HOUSE BILL REPORT

                 ESSB 5348

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                      State Government

Title:  An act relating to the membership and responsibilities of the state library commission.

Brief Description:  Reorganizing the state library commission.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on State & Local Government (originally sponsored by Senators Gardner, Horn and Spanel; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Washington State Library Commission).

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

State Government:  3/24/99, 3/30/99 [DP].

      Brief Summary of Engrossed Substitute Bill

$Revises and reorganizes statutes relating to the State Library, State Library Commission, and state librarian.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 8 members:  Representatives McMorris, Republican Co-Chair; Romero, Democratic Co-Chair; Campbell, Republican Vice Chair; Miloscia, Democratic Vice Chair; Dunshee; Haigh; Lambert and D. Schmidt.

Staff:  Steve Lundin (786-7127).

Background:

The State Library has a number of duties, including: (1) providing library and other information services to members of the Legislature, state officials, and state employees in connection with their official duties; (2) acquiring materials that pertain to the history of the state; (3) serving as a depository for newspapers published in the state; (4) promoting electronic access to public information and services; (5) providing advisory services to state agencies on their information needs; (6) providing library and information services to persons throughout the state who are blind or physically handicapped; (7) assisting libraries and persons around the state to establish and develop library services; (8) acting as an interlibrary loan center for libraries in the state; and (9) assisting the provision of direct library information and services to individuals.

The State Library Commission is created consisting of five members that include the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is the chair of the commission, and four commissioners appointed by the Governor, one of whom is a library trustee when appointed and one of whom is a certified librarian actually engaged in library work when appointed.  Commissioners are appointed to four-year terms of office.  The State Library Commission sets general policies, proposes budgets, hires the state librarian, and establishes rules and examinations for persons seeking to be certified as librarians.

Summary of Bill:

Statutes relating to the State Library and State Library Commission are revised and reorganized.

It is clarified that the State Library Commission is the governing board of the State Library.  The commission elects a chair from its membership.

Membership on the State Library Commission is altered to no longer include the Superintendent of Public Instruction.  The Governor appoints all five commissioners with added requirements for persons who are appointed, beyond the existing requirement that one commissioner must be a certified librarian actively engaged in library work when appointed and another commissioner must be a library trustee when appointed.  The appointed commissioner replacing the Superintendent of Public Instruction must be an educator with knowledge of library and information technology policy.  One commissioner must be a representative of the executive branch of state government.  One commissioner must be a member of the general public.

Provision is made for the staggering of the terms of office of the board members.  Full terms are five years.

The duties of the State Library Commission are revised.  The commission must monitor agency progress toward its goals and objectives, exert leadership in developing information access and library services, and establish content-related standards for common formats and agency indexes for state agency-produced information.  A number of the specific responsibilities of the commission are deleted and the commission is authorized to delegate responsibilities to the state librarian.

Testing and certification requirements are removed from the direct list of responsibilities of the State Library Commission and placed into a new section of law.

The express responsibilities of the state librarian are revised.  The state librarian is responsible for a variety of administrative duties, that include implementing policies and delegating authority.  Services may be provided in lieu of monetary reimbursement under agreements with others.  The State Library is authorized to charge lending fees to other libraries that charge the State Library for similar services.  The responsibility to assist in providing direct library and information services to individuals is eliminated.

The authority to provide grants to local libraries for children learn-in-library programs is eliminated.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: This is essentially the same as the house bill.  We urge favorable action.  There are not additional costs in this bill.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Nancy Zussy, State Library.