SENATE BILL REPORT

                            SB 6315

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON LABOR & COMMERCE, JANUARY 28, 1994

Brief Description:  Clarifying statutes to reflect the organizational structure of the department of labor and industries.

SPONSORS: Senators Moore, Amondson, Ludwig, A. Smith and Winsley; by request of Department of Labor & Industries

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR & COMMERCE

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6315 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass. 

     Signed by Senators Moore, Chairman; Prentice, Vice Chairman; Amondson, Deccio, Fraser, McAuliffe, Newhouse, Pelz, Prince, Sellar, Sutherland, Vognild and Wojahn.

Staff:  Dave Cheal (786‑7576)

Hearing Dates:  January 20, 1994; January 28, 1994

BACKGROUND:

The structure and organization of the Department of Labor & Industries is to some degree determined by statute.  Certain divisions are mentioned and certain officers are named.  This structure was last addressed by statutory change in 1974.  The department is currently undergoing a reorganization intended to reduce the number of divisions and layers of management.  Regional boundaries for some department programs are different than with other programs.  Regional office staff sometimes lack authority to respond in a timely manner to customer needs. 

The statute makes some references to entities that no longer exist, such as the Industrial Welfare Committee.

SUMMARY:

References to the Divisions of Industrial Insurance, Building and Construction Safety Inspection Services, Industrial Safety and Health, and Industrial Relations are deleted.  References to supervisors of these divisions are retained because those supervisors have certain statutory duties. 

References to the Industrial Welfare Committee are deleted, substituting reference to the Department of Labor and  Industries.  A reference to the Industrial Welfare Commission is deleted.  A reference to the Division of Statistics is deleted.  The requirement that the department compile reliable statistics on which to base operations is retained.

The requirement that the department be organized into five specified divisions is deleted, and replaced with a general instruction that the department shall be organized into divisions that promote efficient and effective performance of the duties of the agency.

Certain appointment authorities are reassigned to the director from various supervisors.

EFFECT OF PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE:

The word "department" is substituted for "director" as the proper entity to conduct certain wage and hour investigations.

Appropriation:  none

Revenue:  none

Fiscal Note:  available

TESTIMONY FOR:

These statutory changes will aid the major departmental reorganization now in progress, which is designed to reduce management layering and improve customer service.

TESTIMONY AGAINST:  None

TESTIFIED:  Gary Smith, Independent Business Assn.; Clif Finch, AWB