to participate in the local homelessness prevention program. A determination shall include, but is not limited to:

(a) A determination that the family is subject to immediate eviction for foreclosure of nonpayment of mortgage installments or nonpayment of rent, when nonpayment is attributable to illness, unemployment, underemployment, or any other failure of resources beyond the person's control;

(b) A verification of the loss of income; and

(c) A determination that the family does not have the financial resources to make the required mortgage installment or rental payment, or installment payment on the equipment or machinery which is essential to the family's livelihood.

(4) No family shall continue to receive temporary mortgage or rental assistance under this section if alternative sources of mortgage or rental assistance under federal, state, or local sources becomes available.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. A new section is added to chapter 43.63A RCW to read as follows:

The department shall adopt rules to implement section 20 of this act, including but not limited to:

(1) The maximum length of assistance available through section 20 of this act;

(2) The eligibility of and application process for eligible organizations;

(3) The criteria by which grants and technical assistance shall be provided to eligible organizations; and

(4) The criteria eligible organizations shall use when entering into contracts with families to make mortgage or rental assistance payments, or equipment or machinery payments on their behalf.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. (1) For the period beginning July 1, 1991 and ending June 30, 1993, in those areas designated by the department of community development as timber impact areas, the public works board may award low-interest or interest-free loans to local governments for construction of new public works facilities that stimulate economic growth or diversification.

(2) For the purposes of this act, "public facilities" means bridge, road and street, domestic water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer systems.

(3) The loans may have a deferred payment of up to five years but shall be repaid within twenty years. The board may require other terms and conditions and may charge such rates of interest on its loans as it deems appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section. Repayments shall be made to the public works assistance account.

(4) The board may make such loans irrespective of the annual loan cycle and reporting required in RCW 43.155.070.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. (1) As authorized by section 22 of this act, the board shall establish criteria for awarding loans to local governments including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) If a county or city, the local government must be imposing the tax authorized by chapter 82.46 RCW at a rate of at least one-quarter of one percent;

(b) The local government must have in place a capital improvement plan meeting standards established by the board and an economic development plan meeting standards established by the department;

(d) The proposed project must provide an opportunity to create or retain jobs within the local economy. Priority may be given to those projects that provide an opportunity to retain or create jobs for the pool of local workers affected by the timber economy;

(e) The local government must provide reasonable assurances of its ability to repay the debt; and

(f) The local government must meet any additional guidelines and criteria established by the board for awarding loan funds.

(2) Existing debt or other financial obligations of the local government shall not be refinanced under this act.

(3) The board shall award loans only to those projects that meet the criteria and will fulfill the purpose of this act. Any funds not obligated at the close of the biennium shall be returned to the public works assistance account.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. The public works board shall provide to the office of financial management and the legislative fiscal committees quarterly reports on loan applications under consideration and loans awarded by the board and a report by January 15, 1994, on the loans awarded through the biennium ending June 30, 1993. The board shall provide to the legislative fiscal committees a report on January 15, 1995, and January 15, 1996, identifying by county the economic growth and/or economic diversification attributable to the loan awards authorized by this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. (a) The legislature finds that an increase in unemployment due to the declining timber economy in the state is imminent. The legislature further recognizes that employment opportunities in state and local government in other natural resource management professions exist and that dislocated workers in the timber-related professions represent a potential work force in the areas of fisheries, wildlife, and recreation.

(b) The legislature further recognizes that employment opportunities in other natural resource management professions exist and that natural resource enhancements in the areas of fisheries, wildlife, and recreation can bring needed income to distressed local economies in the state. It is the intent of the legislature that dislocated timber workers be given training in and opportunities to compete for employment in other resource management professions, and to establish a pilot program in Skagit county to accomplish this objective. The Skagit river represents a potential recreational fishery that, if enhanced, will bring much needed income to Skagit county. Enhancements to the fishery on the Skagit river are planned over the next several years, and workers will be needed to fill these positions. Displaced timber workers will be available to do this work.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 26. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Dislocated timber worker" means any individual who: (a) Has been terminated or received a notice of termination from employment in a timber-related industry assigned the major group standard industrial classification code "24" by the employment security department; and (b) at the time of last separation from employment, resided in or was employed in a timber-dependent community. For the purposes of this subsection, "standard industrial classification code" means the code identified in RCW 50.29.025(6)(c).

