S-1962.1 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5634
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State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1993 Regular Session
By Senate Committee on Government Operations (originally sponsored by Senators Bauer, Newhouse, Snyder, Haugen, Gaspard, Vognild, Sutherland, Rinehart, Spanel, Talmadge, Winsley, McAuliffe, Moore and Drew)
Read first time 02/26/93.
AN ACT Relating to disputes between state agencies; adding new sections to chapter 43.17 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of the legislature to reduce the number of time-consuming and costly lawsuits between state agencies by requiring mediation of any dispute.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.17 RCW to read as follows:
(1) No state agency may bring suit against any other state agency unless the agency has first completed the mediation procedures described in section 3 of this act.
(2) For purposes of sections 2 through 4 of this act, "state agency" means:
(a) Any agency for which the executive officer is listed in RCW 42.17.2401; and
(b) The office of the secretary of state; the office of the state treasurer; the office of the state auditor; the department of natural resources; the office of the insurance commissioner; and the office of the superintendent of public instruction.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.17 RCW to read as follows:
Whenever a dispute arises between state agencies that cannot be resolved informally by the agencies, any one of the disputing agencies shall give a written notice of a call for mediation. The notice shall be delivered to any other agency engaged in the dispute, to the attorney general, and to the governor. Upon receipt of the notice, the agencies may either appoint a neutral mediator by agreement, or, if the agencies do not agree within five working days from the delivery of the notice under this section, the governor shall, within ten working days thereafter, appoint a neutral mediator. No executive officer from an agency affected by the dispute may be appointed a mediator. The attorney general shall appoint an assistant attorney general to advise the mediator.
The mediator shall facilitate the negotiation of a resolution of the dispute by any appropriate means and may invite other interested parties to participate in the process. The mediator shall submit a written report to the attorney general, the governor, and the parties to the dispute no later than thirty days from the date of his or her appointment. The report shall state:
(1) The terms of the agreed resolution of the dispute;
(2) An agreed plan for achieving resolution of the dispute, including:
(a) Which issues, if any, should be submitted to binding arbitration;
(b) Which legal issues, if any, should be submitted to the attorney general;
(c) Which issues, if any, should be litigated; and
(d) A detailed timetable for the entire process; or
(3) That the parties were unable to either agree to a resolution of the dispute or agree to a plan for achieving resolution of the dispute.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 43.17 RCW to read as follows:
Sections 2 and 3 of this act shall not apply to any state agency that is a party to a lawsuit, which: (1) Impleads another state agency into the lawsuit when necessary for the administration of justice; or (2) files a notice of appeal, petitions for review, or makes other filings subject to time limits, in order to preserve legal rights and remedies.
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