HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1251

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                      State Government

Title:  An act relating to the elimination and consolidation of boards, commissions, and programs.

Brief Description:  Eliminating and consolidating boards, commissions, and programs.

Sponsors:  Representatives Miloscia, Ericksen, O'Brien, Cooper, D. Schmidt, Bush, Esser, Kessler, Poulsen, McIntire, Lambert, H. Sommers, Wood, Conway, Rockefeller, Fortunato and Lantz; by request of Governor Locke.

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

State Government: 2/5/99, 2/16/99 [DPS].

           Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

$Numerous boards and commissions are terminated or consolidated.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill 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: Scott MacColl (786-7106).

Background:

The Governor and the Office of Financial Management (OFM) are required to review state boards and commissions, and in every odd-numbered year submit to the Legislature a recommended list of boards and commissions to be terminated or consolidated.  During the 1995-1997 biennium, Washington had 381 boards and commissions, down from a high of 569 during the 1991-1993 biennium.  Each board or commission operates in conjunction with and reports to a particular state agency or to the Governor's office.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

Thirty-three boards, commissions, and committees are either repealed or abolished.  These are the Health Care Assistants Advisory Committee, Dieticians and Nutritionists Advisory Committee, Health Professions Advisory Committee, Washington State Council on Vocational Education, Public Pension Commission, Public Information Access Policy Task Force, Rural Development Council, Tax Advisory Council, Advisory Council on Criminal Justice Services, Senior Environmental Corps Coordinating Council, Washington Conservation Corps Coordinating Council, Clean Washington Center Policy Board, Puget Sound Trawl Emerging Fisheries Advisory Board, Scenic Rivers Committee of Participating Agencies, Lakes Health Plan Committee, Lower Colombia River Bi-State Steering Committee, the Business and Job Retention Advisory Committee, the Community Diversification Program Advisory Committee, and the Community Networks Committees. 

In addition, three advisory review boards from the Department of Fish and Wildlife are abolished, Nine advisory and search committees advising the Department of Corrections are abolished, and the Athlete Agent Regulatory Program is abolished.

The regulation requiring debt adjusters to be licensed by the state is abolished, and transfers authority for inspection and investigation of debt adjusters to the office of the attorney general.

Authority over historic graves that are inadvertently disturbed and authority to pursue civil action against anyone who violates a provision of the cemetery laws, are transferred to the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.

  The secretary of the Department of Health is required to keep a list of contacts from    regulated health care professions for policy advice and information dissemination.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

  The cemetery board and the funeral and embalmers board are to remain separate entities.

  The secretary of the Department of Health is required to keep a list of contacts from    regulated health care professions for policy advice and information dissemination.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

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

Testimony For: (Original bill) The Governor and state agencies are making progress on consolidation or termination for many boards that are inactive.  Every agency in which a board or commission is to be repealed was interviewed, and support the bill.  The Cemetery and Funeral Boards should be combined because increasingly these businesses are joining operations.  A joint board would address joint businesses and provide a single focal point for consumer complaints.  The joint board would also ensure full disclosure of all pertinent costs and services offered by the industry, and public oversight over prearranged funeral and cemetery trust accounts.  Both the Rural Development Council and the Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development recommend forming the council as a private, non-profit entity.

(Substitute bill)  The Health Care Professional Advisory Committee never actually met, however an amendment is requested to create a list of names for the director of the Department of Health to contact when needed  to ensure that small health care industries won't be left out. No tax funds support the boards, and fees from licenses and examinations are the revenues that support the boards.  The Cemetery Board exists primarily to ensure the integrity of trust accounts, and the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Board licenses professional individuals.

Testimony Against: None.

Testified: (In favor) Betty Jankus, Washington Senior Lobby; Funeral and Cemetery Licensing; Fred Hellberg, Office of the Governor; Jon Donnellah Department of Licensing; and Peggy Weatherman, Department of Corrections;

(In favor with amendments)  Dave Daly, Washington Internment Association; and T.K. Bentler, Washington State Funeral Director's Association, Washington Internment Association; Dave Sharp, Washington Funeral Directors Association; Jeff Larsen, Washington State Society of Occularists; and Bob Anthony, Cemetery Board.