5915 AMH SG H2622.1

5915 AMH SG H2622.1

SB 5915 - H COMM AMD ADOPTED 04/14/99

By Committee on State Government

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"Sec. 1. RCW 4.24.5502 and 1997 c 364 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

((~~(1)~~)) The department of corrections, the department of social and health services, and the indeterminate sentence review board shall jointly develop, by September 1, 1997, a consistent approach to risk assessment for the purposes of implementing chapter 364, Laws of 1997, including consistent standards for classifying sex offenders into risk levels I, II, and III.

(((2) The department of social and health services, the department of corrections, and the indeterminate sentence review board shall each prepare and deliver to the legislature, by December 1, 1998, a report indicating the number of sex offenders released after July 27, 1997, and classified in each level of risk category. The reports shall also include information on the number, jurisdictions, and circumstances where the risk level classification made by a local law enforcement agency or official for specific sex offenders differed from the risk level classification made by the department or the indeterminate sentence review board for the same offender.))

Sec. 2. RCW 13.40.460 and 1997 c 386 s 54 are each amended to read as follows:

The secretary, assistant secretary, or the secretary's designee shall manage and administer the department's juvenile rehabilitation responsibilities, including but not limited to the operation of all state institutions or facilities used for juvenile rehabilitation.

The secretary or assistant secretary shall:

(1) Prepare a biennial budget request sufficient to meet the confinement and rehabilitative needs of the juvenile rehabilitation program, as forecast by the office of financial management;

(2) Create by rule a formal system for inmate classification. This classification system shall consider:

(a) Public safety;

(b) Internal security and staff safety;

(d) An assessment of each offender's risk of sexually aggressive behavior as provided in RCW 13.40.470; and

(e) An assessment of each offender's vulnerability to sexually aggressive behavior as provided in RCW 13.40.470;

(3) Develop agreements with local jurisdictions to develop regional facilities with a variety of custody levels;

(4) Adopt rules establishing effective disciplinary policies to maintain order within institutions;

(5) Develop a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation process to be used at intake, including but not limited to evaluation for substance addiction or abuse, literacy, learning disabilities, fetal alcohol syndrome or effect, attention deficit disorder, and mental health;

(6) Develop placement criteria: and

(a) To avoid assigning youth who present a moderate or high risk of sexually aggressive behavior to the same sleeping quarters as youth assessed as vulnerable to sexual victimization under RCW 13.40.470(1)(c); and

(b) To avoid placing a juvenile offender on parole status who has been assessed as a moderate to high risk for sexually aggressive behavior in a department community residential program with another child who is: (i) Dependent under chapter 13.34 RCW, or an at-risk youth or child in need of services under chapter 13.32A RCW; and (ii) not also a juvenile offender on parole status; and

(7) Develop a plan to implement, by July 1, 1995:

(a) Substance abuse treatment programs for all state juvenile rehabilitation facilities and institutions;

(b) Vocational education and instruction programs at all state juvenile rehabilitation facilities and institutions; and

(c) An educational program to establish self-worth and responsibility in juvenile offenders. This educational program shall emphasize instruction in character-building principles such as: Respect for self, others, and authority; victim awareness; accountability; work ethics; good citizenship; and life skills((~~; and~~

(8) Study, in conjunction with the superintendent of public instruction, educators, and superintendents of state facilities for juvenile offenders, the feasibility and value of consolidating within a single entity the provision of educational services to juvenile offenders committed to state facilities. The assistant secretary shall report his or her findings to the legislature by December 1, 1995)).

Sec. 3. RCW 18.20.230 and 1998 c 272 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department of social and health services shall review, in coordination with the department of health, the nursing care quality assurance commission, adult family home providers, boarding home providers, in-home personal care providers, and long-term care consumers and advocates, training standards for administrators and resident caregiving staff. ((The departments and the commission shall submit to the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate by December 1, 1998, specific recommendations on training standards and the delivery system, including necessary statutory changes and funding requirements.)) Any proposed enhancements shall be consistent with this section, shall take into account and not duplicate other training requirements applicable to boarding homes and staff, and shall be developed with the input of boarding home and resident representatives, health care professionals, and other vested interest groups. Training standards and the delivery system shall be relevant to the needs of residents served by the boarding home and recipients of long-term in-home personal care services and shall be sufficient to ensure that administrators and caregiving staff have the skills and knowledge necessary to provide high quality, appropriate care.

