BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to state contracts; and adding a new section to chapter 43.19 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 43.19 RCW to read as follows:

To ensure the economical and efficient administration and completion of state contracts, the following procedures must be used for all contracts for purchases and sales executed by the state purchasing and material control director under RCW 43.19.190 through 43.19.1939, or executed by agencies, including educational institutions, under delegated authority granted in accordance with RCW 43.19.190 or 28B.10.029:

(1) Contracting is not permitted with employers that permanently replace lawfully striking employees. A contract for purchases or sales may not be executed unless it includes a provision certifying that the contracting employer will not permanently replace lawfully striking employees. Contracts for purchases or sales are subject to termination in accordance with this section if the contracting employer permanently replaces his or her lawfully striking employees.

(2)(a) The director of the department of labor and industries may investigate an organizational unit of an employer contracting with the state to determine whether the unit has permanently replaced lawfully striking workers. Such investigation must be conducted in accordance with procedures established by the director.

(b) The director shall receive and may investigate complaints by employees of any employer covered under (a) of this subsection if the complaints allege that lawfully striking employees have been permanently replaced.

(3)(a) If the director of the department of labor and industries determines, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, that an employer contracting with the state has permanently replaced lawfully striking employees, the director may make a finding that it is appropriate to terminate the contract. The director shall transmit that finding to the head of any agency that contracts with the contractor.

(b) The head of the contracting agency may object to the termination of a contract or contracts of a state contractor determined to have permanently replaced legally striking employees. If the head of the agency so objects because termination of the contract would severely disrupt the operation of the agency to the detriment of state government or would not be in the public interest, he or she shall set forth the reasons for not terminating the contract or contracts in a written response to the director. In such case, the termination may not be issued. The head of the contracting agency shall report to the director and appropriate committees of the legislature at least annually those contracts that have been terminated under this section.

(4) If the director of the department of labor and industries determines that a contractor has permanently replaced lawfully striking employees, the director shall debar the contractor, thereby making the contractor ineligible to receive state contracts. Agencies may not solicit offers from, award contracts to, or consent to subcontracts with these contractors unless the head of the agency or his or her designee determines, in writing, that there is a compelling reason for such action. Unless exceptional circumstances exist, the scope of the debarment is limited to those organizational units of a state contractor that the director finds to have permanently replaced lawfully striking workers. The period of the debarment may not extend beyond the date when the labor dispute precipitating the permanent replacement of lawfully striking workers has been resolved, as determined by the director.

(5) The director of the department of labor and industries shall publish, or cause to be published, in the Washington State Register, the names of contractors that have, in the judgment of the director, permanently replaced lawfully striking employees and have been the subject of debarment.

(6)(a) The director of the department of labor and industries is responsible for the administration and enforcement of this section. The director may adopt rules deemed necessary and appropriate to achieve the purposes of this section.

(b) Each agency or educational institution executing a contract for purchases or sales shall cooperate with the director and provide such information and assistance as the director may require in the performance of the director's functions under this section.

(c) The director may delegate any function or duty under this section to any employee of the department of labor and industries or to any other employee of an agency or educational institution, with the consent of the head of the agency or educational institution in which that employee serves.

(7) This section is not intended, and should not be construed, to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the state, its agencies, its officers, or its employees. This section does not preclude, however, review of final agency decisions in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW.

(8) This section applies only to situations in which contractors have permanently replaced lawfully striking employees after the effective date of this section.