(2) "Department" means the employment security department.

(3) "Project" means the natural resource worker project.

(4) "College" means Skagit Valley Community College.

(5) "Local development agency" means the economic development association of Skagit county.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 27. The department, subject to the availability of funding under section 28 of this act or an appropriation from the general fund, shall establish the natural resource worker project. The project shall terminate on July 1, 1996, and shall provide employment and training opportunities for dislocated timber workers in the areas of fisheries, wildlife, recreation, and other natural resource professions. The department of personnel shall approve the project. The goal of the project is to allow project employees to be, upon termination of their participation in the project, eligible for permanent employment with the departments of wildlife, fisheries, ecology, and natural resources, and the parks and recreation commission.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 28. The department shall use federal funds that it receives for dislocated timber workers to contract with the departments of wildlife, fisheries, ecology, and natural resources, and the parks and recreation commission to hire project participants to conduct tasks in the areas of fisheries, wildlife, forestry, ecology, and recreation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 29. The project shall include the following elements:

(1) Recruitment of dislocated timber workers;

(2) Placement in the departments of wildlife, fisheries, ecology, and natural resources, and the parks and recreation commission;

(3) On-the-job training in entry-level natural resource management skills;

(4) Comparable salaries and benefits to entry-level positions already existing in the departments of wildlife, fisheries, ecology, and natural resources, and the parks and recreation commission.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 30. The department, along with the departments of personnel, wildlife, fisheries, ecology, and natural resources, and the parks and recreation commission shall report annually to the legislature on November 1 of each year beginning November 1, 1992, and until November 1, 1995.

The report shall include, at a minimum, the following elements:

(1) The number of project employees;

(2) The number and description of positions filled, by agency;

(3) Training received;

(4) Duration of employment; and

(5) Placement in permanent positions.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 31. A pilot project shall be established, coordinated jointly by the department and the college, in Skagit county. The pilot project created in this section is subject to the department and the college acquiring funds for the pilot project from federal, state, or private sources. The project shall be of five years duration.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 32. The college shall develop a training program designed for dislocated timber workers and their spouses, and in doing so, shall:

(1) Consult with, at a minimum, the departments of natural resources, ecology, wildlife, and fisheries, the parks and recreation commission, and other state, federal, local, and private employers in Skagit county to determine minimum employment qualifications in the areas of natural resource management and enhancement of the Skagit river; and

(2) Develop a program that will provide needed educational skills to dislocated timber workers and their spouses.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 33. The department shall contract with the local development agency to coordinate with the college and the departments of wildlife, ecology, natural resources, and fisheries, the parks and recreation commission, and other state, federal, local, and private employers in assisting dislocated timber workers and their spouses in securing education and employment in the natural resource professions. The local development agency shall also provide information on the training program established under section 32 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 34. The department and the college shall jointly report to the legislature on their progress by November 1 of each year, beginning in 1991 and ending November 1, 1996. This report shall include a college program description, numbers of students, numbers of referrals for existing positions by the local development agency, and numbers of positions filled by dislocated timber workers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 35. Sections 25 through 34 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 50 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 36. (1) Sections 13 through 18 of this act shall expire July 1, 1995.

(2) Sections 22 and 23 of this act shall expire on June 30, 1993.

(3) Sections 25 through 30 of this act shall expire August 1, 1996.

(4) Sections 31 through 34 of this act shall expire January 1, 1997.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 37. If by June 30, 1991, the omnibus operating budget appropriations act for the 1991-93 biennium does not provide specific funding for any of sections 13 through 19 of this act, referencing those sections by bill number and section number, any section not referenced is null and void."

Renumber the remaining sections and correct internal references accordingly.

On page 16, line 11, after "Sec. 16." strike "This act is" and insert "Sections 1 through 12, 22, 23, and 25 through 34 are"

On page 16, line 14 of the striking amendment, after "immediately" insert ", except for sections 22, 23, and 25 through 34, which shall take effect July 1, 1991."