(2) The recommendations on training standards and the delivery system developed under subsection (1) of this section shall be based on a review and consideration of the following: Quality of care; availability of training; affordability, including the training costs incurred by the department of social and health services and private providers; portability of existing training requirements; competency testing; practical and clinical course work; methods of delivery of training; standards for management and caregiving staff training; and necessary enhancements for special needs populations and resident rights training. Residents with special needs include, but are not limited to, residents with a diagnosis of mental illness, dementia, or developmental disability.

(((3) The department of social and health services shall report to the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate by December 1, 1998, on the cost of implementing the proposed training standards for state-funded residents, and on the extent to which that cost is covered by existing state payment rates.))

Sec. 4. RCW 41.05.021 and 1997 c 274 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The Washington state health care authority is created within the executive branch. The authority shall have an administrator appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate. The administrator shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The administrator may employ up to seven staff members, who shall be exempt from chapter 41.06 RCW, and any additional staff members as are necessary to administer this chapter. The administrator may delegate any power or duty vested in him or her by this chapter, including authority to make final decisions and enter final orders in hearings conducted under chapter 34.05 RCW. The primary duties of the authority shall be to: Administer state employees' insurance benefits and retired or disabled school employees' insurance benefits; administer the basic health plan pursuant to chapter 70.47 RCW; study state-purchased health care programs in order to maximize cost containment in these programs while ensuring access to quality health care; and implement state initiatives, joint purchasing strategies, and techniques for efficient administration that have potential application to all state-purchased health services. The authority's duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) To administer health care benefit programs for employees and retired or disabled school employees as specifically authorized in RCW 41.05.065 and in accordance with the methods described in RCW 41.05.075, 41.05.140, and other provisions of this chapter;

(b) To analyze state-purchased health care programs and to explore options for cost containment and delivery alternatives for those programs that are consistent with the purposes of those programs, including, but not limited to:

(i) Creation of economic incentives for the persons for whom the state purchases health care to appropriately utilize and purchase health care services, including the development of flexible benefit plans to offset increases in individual financial responsibility;

(ii) Utilization of provider arrangements that encourage cost containment, including but not limited to prepaid delivery systems, utilization review, and prospective payment methods, and that ensure access to quality care, including assuring reasonable access to local providers, especially for employees residing in rural areas;

(iii) Coordination of state agency efforts to purchase drugs effectively as provided in RCW 70.14.050;

(iv) Development of recommendations and methods for purchasing medical equipment and supporting services on a volume discount basis; and

(v) Development of data systems to obtain utilization data from state-purchased health care programs in order to identify cost centers, utilization patterns, provider and hospital practice patterns, and procedure costs, utilizing the information obtained pursuant to RCW 41.05.031;

(d) To provide information and technical and administrative assistance to the board;

(e) To review and approve or deny applications from counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions of the state to provide state-sponsored insurance or self-insurance programs to their employees in accordance with the provisions of RCW 41.04.205, setting the premium contribution for approved groups as outlined in RCW 41.05.050;

(f) To appoint a health care policy technical advisory committee as required by RCW 41.05.150;

(g) To establish billing procedures and collect funds from school districts and educational service districts under RCW 28A.400.400 in a way that minimizes the administrative burden on districts; and

(h) To promulgate and adopt rules consistent with this chapter as described in RCW 41.05.160.

(2) On and after January 1, 1996, the public employees' benefits board may implement strategies to promote managed competition among employee health benefit plans. Strategies may include but are not limited to:

(a) Standardizing the benefit package;

(b) Soliciting competitive bids for the benefit package;

(d) Monitoring the impact of the approach under this subsection with regards to: Efficiencies in health service delivery, cost shifts to subscribers, access to and choice of managed care plans state-wide, and quality of health services. The health care authority shall also advise on the value of administering a benchmark employer-managed plan to promote competition among managed care plans. ((~~The health care authority shall report its findings and recommendations to the legislature by January 1, 1997.~~

(3) The health care authority shall, no later than July 1, 1996, submit to the appropriate committees of the legislature, proposed methods whereby, through the use of a voucher-type process, state employees may enroll with any health carrier to receive employee benefits. Such methods shall include the employee option of participating in a health care savings account, as set forth in Title 48 RCW.))

Sec. 5. RCW 43.06.400 and 1987 c 472 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:

Beginning in January((,)) 1984, and in January of every ((~~even-numbered~~)) fourth year thereafter, the department of revenue shall submit to the legislature prior to the regular session a listing of the amount of reduction for the current and next biennium in the revenues of the state or the revenues of local government collected by the state as a result of tax exemptions. The listing shall include an estimate of the revenue lost from the tax exemption, the purpose of the tax exemption, the persons, organizations, or parts of the population which benefit from the tax exemption, and whether or not the tax exemption conflicts with another state program. The listing shall include but not be limited to the following revenue sources:

(1) Real and personal property tax exemptions under Title 84 RCW;

(2) Business and occupation tax exemptions, deductions, and credits under chapter 82.04 RCW;

(3) Retail sales and use tax exemptions under chapters 82.08, 82.12, and 82.14 RCW;

(4) Public utility tax exemptions and deductions under chapter 82.16 RCW;

(5) Food fish and shellfish tax exemptions under chapter 82.27 RCW;

(6) Leasehold excise tax exemptions under chapter 82.29A RCW;

(7) Motor vehicle and special fuel tax exemptions and refunds under chapters 82.36 and 82.38 RCW;

(8) Aircraft fuel tax exemptions under chapter 82.42 RCW;

(9) Motor vehicle excise tax exclusions under chapter 82.44 RCW; and

(10) Insurance premiums tax exemptions under chapter 48.14 RCW.

The department of revenue shall prepare the listing required by this section with the assistance of any other agencies or departments as may be required.

The department of revenue shall present the listing to the ways and means committees of each house in public hearings.

Beginning in January((,)) 1984, and every four years thereafter the governor is requested to review the report from the department of revenue and may submit recommendations to the legislature with respect to the repeal or modification of any tax exemption. The ways and means committees of each house and the appropriate standing committee of each house shall hold public hearings and take appropriate action on the recommendations submitted by the governor.

As used in this section, "tax exemption" means an exemption, exclusion, or deduction from the base of a tax; a credit against a tax; a deferral of a tax; or a preferential tax rate.

Sec. 6. RCW 43.20A.375 and 1988 c 49 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

The state advisory committee shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) To serve in an advisory capacity to the secretary on all matters pertaining to the department of social and health services.

(2) To acquaint themselves fully with the operations of the department and periodically recommend such changes to the secretary as they deem advisable.

(3) To review and make recommendations as to the continued operation, possible consolidation, or elimination of department advisory committees including those required by federal law or specifically created by statute. The review shall include review of the statement of purpose for each advisory committee and the time frames during which the committee is accountable to achieve its stated purposes. ((~~The state advisory committee shall conduct the review and report to the appropriate legislative committees no later than January 1, 1989.~~))

(4) To encourage public awareness and understanding of the department of social and health services and the department's programs and services.

(5) To develop agendas to foster periodic meetings with and communication between representatives of program-specific advisory committees.

(6) To encourage each regional advisory committee established under RCW 43.20A.360 to send a representative to regular state advisory committee meetings to foster communication between the regional advisory committees and: (a) The state advisory committee, and (b) headquarters of the department.

Sec. 7. RCW 43.20A.870 and 1997 c 386 s 47 are each amended to read as follows:

The department shall prepare an annual quality assurance report that shall include but is not limited to: (1) Performance outcomes regarding health and safety of children in the children's services system; (2) children's length of stay in out-of-home placement from each date of referral; (3) adherence to permanency planning timelines; and (4) the response time on child protective services investigations differentiated by risk level determined at intake. ((~~The report shall be provided to the governor and legislature not later than July 1.~~))

Sec. 8. RCW 43.41.195 and 1994 sp.s. c 7 s 319 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The office of financial management, in consultation with affected parties, shall establish a fund distribution formula for determining allocations to the community networks authorized under RCW 70.190.130. The formula shall reflect the local needs assessment for at-risk children and consider:

(a) The number of arrests and convictions for juvenile violent offenses;

(b) The number of arrests and convictions for crimes relating to juvenile drug offenses and alcohol-related offenses;

(d) The number of child and teenage suicides and attempted suicides; and

(e) The high school graduation rate.

(2) In developing the formula, the office of financial management shall reserve five percent of the funds for the purpose of rewarding community networks.

(3) The reserve fund shall be used by the council to reward community networks that show exceptional reductions in: State-funded out-of-home placements, violent criminal acts by juveniles, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and male parentage, teen suicide attempts, or school dropout rates.

((~~(4) The office of financial management shall submit the distribution formula to the family policy council and to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 20, 1994.~~))

Sec. 9. RCW 43.59.150 and 1998 c 165 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The Washington state traffic safety commission shall establish a program for improving bicycle and pedestrian safety, and shall cooperate with the stakeholders and independent representatives to form an advisory committee to develop programs and create public private partnerships which promote bicycle and pedestrian safety. ((The traffic safety commission shall report and make recommendations to the legislative transportation committee and the fiscal committees of the house of representatives and the senate by December 1, 1998, regarding the conclusions of the advisory committee.))

(2) The bicycle and pedestrian safety account is created in the state treasury. To the extent that private contributions are received by the traffic safety commission for the purposes of bicycle and pedestrian safety programs established under this section, the appropriations from the highway safety account for this purpose shall lapse.

Sec. 10. RCW 43.88.067 and 1995 c 403 s 905 are each amended to read as follows:

The office of financial management shall create a report annually ((~~to the legislature~~)) on the amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to RCW 4.84.340 through 4.84.360. The report shall describe the number, nature, and amount of the awards, the claims involved in the controversy, and other relevant information that may aid the legislature in evaluating the scope and impact of the awards.

Sec. 11. RCW 43.180.070 and 1983 c 161 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission shall adopt a general plan of housing finance objectives to be implemented by the commission during the period of the plan. The commission shall adopt a plan no later than December 15, 1983. The commission may exercise the powers authorized under this chapter prior to the adoption of the initial plan. In developing the plan, the commission shall consider and set objectives for:

(1) The use of funds for single-family and multifamily housing;

(2) The use of funds for new construction, rehabilitation, including refinancing of existing debt, and home purchases;

(3) The housing needs of low-income and moderate-income persons and families, and of elderly or mentally or physically handicapped persons;

(4) The use of funds in coordination with federal, state, and local housing programs for low-income persons;

(5) The use of funds in urban, rural, suburban, and special areas of the state;

(6) The use of financing assistance to stabilize and upgrade declining urban neighborhoods;

(7) The use of financing assistance for economically depressed areas, areas of minority concentration, reservations, and in mortgage-deficient areas;

(8) The geographical distribution of bond proceeds so that the benefits of the housing programs provided under this chapter will be available to address demand on a fair basis throughout the state;

(9) The use of financing assistance for implementation of cost-effective energy efficiency measures in dwellings.

The plan shall include an estimate of the amount of bonds the commission will issue during the term of the plan and how bond proceeds will be expended.

The plan shall be adopted by resolution of the commission following at least one public hearing thereon, notice of which shall be made by mailing to the clerk of the governing body of each county and by publication in the Washington State Register no more than forty and no less than twenty days prior to the hearing. A draft of the plan shall be made available not less than thirty days prior to any such public hearing. At least every two years, the commission shall report to the legislature regarding implementation of the plan.

((~~Prior to December 31, 1983, the commission shall submit the plan to the chief clerk of the house and secretary of the senate for transmittal to and review by the appropriate standing committees.~~)) The commission may periodically update the plan. ((Proposed changes of the plan shall be submitted to the chief clerk of the house and secretary of the senate for transmittal to and review by the appropriate standing committees. This submittal of proposed changes shall occur at least fourteen days before final adoption of the changes by the commission.))

The commission shall adopt rules designed to result in the use of bond proceeds in a manner consistent with the plan. These rules shall be adopted and in full force and effect by February 1, 1984. The commission may periodically update its rules.

The commission is not required to adopt a plan or rules for the use of the proceeds of bonds issued prior to February, 1984. This section is designed to deal only with the use of bond proceeds and nothing in this section shall be construed as a limitation on the commission's authority to issue bonds.

Sec. 12. RCW 43.200.080 and 1991 sp.s. c 13 s 60 are each amended to read as follows:

The director of ecology shall, in addition to the powers and duties otherwise imposed by law, have the following special powers and duties:

(1) To fulfill the responsibilities of the state under the lease between the state of Washington and the federal government executed September 10, 1964, covering one thousand acres of land lying within the Hanford reservation near Richland, Washington. The department of ecology may sublease to private or public entities all or a portion of the land for specific purposes or activities which are determined, after public hearing, to be in agreement with the terms of the lease and in the best interests of the citizens of the state consistent with any criteria that may be developed as a requirement by the legislature;

(2) To assume the responsibilities of the state under the perpetual care agreement between the state of Washington and the federal government executed July 29, 1965 and the sublease between the state of Washington and the site operator of the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. In order to finance perpetual surveillance and maintenance under the agreement and ensure site closure under the sublease, the department of ecology shall impose and collect fees from parties holding radioactive materials for waste management purposes. The fees shall be established by rule adopted under chapter 34.05 RCW and shall be an amount determined by the department of ecology to be necessary to defray the estimated liability of the state. Such fees shall reflect equity between the disposal facilities of this and other states. A site closure account and a perpetual surveillance and maintenance account is hereby created in the state treasury. The site closure account shall be exclusively available to reimburse, to the extent that moneys are available in the account, the site operator for its costs plus a reasonable profit as agreed by the operator and the state, or to reimburse the state licensing agency and any agencies under contract to the state licensing agency for their costs in final closure and decommissioning of the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. If a balance remains in the account after satisfactory performance of closure and decommissioning, this balance shall be transferred to the perpetual surveillance and maintenance account. The perpetual surveillance and maintenance account shall be used exclusively by the state to meet post-closure surveillance and maintenance costs, or for otherwise satisfying surveillance and maintenance obligations. Appropriations are required to permit expenditures and payment of obligations from the site closure account and the perpetual surveillance and maintenance account. All moneys, including earnings from the investment of balances in the site closure and the perpetual surveillance and maintenance account, less the allocation to the state treasurer's service ((~~account [fund]~~)) fund, pursuant to RCW 43.08.190 accruing under the authority of this section shall be directed to the site closure account until December 31, 1992. Thereafter receipts including earnings from the investment of balances in the site closure and the perpetual surveillance and maintenance account, less the allocation to the state treasurer's service ((~~account [fund]~~)) fund, pursuant to RCW 43.08.190 shall be directed to the site closure account and the perpetual surveillance and maintenance account as specified by the department. Additional moneys specifically appropriated by the legislature or received from any public or private source may be placed in the site closure account and the perpetual surveillance and maintenance account;

(3) To assure maintenance of such insurance coverage by state licensees, lessees, or sublessees as will adequately, in the opinion of the director, protect the citizens of the state against nuclear accidents or incidents that may occur on privately or state-controlled nuclear facilities;

(4) To institute a user permit system and issue site use permits, consistent with regulatory practices, for generators, packagers, or brokers using the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. The costs of administering the user permit system shall be borne by the applicants for site use permits. The site use permit fee shall be set at a level that is sufficient to fund completely the executive and legislative participation in activities related to the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management;

(5) To make application for or otherwise pursue any federal funds to which the state may be eligible, through the federal resource conservation and recovery act or any other federal programs, for the management, treatment or disposal, and any remedial actions, of wastes that are both radioactive and hazardous at all Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities; and

(6) To develop contingency plans for duties and options for the department and other state agencies related to the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility based on various projections of annual levels of waste disposal. These plans shall include an analysis of expected revenue to the state in various taxes and funds related to low-level radioactive waste disposal and the resulting implications that any increase or decrease in revenue may have on state agency duties or responsibilities. The plans shall be updated annually. ((The department shall report annually on the plans and on the balances in the site closure and perpetual surveillance accounts to the energy and utilities committees of the senate and the house of representatives.))

Sec. 13. RCW 47.06B.030 and 1998 c 173 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The council shall:

(1) Develop standards and strategies for coordinating special needs transportation;

(2) Identify and develop, fund as resources are made available, and monitor coordinated transportation pilot projects;

(3) Disseminate and encourage the widespread implementation of successful demonstration projects;

(4) Identify and address barriers to transportation coordination;

(5) Recommend to the legislature changes in law to assist coordination of transportation services;

(6) Act as an information clearinghouse and advocate for coordinated transportation;

(7) Petition the office of financial management to make whatever changes are deemed necessary to identify transportation costs in all executive agency budgets((;

(8) Report to the legislature by December 1, 1998, on council activities including, but not limited to, what demonstration projects have been undertaken, how coordination affected service levels, and whether these efforts produced savings that allowed expansion of services. Reports must be made once every two years thereafter, and other times as the council deems necessary)).

Sec. 14. RCW 70.24.107 and 1997 c 345 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

The department of health and the department of corrections shall each adopt rules to implement chapter 345, Laws of 1997. ((The department of health and the department of corrections shall also report to the legislature by January 1, 1998, on the following: (1) Changes made in rules and department of corrections and local jail policies and procedures to implement chapter 345, Laws of 1997; and (2) a summary of the number of times and the circumstances under which individual corrections staff and jail staff members were informed that a particular offender or detainee had a sexually transmitted disease or other communicable disease.)) The department of health and the department of corrections shall cooperate with local jail administrators to obtain the information from local jail administrators that is necessary to comply with this section.

Sec. 15. RCW 75.08.510 and 1998 c 250 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

The department shall mark appropriate coho salmon that are released from department operated hatcheries and rearing ponds in such a manner that the fish are externally recognizable as hatchery origin salmon by fishers for the purpose of maximized catch while sustaining wild and hatchery reproduction.

The department shall mark all appropriate chinook salmon targeted for contribution to the Washington catch that are released from department operated hatcheries and rearing ponds in such a manner that the fish are externally recognizable as hatchery origin salmon by fishers.

The goal of the marking program is: (1) The annual marking by June 30, 1997, of all appropriate hatchery origin coho salmon produced by the department with marking to begin with the 1994 Puget Sound coho brood; and (2) the annual marking by June 30, 1999, of all appropriate hatchery origin chinook salmon produced by the department with marking to begin with the 1998 chinook brood. The department may experiment with different methods for marking hatchery salmon with the primary objective of maximum survival of hatchery marked fish, maximum contribution to fisheries, and minimum cost consistent with the other goals.

The department shall coordinate with other entities that are producing hatchery chinook and coho salmon for release into public waters to enable the broadest application of the marking program to all hatchery produced chinook and coho salmon. The department shall work with the treaty Indian tribes in order to reach mutual agreement on the implementation of the mass marking program. ((The department shall report to the appropriate legislative committees by January 1, 1999, on the progress made in reaching mutual agreement with the treaty Indian tribes and any Pacific coast state or province to achieve the goal of coast-wide marking of chinook and coho salmon.)) The ultimate goal of the program is the coast-wide marking of appropriate hatchery origin chinook and coho salmon, and the protection of all wild chinook and coho salmon, where appropriate.

Sec. 16. RCW 80.36.600 and 1998 c 337 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The commission shall plan and prepare to implement a program for the preservation and advancement of universal telecommunications service which shall not take effect until the legislature approves the program. The purpose of the universal service program is to benefit telecommunications ratepayers in the state by minimizing implicit sources of support and maximizing explicit sources of support that are specific, sufficient, competitively neutral, and technologically neutral to support basic telecommunications services for customers of telecommunications companies in high-cost locations.

(2) In preparing a universal service program for approval by the legislature, the commission shall:

(a) Estimate the cost of supporting all lines located in high-cost locations and the cost of supporting one primary telecommunications line for each residential or business customer located in high-cost locations;

(b) Determine the assessments that must be made on all telecommunications carriers, and the manner of collection, to provide support for:

(i) All residential and business lines located in high-cost locations;

(ii) Only one primary line for each residential or business customer located in high-cost locations;

(c) Designate those telecommunications carriers serving high-cost locations that are eligible to receive support for the benefit of their customers in those locations;

(d) Adopt or prepare to adopt all necessary rules for administration of the program; and

(e) Provide a schedule of all fees and payments proposed or expected to be proposed by the commission under subsection ((~~(4)~~)) (3)(d) of this section.

(3) ((The commission shall report by November 1, 1998, to the legislature on these steps taken to prepare for implementation and shall inform the legislature of the estimated cost to support all lines located in high-cost locations and the estimated cost to support only one primary line for each residential or business customer located in high-cost locations under a universal service program.

~~(4)~~)) Once a program is approved by the legislature and subsequently established, the following provisions apply unless otherwise directed by the legislature:

(a) All transfers of money necessary to provide the support shall be outside the state treasury and not be subject to appropriation;

(b) The commission may delegate to the commission secretary or other staff the authority to resolve disputes or make other decisions necessary to the administration of the program;

(c) The commission may contract with an independent program administrator subject to the direction and control of the commission and may authorize the establishment of an account or accounts in independent financial institutions should that be necessary for administration of the program;

(d) The expenses of an independent program administrator shall be authorized by the commission and shall be paid out of contributions by the telecommunications carriers participating in the program;

(e) The commission may require the carriers participating in the program, as part of their contribution, to pay into the public service revolving fund the costs of the commission attributable to supervision and administration of the program that are not otherwise recovered through fees paid to the commission.

((~~(5)~~)) (4) The commission shall establish standards for review or testing of all telecommunications carriers' compliance with the program for the purpose of ensuring the support received by a telecommunications carrier is used only for the purposes of the program and that each telecommunications carrier is making its proper contribution to the program. The commission may conduct the review or test, or contract with an independent administrator or other person to conduct the review or test.

((~~(6)~~)) (5) The commission shall coordinate administration of the program with any federal universal service program and may administer the federal fund in conjunction with the state program if so authorized by federal law.

((~~(7)~~)) (6) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) "Telecommunications carrier" has the same meaning as defined in 47 U.S.C. Sec. 153(44).

(b) "Basic telecommunications services" means the following services:

(i) Single-party service;

(ii) Voice grade access to the public switched network;

(iii) Support for local usage;

(iv) Dual tone multifrequency signaling (touch-tone);

(v) Access to emergency services (911);

(vi) Access to operator services;

(vii) Access to interexchange services;

(viii) Access to directory assistance; and

(ix) Toll limitation services.

(c) "High-cost location" means a location where the cost of providing telecommunications services is greater than a benchmark established by the commission by rule.

((~~(8)~~)) (7) Each telecommunications carrier that provides intrastate telecommunications services shall provide whatever information the commission may reasonably require in order to fulfill the commission's responsibilities under subsection (2) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 48.85.050 and 1995 1st sp.s. c 18 s 80 & 1993 c 492 s 462; and

(2) RCW 75.46.020 and 1998 c 246 s 3."

Correct the title.